How One Month With An Abarth 595 Helped Me To Forgive Most Of Its Issues

My first week with the Abarth 595 Competizione left me frustrated by a number of annoying issues, but a few more weeks with the car helped me start to see past some of its problems to find a fun, capable hot hatch underneath

At the end of March I was handed the keys to an Abarth 595 Competizione. I was pretty excited, because I’ve always had a soft spot for these fizzy little Italian hot hatches. They look great and sound wicked, so you can imagine my disappointment when I immediately found myself disliking a number of aspects of the car.

In my ‘first impressions’ post I talked about the pedal feel, driving position and interior quality being pretty poor, but I was suitably impressed with its performance once you found a fun road. So, after a month of getting to know the fettled Fiat, has my opinion changed?

How One Month With An Abarth 595 Helped Me To Forgive Most Of Its Issues

Well, yes and no. But let’s start with the positive. I mentioned that the Abarth was good fun once you get it onto a back road, and one month later I’ve learned it’s actually way more fun than I’d even given it credit for. The steering’s a little vague and elastic, but you quickly learn you can throw the car around and it just sticks.

The hard suspension seems to settle a bit once you’re pushing harder, though it does cause a clenching of the buttocks when the road gets really rough - my local supermarket entry has a hairpin on which the tarmac gave up a long time ago, and it was always great fun in the Abarth. It was like driving on ice, drifting and understeering in equal, hilarious measure, despite speeds still being fairly low.

Two days into a new longtermer and the M25 does this! I have all the luck...

A photo posted by Darren Cassey (@darrencassey) on

For such a small car, it actually has impressive performance. With 177bhp and 184lb ft of torque it has enough about it to get you in trouble should you be in the mood. Mash the throttle and the wheels will enthusiastically grope at the tarmac once the revs build adequately. While its on paper performance doesn’t sound electrifying, on the road it really feels like you’re covering ground impressively quickly.

I still detest the pedals, though. Fortunately the power figure is perfectly judged, so you can get away without any finesse, simply pushing the throttle to the firewall at every opportunity. It’s only when things calm down and you need to hold a gentle throttle, such as when cruising on the motorway, that it becomes unbearable.

How One Month With An Abarth 595 Helped Me To Forgive Most Of Its Issues

In the facelifted 595, which will be with us soon, I can only hope Abarth spends a bit of time tweaking the actual pedal mechanism rather than simply swapping out the pedals for shiny branded versions.

The driving position itself became a bit more acceptable as I got used to it, but I couldn’t have lived with the car for much longer as a daily driver. I either had to sit close enough that my arms were comfortable on the wheel and accept that my legs and feet would ache, or stretch out my legs to a comfortable position until I had to lean forward just to reach the top of the wheel. Driving long distances was a painful chore, and it could all be fixed with a steering wheel that adjusts for reach.

How One Month With An Abarth 595 Helped Me To Forgive Most Of Its Issues

My overall conclusion is that if you’re a little more vertically challenged than I am, you can probably find a comfortable driving position and be very happy with your Abarth 595. The pedal feel is my biggest disappointment, though; I don’t think I’ve ever driven something with such annoying throttle response. It’s something Abarth is inheriting from the Fiat 500, but since it went to so much trouble to overhaul the rest of the car, it’d be nice if the smaller details got some attention, too.

I’ve been contemplating this car compared to the king of this segment, the Ford Fiesta ST. For me, it’s the ST all day long. It has far more composure, more kit for less cash, and it takes itself a little more seriously. And I think that’s the key here. If, like me, you like things to be done properly, there will be too many minor bug-bears in the Abarth, but if you’re a bit more carefree and like cars with a sense of humour, I reckon you’d love the 595. At a shade under £20,000, I don’t think it’s particularly great value for money, but it really is a little firecracker, and sometimes character’s all you need.

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Comments

Anonymous

Nice review 👍

04/21/2016 - 11:40 |
2 | 0
Doge_Stig (I'm literally Harambe)

Yay Abarth!

04/21/2016 - 11:41 |
2 | 0
Anonymous

Absolutely love mine! I’m small so the driving position is perfect! And for a first car at the age of 18 it’s all I need! I’ve got the 140hp one and power wise it still feels a lot quicker than it is! I would have to agree that 20k seems like a lot but mine was £15.010 and looks exactly the same as the competzione as its a Trofeo Edition. And that I feel at that price is one of the best cars value wise on the market! Anyway, fantastic review!

04/21/2016 - 12:30 |
28 | 2
Massimo Tarchi(Max)

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

15000 pounds for a 1st car?!?!?!??!?!? what the %@#$

04/22/2016 - 01:00 |
10 | 2
Doge_Stig (I'm literally Harambe)

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

OLIV3333333333333RERRR!!! HOW’S THA ABARTH ACROSS THE POND?!

08/14/2016 - 23:57 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

I’m thinking the SS is the best of both worlds and probably better value for money.

04/21/2016 - 12:31 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

I’m 6’2” and its more than comfortable for me

04/21/2016 - 13:06 |
2 | 0
Anonymous

595 fixed vs. Fiesta ST sounds like a good comparison

04/21/2016 - 13:13 |
4 | 0
Anonymous

Good to see a review based on sensibilities not just drifting a track or “closed road”

04/21/2016 - 13:54 |
8 | 2
Darren Cassey

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Glad to hear it. It’s why we try to run long-term test cars because while you can learn a lot about a car’s behaviour in a day or a week test, nothing tells you what it’s like to live with like an extended loan.

04/21/2016 - 15:31 |
8 | 2
Anonymous

Am I the only one who realised? In the first pictures the car decals and brake calipers are red whereas the last picture they are orange!!

04/21/2016 - 16:32 |
0 | 0

please be a troll………. cause i dont think theres a person that doesnt know how sunlight works….

04/22/2016 - 00:23 |
2 | 0
Anonymous

ST any day. They’re just so much better.
I saw an Abarth with a printed banner on the back. Do not buy an Abarth
He must have been seriously pissed off with it to go that far.

04/21/2016 - 20:19 |
2 | 4
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

What makes you say the ST is so much better??

04/22/2016 - 02:54 |
2 | 0
Anonymous

We have a ‘13 Abarth and love it. I’m 6’ and no issues with the comfort. We’ve done 16 hours straight in it to Tennessee to do Fiats on the Dragon, we’ve spent multiple trips to Colorado which takes about 9-10 hours. It’s a fun little car that likes to be thrashed about and begs for more. We have a guy in our car club that stands like 6’ 8” and has no problems in his getting comfortable.

11/21/2016 - 16:03 |
0 | 0