• Home
  • New Cars
    • First Impressions
    • Road Tests
  • Classics
    • Classic Profiles
    • Classic Driving Impressions
    • Classics Information
    • Events and Days Out
  • Motoring For Fun
  • News & Views
  • Bookshelf
  • Technical
    • Grumpy Old Mechanic
    • Kim’s Tips
  • Features
    • Visits
    • Track Days
  • Contributors
    • About our contributors
    • Kim Henson
    • Chris Adamson
    • Kieron Fennelly
    • David Miles
    • Dave Moss
    • Dave Randle
    • Robin Roberts
    • Tom Scanlan
    • Glen Smale
    • Keith Ward
    • John Price Williams
  • More…
    • About Wheels Alive
    • Tips for using this website
    • Useful Links
  • Contact
  • A-Z

Wheels Alive

Old cars, new cars, borrowed cars & blue cars. If it steers it's here!

Abarth 595 Competizione 180 – Road Test

Author/Source: Robin Roberts

22nd March 2018

The Abarth 595 Competizione 180 Manual pocket-rocket.

Fun in the city – test-driven by Robin Roberts (Miles Better News Agency)…

Brits used to relish small high performance cars, and thank goodness the Italians still build them like the Abarth 595 Competizione.

While the UK may have grown up and developed a taste for family hot-hatches, there is still a lot to be enjoyed behind the wheel of this excitable version of the classic Fiat 500 city car.

It looks simply stunning; it has the dark trimmed brightly badged naughty boy character which is endearing and enjoyable, so long as you understand its limits.

If you dread urban driving, the Abarth 595 Competizione will put a smile back on your face as it zips around town, deftly drops into the tightest parking space, and you know the weekend is coming when you can head for the open road.

There is a comparatively small range in the series but they come as three-door hatches or two-door convertibles and we tested the upper mid-range version with options including Supersport wheels, pastel paint, Beats audio and the Performance sports pack, adding about £3,900 to the standard price of £20,360.

The well-developed 1.4 litre T-Jet petrol engine is an instant starter, packs a useful 250 Nm (184 lb.ft) at 3,000 rpm and it returned a reasonable 40 mpg plus on test. It might have been better if there had been a longer-legged gearbox including a 6th gear to stretch the figures and subdue the sound of the engine working hard under hand and foot.

The clutch was light, gearchange direct and matched with very powerful brakes and city/sport mode steering you could relax in town or really enjoy its handling on twisting rural lanes. Secondary controls were a little cluttered on the wheel and over the fascia and console while the instruments were not marked in detail, but clear nevertheless.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I liked the simple heating and ventilation and it could hardly fail to work in the small cabin, with powered door windows but there’s no sunroof option. Oddments room was small and most items would end up on the small back seats which were really suitable only for children, and a wiggle to climb into. Access to the front seats and small boot was easy.

Visibility was fine through the windows, the lights just about up to their sporting job along with the wipers. Noise levels were mostly confined to constant road rumbles and suspension sounds while the engine note was sporty and pleasing unless you really pushed in lower ratios. Wind noise was modest and generally came from the door mirrors.

It pulled well from low revs, had good overtaking ability through the gears and cruised without any issues at the legal maximum on a motorway. But it’s off the main roads you begin to appreciate the 595 Competizione for its urge and surge, its surprisingly good level of grip and its faithful handling. On damp roads you can feel the power pulling you wide but ease off and it smartly and safely steps back in line.

The sound system is good but it’s not got a lot to do inside such a small cabin and you might consider saving some money on this unless you are really a lover of music and want home-quality performance.

VERDICT

The Abarth 595 Competizione is a distinctive, enjoyable and fun to drive small car with a character you rarely find today, but can if you go for this Italian job.

For: Lively, agile, smooth, economical, good seats, fast and sporty.

Against: Tight in back and small boot, bumpy ride at times, needs a sixth gear.

