So the Abarth has a decent powertrain, but does it really feel like a proper hot hatch when you hit a decent country road? C
Yes and no. Even though the centre of gravity is helpfully low, the measures taken to contain the weight of the car are immediately obvious, because the ride quality is… robust. Whether it’s unacceptably so will depend on how an individual prefers a hot hatch.Volkswagen Golf GTI fans won’twarm to this degree of reactivity, but anybody who has enjoyed Renaultsport efforts of the past 20 years will probably accept it and the sense of fizzing alertness it brings.
The same people will probably enjoy the way the 600e’s nose hunts a little on corrugated roads, the suspension geometry, grippy Michelins and diff combining to fire load up the steering column in vaguely Morse-code fashion but the result never becoming unruly.
That said, you can see why the torque delivery is mapped conservatively, ramping up progressively instead of the instant stabbing that many car makers think the customer wants (we don’t; do you?). When you’re really on it, and even in Scorpion Track mode, which is the only way to have all 278bhp at your disposal, torque-steer isn’t nearly as much of a problem as you might expect.
Finding a rhythm therefore isn’t difficult. The relationship between steering, diff and throttle is nicely synchronised. You get a tonne oftraction on mid-corner and exit, and point-to-point the car is heroically quick at times.
Where I struggled to gel with it was turn-in. Its weight is palpable on a trailing throttle and the steering is a bit mute on the subject of grip levels, so you don’t often have theconfidence to sling the car into bends. If you do manage it, there isn’t quite enough easy adjustability to be savoured. Conversely, put the 600e down a really tricky road andthe firm back axle can become self-adjusting too readily.
So this Abarth isn’t the finest driving tool and neither is it the easiest thing to live with, but it is quick and it does have a distinct personality – one that’s identifiably hot hatch, the way it used to be, if not to a world-class standard.
