The Fiat Abarth 595 Competizione is like meeting an ex-girlfriend for a drink, but she’s been through one of those transformations that makes her suddenly a lot more interesting. The 595 has an impressive set of stats that simply were not there last time we met.
In 2017, I bought an 18-month-old Fiat 500. It was a convertible and also the most inappropriate farm vehicle anyone has ever purchased.
But I loved it because it was fun and zippy around town. With the roof down, you almost felt like you were driving a real sports car.
But with 3ha of land to look after, I was a bit of a laughing stock to my stock. The sheep couldn’t fit in the back seat. So, I got sensible and swapped to a Volvo.
As adamant as I was that my Fiat 500 was definitely a most cool car, my family were able to point out that pretty much every other Fiat 500 we ever saw was driven by a nice middle-aged lady with a poodle. It was uncanny.
I don’t think anyone but me thought the 500 was an adequate, reasonably priced, mid-life-crisis car. Except for my poodle – he loved it.
So, fast forward a few years and I am in the Fiat 595 Abarth Competizione. Fiat doesn’t even still sell the straight 500 in New Zealand any more and the 595 is so popular that more than half of the next shipment is already pre-sold.
The 595 is powered by a 1.4-litre turbo engine that throws off 132kW of power and 250Nm torque – twice as powerful as the standard 500. At start-up, the roar and gurgle of the motor sound a bit like a powerful boat outboard.
It can do 0-100km/h in 6.7 seconds and has a listed top speed of 225 km/h, which would be terrifying.
Inside, the 595 features a prominent turbo boost power gauge on the top of the dashboard, with the word ‘Sport’ all lit up when you’re in go-fast mode. It has Fiat’s Uconnect system and a large control screen. It also has Apple and Android Play.
On the open highway, on a trip north from Auckland to Paparoa, the three teenagers whinge about how bumpy everything is, and how loud. They have a point. And they elect to drive home with my wife in her diesel SUV, towing a horse float. Teenagers are idiots.
This suits me just fine, and totally was not my intention. State Highway 16 from Wellsford to Auckland is a joy of hills, corners and occasional straights.
In the car’s standard mode, this would be a painfully slow trip. But sport mode stiffens things up and provides enough power to make it feel like driving a go-kart. The 595 weighs only about a tonne, so it doesn’t need a huge motor to push it forward at speed.
But it does have one major issue (and a few minor ones) — the test car has Fiat’s manual Dualogic transmission, which means trying to speed away from the lights is interrupted by a range of head-jarring gear changes that spoil the fun.
And because this is really a souped-up version of the 500, some of the finishes are a bit cheap-looking. The car could also do with a decent amount of soundproofing.
For $40,000-plus, there are features that are simply missing – cruise control, automatic wipers, lane assistance, etc. Compared with the just-released Toyota Yaris, which has a hot hatch variant, the included features seem bare, particularly around safety.
But I don’t care about any of this because the 595 is awesome.
And swapping from auto to manual is a revelation. The paddle shifts allow smooth gear changes and suddenly this thing is a beast – the little mouse roars and roars and roars.
It hugs the corners so tightly it is almost scary. Its Brembo brakes, Koni shock absorbers and shouty, angry exhaust system eat up the tarmac and put a grin on my face. Until we meet that scourge of the open road, the Toyota Prius. This Japanese import is the vehicular version of Harry Potter’s dementor foes, and just seeing one in the distance is enough to drain the joy from any day. You know you’ll soon be upon it and it will drive just fast enough to prevent overtaking, and stupidly slow down whenever there’s a corner or even a slight incline.
The little 595 does not have quite enough power for safe overtaking on short stretches, so the only hope you have is that the owner pulls over from shame.
Eventually, we roar past the Prius as we head back to the 595’s natural environment – a city. Balance is restored.
I do still see my old Fiat 500 around Auckland occasionally. I am disappointed to say it is now owned by a very nice-looking woman who seems to take her miniature poodle with her wherever she goes.