Mini Milestones and Wheels-Alive Tech. Spec. in Brief:

Abarth 595 Competizione 180hp manual hot-hatch.

Price: £20,360 (as tested £24,260).

Mechanical: Four cylinder, 180 hp 1.4 turbo-petrol, five speed manual.

Performance: 140 mph, 0–62 mph 6.7 seconds.

Fuel consumption: Combined Cycle 47.1 mpg (41 mpg on test).

Emissions and taxation: CO2 emissions 139 g/km, VED road tax new First Year rate £205 then £140 Standard rate, BiK company car tax 28%.

Insurance Group: 34.

Warranty: Three years/unlimited mileage.

Dimensions/capacities: L 3.66 m (12.01 ft), W 1.63 m (5.35 ft), H 1.49 m (4.89 ft), bootspace: 185 – 550 litres (6.53 – 19.42 cu.ft), three doors/four seats.

Save this article as a PDF file

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)
  • Share on Skype (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)

Categories: Road Tests, Robin Roberts Tags: City car, hot city car

Tip: For improved search accuracy, enclose search terms for multiple words in quotation marks. For example:
"Land Rover".

Advertise with us
A-ZPlease visit the A-Z page for listings by make, model, year etc. and an advanced search form.

Recent Posts

DS 7 Crossback SUV – Road Test

DS 7 Crossback SUV – Road Test

Book Review – An Austin Anthology

Book Review – An Austin Anthology

Land Rover Love on a Mountain Top… 70th Anniversary Celebrations with Defender Outline in French Alps

Land Rover Love on a Mountain Top… 70th Anniversary Celebrations with Defender Outline in French Alps

Vauxhall Corsa – Driving Impressions (after 25 years!)

Vauxhall Corsa – Driving Impressions (after 25 years!)

Hevengham Hall Concours d’Elegance set for its third year, Saturday 30th June/Sunday 1st July

Hevengham Hall Concours d’Elegance set for its third year, Saturday 30th June/Sunday 1st July

Motorsport Vehicle to Vehicle Technology Aims to Improve Racetrack Safety

Motorsport Vehicle to Vehicle Technology Aims to Improve Racetrack Safety

Skoda Karoq – Road Test

Skoda Karoq – Road Test

Volvo’s XC40 breaks UK sales records…

Volvo’s XC40 breaks UK sales records…

Contributors

contributors

Our well-respected contributors live and breathe motor cars; aren’t we lucky?

Contributors to the site include talented, highly-respected people (so they tell me) on the hallowed membership list of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and from the similarly well thought-of Western Group of Motoring Writers. In addition there are valued contributions from other knowledgeable and capable motoring writers who have something useful to say about all aspects of driving and running vehicles in the 21st Century. All of our team are passionate about motor cars!


Read about our contributors  ››

Save this article as a PDF file

Popular Tags

4x4 A3 Audi AUSTIN A30/A35 Beaulieu BMW Citroën City car Compact SUV Convertible Coupé crossover Double Cab Electric electric vehicle estate Estate car Fast estate Fiat five door hatchback five door SUV Ford hatchback Honda Hybrid Kia Land Rover large SUV Mazda Mazda6 MG mid-size SUV Mini Mitsubishi MPV Nissan Ollie Bourton Outlander People carrier Peugeot Pick-up Porsche range saloon Seat Seven seater SUV Skoda Sport Utility Vehicle Sportage sports Sports saloon SUV Suzuki three door hatchback Tourer Tyres Vauxhall Volkswagen VW VW Golf
All Tags ››

Wheels Alive Social

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Like us on Facebook

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

My Tweets

Contact us

We welcome your questions, comments and feedback. Please click here to contact us.

Save this article as a PDF file

Advertising Opportunities

Please contact us if you would like to discuss advertising opportunities on Wheels Alive.

Save this article as a PDF file

Please share our website

Copyright © 2018 Kim Henson, Wheels Alive