Abarth 500e vs VW e-Up!

The Abarth 500e costs £4,800 more than the VW e-Up!. For that premium it adds 45 kW faster peak rapid charging, 53 kW more power and a 4.9s quicker 0-62mph time. The VW e-Up! is not just cheaper - it also offers 65 litres more boot space. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the VW e-Up! comes out ahead overall.

The VW e-Up! is £4,800 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £160 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the VW e-Up! comes out roughly £4,880 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 137 miles for the Abarth 500e and 116 miles for the VW e-Up! - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Abarth 500e goes roughly 21 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 35 minutes in the Abarth 500e and 49 in the VW e-Up!, so the Abarth 500e loses less time at each stop. That makes the Abarth 500e the stronger long-distance car.

The VW e-Up! is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 38 mm narrower than the Abarth 500e. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 755 mm of total clearance for the VW e-Up! and about 717 mm of total clearance for the Abarth 500e. The Abarth 500e also turns in a 0.4 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.