For quite a while now, Italian tuning house Abarth has been helping to create go-faster
versions of everyone’s favourite four-wheeled fashion accessory, the Fiat 500.
But make no mistake about it, this thing might look like a slightly juiced-up 500 but it’s
very different underneath.
This one is the 595 Turismo, which on a scale of ‘slightly unhinged’ to ‘completely
balls-out mental’ is somewhere around the middle.
Like most Abarth models, the 595 is powered by a 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine,
the same one that pops up in a lot of other Fiat group cars.
For these, it’s been significantly reworked though with a big Garrett turbocharger bolted
on, and the base 595 gets 143bhp.
In Turismo guise, which is the spec we’ve got, you get an extra 20bhp on top of that,
while the more track-focused 595 Competitzione gets 177bhp in all.
Not bad for such a small thing, but it’s not all about the power: Abarth says that
the 595 range is all about the emotion and the experience of driving, so what’s this
scorpion-badged city car like once you actually put your foot down?
Pretty darn good actually.
Due to the fact that the car weighs just a hair over 1,000kg it can really make the most
of its power.
It takes the turbo a while to spool up and power delivery is quite boosty, but once it
comes on the Turismo rockets off into the distance at a pace that would worry many more
powerful cars.
Pin the throttle and it scoots off in a straight line like an angry bee and it sounds a bit
like one too with an exhaust note that sounds ruder than a car this size has any right to.
Officially, 0-62mph takes 7.3 seconds but it feels a good bit faster than that given
its compact size and light weight.
It’s a properly quick little monster, scurrying around B-roads and race tracks alike while
the tailpipe constantly blows raspberries out the back along the way.
It’s a firm little thing mind you, with rear Koni shocks to stiffen up the suspension
and improve agility, but while you won’t want to be ploughing straight into any speed
bumps, it does feel a bit more rounded than the Competizione, which gets the Koni shocks
on all four corners.
On a bumpy road it undulates and tosses around a bit too, but it does boast suitably impressive
body control in the corners.
The tiny wheelbase means it changes direction eagerly, the brakes bite hard and resist fade
well and the steering is direct and accurate enough, even if it does suffer from the same
numbness and artificial feeling as a lot of Fiat’s standard cars.
Prices for the 595 start from £15,090, while the Turismo is £18,290 and the Competizione
£20,090 – convertibles cost £2,000 more across the range.
Depending on trim and options, it puts it on par with rivals like the Ford Fiesta ST,
Peugeot 208 GTi and MINI Cooper S. Honestly, I’d say that any of those cars
are probably a bit better to drive overall than the 595, but it’s impossible to discount
the Abarth’s loud personality and, just as it is for people who like the regular Fiat
500, if they want one of these the chances are they’re not even going to consider anything
else.
Sitting in the interior, there are a couple of issues that I have with it, particularly
with the driving position.
I understand that it’s limited by the amount of interior space and what have you, but for
me personally this car is a bit of an ergonomic nightmare.
The seating position is way too high and the pedals positioned oddly, so you have to sort
of tap them down rather than push them in.
The steering wheel is too far away and doesn’t adjust for reach, so in order to be able to
grip the wheel right you have to sit in a position where your legs are squashed away
up like a dodgem car.
And, I keep going for the window button here.
Every.
Damn.
Time.
That’s my piece said though, otherwise this is a suitably sporty interior and Abarth really
has gone the whole hog to make it feel much more purposeful than the standard 500.
There’s various bits and gubbins dressed up in carbon fibre stuff, these chunky and
supportive leather sports seats and this big and brilliantly juvenile turbo gauge which
sits up here.
This is, of course, the 595C convertible, so it’s got this folding fabric roof, and
while the small five-inch touchscreen in this car is a bit fiddly, this car comes with the
option to upgrade to a larger seven-inch screen.
It’s also jam-packed with kit like sat-nav, DAB radio, a digital instrument display, rear
parking sensors and a seven-speaker Beats sound system to please audiophiles.
Because the 595 has the exact same dimensions as the Fiat 500, I won’t spend too long
on practicality – mainly because there’s not much by way of practicality at all.
The rear seats are small, pretty cramped and tight while the 185-litre boot is really good
only for a few bags.
Running costs are surprisingly alright though; Abarth claims this car can return 47.1mpg
with 139g/km of CO2, and while we haven’t quite matched that over the past week it’s
been fairly cheap to run.
If you want to know more about the practicality, you can check out our review of the regular
500 by clicking the little ‘I’ button at the top of your screen.
It’s not perfect and there are better cars to drive out there – cars with better ergonomics
too – but the Abarth 595 is one of those cars that’s hard not to like.
It’s a car for which the term pocket rocket was pretty much invented and brings with it
a real sense of character and charm.
It looks great, sounds great and goes well too – definitely more eager puppy than snarling
Rottweiler – and sure it’s a little silly, but isn’t that the whole point?!