BYD Atto 2 vs Abarth 500E

What's the difference?

There has never been a better time to be shopping for an electric SUV in Australia, with the avalanche of Chinese brands constantly smashing through the price floor as they bid for the title of Australia’s cheapest.

MG led the charge with its S5, which is $40,490, drive-away. Then Leapmotor upped (or downed?) the ante with its B10 with a $38,990, drive-away, price tag. And now BYD has knocked them both out with its Atto 2, officially Australia’s cheapest electric SUV (at least for now), with a MSRP of $31,990, which, in NSW, translates to a drive-away cost of less than $35K.

Cheap is one thing. But cheerful? Let’s find out, shall we?

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.