Abarth 500E vs Cupra Born

What's the difference?

Meet the Abarth 500e, the mad-hatter sibling to the very good and all-electric Fiat 500e, and the Italian brand's first attempt at a bonafide EV hot hatch.

It's tiny, tough and – despite the lack of engine and exhaust – it burbles manically when you fire it up.

So does this mean Italy’s pint-sized, petrol-powered icon has a future in the all-electric era? Let’s go find out.

Electric cars. Australia now has quite a few, and to add more confusion to the mix, there are a litany of all-new brands releasing models into this new frontier of the automotive landscape.

Most new electric cars are in Australia’s favourite buying category, the SUV, but there’s also a ute, some odd sedan-y things, and, of course, a handful of hatchbacks.

Hailing from Spain, the Cupra Born sets itself apart from the rest for a few reasons though. Firstly, it promises to be a hot hatch, something we haven’t really seen much of yet, and secondly, it has to bear the burden of launching Volkswagen Group’s all-electric MEB platform to the Australian market, but most importantly for Australians keen to hop into their first electric car, it promises to do this while offering a long range at a reasonable price.

Can it really do it all? We attended the Cupra Born’s Australian launch to find out.