Abarth 595 Review & Prices

The Abarth 595 is a sporty version of the compact Fiat 500 city car that comes with more powerful engines, upgraded suspension and a few eye-catching styling tweaks. It’s a more outrageous alternative to the likes of the rather restrained (and slower) VW Up GTI and Suzuki Swift Sport and can be had in a seriously speedy Competizione guise with plenty of racy additions.

Unfortunately, although it might have the competition licked in a drag race, it can’t quite match them for practicality. Sure, the Abarth’s cabin comes littered with sporty touches – from the race-car-inspired rev-counter to the supportive sports seats and optional carbon-fibre trims – but head and leg room in the back are limited at best and the cramped footwells means it isn’t particularly comfortable to drive for long periods.

The Abarth 595’s boot size is similarly disappointing. There’s room for a weekly shop or a baby buggy – but only just – and both the Up GTI and Swift Sport have bigger load bays when you fold the back seats down.

Things don’t improve when you take a look at the 595’s equipment list. You get a 5.0-inch touchscreen as standard, but smartphone mirroring, sat nav and an upgraded stereo are all rather expensive options.

If you’re more interested in what the Abarth’s like to drive than how good the stereo sounds, however, you’re in luck. All versions come with a 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine, but even the entry-level 145hp model accelerates faster than the VW and Suzuki. The range-topping 180hp Competizione car even gives the more powerful Ford Fiesta ST a serious run for its money.

On a tight, twisty road it can’t quite match the agility of the nimble Fiesta ST or featherweight Swift Sport, but the Abarth 595 is still seriously good fun – especially with the Competizione model’s sports suspension and optional limited-slip differential.

Fuel economy is on a par with the Fiesta ST, too, and the Abarth’s small size and good visibility mean it’s pretty easy to drive around town. The rather firm suspension means you’ll feel a pretty sudden thud from large bumps and potholes, but at least it’s easy to park and the standard five-speed manual gearbox is a doddle to use in heavy traffic.

Things are less relaxing on motorways, however, where the 595’s engine drones quite loudly and you’ll hear a fair bit of wind and tyre noise. You can’t get the Abarth 595 with cruise control, either, and no models come with automatic emergency braking to help prevent low-speed collisions around town.

Despite this, the Abarth 595 makes a great weekend toy or – if you’re happy to put up with its bumpy suspension and slightly spartan equipment list – a very sporty everyday hot hatch with bags of character.

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Go for a range-topping Competizione model with the most powerful engine and the Abarth 595 is a seriously speedy hot hatch. Unfortunately, it’s not a particularly comfortable one…

The Abarth 595 comes with a 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine, but you can choose between 145hp, 160hp, 165hp and 180hp versions in standard, Trofeo, Turismo and Competizione guise respectively. The most affordable models with 145hp will sprint from 0-62mph in 7.8 seconds which is 0.3 seconds faster than a Suzuki Swift Sport and a whole second faster than the Up GTI.

The 160hp and 165hp versions both cover the same 0-62mph sprint in 7.3 seconds while the most expensive 180hp models take just 6.7 seconds to reach 62mph from rest – that’s only 0.2 seconds shy of the more powerful 200hp Fiesta ST.

The Abarth matches the Ford when it comes to fuel economy – where the Fiesta ST returns a claimed 47.1mpg, Abarth claims all 595 models will return 47mpg. You’ll probably see a figure closer to 40mpg in normal driving conditions, however.

The Abarth 595 comes with a five-speed manual gearbox as standard, but you can get the 145hp, 165hp and 180hp versions with a five-speed automatic. It’s not particularly smooth – especially at slow speeds – but does boost claimed fuel economy by around 2mpg across the range.

Around town, the 595’s small size and upright seating position makes it reasonably easy to drive. The steering isn’t too heavy so your arms won’t get tired each time you squeeze it into a tight parking space and the thin pillars between the doors and windscreen make it a doddle to spot traffic approaching at junctions, too.

Unfortunately, the 595’s firm suspension and relatively large alloy wheels (for a small car) highlight every pothole and poorly repaired road surface around town. You’ll hear quite a bit of wind and tyre noise on motorways, too. It’s certainly not as comfortable to drive for long periods as the slightly more mature Suzuki Swift Sport.

Stick to quiet country roads, however, and the 595 makes significantly more sense. The raspy, throaty gurgle from its exhaust makes it feel like you’re travelling much faster than the speedo suggests.

The less powerful Trofeo and Turismo cars still feel pretty nippy, and you don’t notice the Abarth’s body leaning much in tight turns – even without the Competizione’s fancy upgraded suspension. It doesn’t feel quite as nimble as the likes of the Up GTI or the more powerful Fiesta ST, but it’ll happily put a giant grin on your face at every opportunity.

Unfortunately, the Fiat 500 (on which the 595 is based) scored a mediocre three-star safety rating from Euro NCAP when it was tested in 2017, and the Abarth doesn’t come with as much safety kit as other small hot hatches. You can’t get automatic emergency braking, for example, and rear parking sensors are a pricey option on entry-level cars.

There’s space for six-footers to get comfy in the Abarth’s front seats but space in the back is pretty cramped and the boot’s significantly smaller than in almost every alternative

There’s just as much room in the front seats of the Abarth 595 as the Fiat 500, so you’ll have no trouble getting comfy if you’re six-feet tall. Legroom is reasonably good if you move the seat as far back as it’ll go, but there isn’t anywhere to rest your left foot beside the clutch pedal.

More of an issue is the very upright seating position – even in models with the optional Abarth Corsa sports seats. This is fine in a city car because it gives you a good view out, but in a sporty hot hatch it slightly dulls your sensation of speed. Thankfully, the seats themselves are nice and supportive which means you won’t slide about too much in tight corners.

Unfortunately, they don’t come with adjustable lumbar support to help reduce back ache on long drives and the lever to adjust the backrest angle is tucked so tightly down by the door that it’s quite difficult to pull.

Like the Up GTI, the Abarth 595 only comes with two rear seats but the car’s three-door-only design means your passengers have to climb in through a small gap behind the front seats. There isn’t as much headroom as you get in the VW either, and there’s significantly less space for adults to get comfy than in the Suzuki Swift Sport.

You get two pairs of Isofix points in the back, but they’re hidden behind the seat padding and the narrow opening makes it tricky to lift in a bulky child seat.

The Abarth’s cabin doesn’t come with many particularly practical storage bins to help you keep it looking nice and tidy. The glovebox is fairly small and the door bins will struggle to hold anything larger than a 500ml bottle. You do get a pair of cupholders in the centre console, but the lack of a folding rear armrest means there aren’t any cupholders in the back.

The 595’s 185-litre boot is significantly smaller than what you get in the 251-litre Up GTI and 265-litre Swift Sport. There’s just enough space for a large suitcase and some smaller soft bags, but fitting a baby buggy is a fairly tight squeeze.

There’s also a tall boot lip that makes carrying very heavy items rather difficult and you don’t get any netted cubbies or shopping hooks to secure smaller items.

The back seats fold down in a two-way (50:50) split as standard so you can carry some longer luggage and a passenger in the back at once. Even with both seats folded, the Abarth’s 550-litre load bay lags more than 400 litres behind the Up’s 959-litre capacity.

You can just about squeeze in a bike, but you’ll have to remove both its wheels before it’ll fit and the step behind the back seats means it’ isn’t particularly easy to slide heavy items right up behind the front seats.

The Abarth 595 interior gets plenty of eye-catching visual upgrades over the standard Fiat 500, but smartphone mirroring and an improved stereo cost extra on most cars

The Abarth 595 comes with plenty of sporty touches to make sure your passengers don’t mistake it for a run-of-the-mill Fiat 500. Besides the huge scorpion badge on the racy flat-bottomed steering wheel you also get more supportive sports seats, a redesigned speedometer and a stand-alone rev counter that sticks out of the dashboard like a cartoon periscope.

Go for a mid-range Turismo spec car instead of an entry-level or Trofeo model, and you get leather seats as standard. One step further into high-spec Competizione territory and you get super supportive Abarth Corsa seats – albeit with fabric upholstery. If you want these sporty items trimmed in leather, it’ll cost you a pretty penny.

Whichever version you choose, you might be a bit disappointed by how cheap some of the 595’s materials feel. It certainly isn’t as solid as the cheaper VW Up GTI and you don’t get any soft, squidgy plastics on the doors or dashboard, either.

Unlike the standard Fiat 500, the Abarth 595 comes with a 5.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system as standard. Unfortunately, the screen’s reflective coating means it’s quite difficult to read in direct sunlight and the menus aren’t as easy to navigate through as in the Swift Sport or Fiesta ST. At least you get DAB digital radio, Bluetooth connectivity and a USB input as standard.

Neither the standard car, the Turismo, nor the Competizione comes with sat-nav as standard – for that you’ll have to pay an extra £350 or upgrade to the larger seven-inch display for an extra £700. The system’s not particularly easy to use, however, and doesn’t come with particularly clear map graphics.

Much better is the smartphone mirroring system you get as standard in Trofeo and XSR Yamaha models. This lets you use a selection of Apple and Android-based apps – including navigation and music-streaming services – through the car’s built-in screen. You can pay extra to get these features on entry-level, Turismo and Competizione cars, but it’ll cost you extra on top of what you have to pay for the upgraded 7.0-inch display.

Rather frustratingly, Trofeo and XSR Yamaha cars with built-in smartphone mirroring don’t come with the option of an upgraded Beats stereo – this option is reserved for entry-level Turismo and Competizione cars. It certainly sounds beefier than the standard unit, but can’t match the volume, bass or clarity you get in the Fiesta ST’s optional B&O system.