Abarth 595 Competizione 180

Abarth 595 Competizione 180

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Discussion

Kohmikey

2 posts

99 months

Wednesday 27th January 2016
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Hi I ordered the 595 competizione 180 in officiana red a couple of weeks ago and was constantly searching reviews and YouTube videos on what others think of it. Anyway I have only just came across this thread and it is the first long term owners review that I have come across and is perfect for what I was looking for, here is why......

My car history is longer than it should be considering I have been driving 13 years I have owned 9 cars e.g. seat ibiza cupras (mk4 & mk5), Leon cupra r (mk2), Nissan S14 Silvia, Juke nismo, 370z - my favourite so far but not child friendly frown, to my current Audi TT mk2 tdi. Let's just say unless I was forced to change like with the 370z, I get bored quickly and it is starting to not only get on my wife's nerves but also quite costly aswell.
So realising that my currently remapped TT was going to have a software update at some point (hello vw emissions scandal) which I can only imagine will not only wipe the remap but reduce performance and eventually cost more to tax I decided to look for a new car. The thing is I now have to show myself that I have learned from my previous cars and what I need, don't need, like and don't like. This means the next car has to be child seat friendly, petrol, quick, look sporty, be generously specced as standard, reasonably priced, cheap to maintain, sound good and most important of all be fun to drive as this is what will keep me interested in it. This led me to the Fiesta ST and the Abarth 595. I was actually swaying towards the ST on cost and power but got the chance to test drive the Abarth first. All I can say is as soon as the salesman started the car up I was amazed at how good it sounded, my 370 was so quiet in comparison and that was a 3.7l v6! Then after having a go in it i knew I wouldn't need to try the ST out and I came back with an order a few days later. The thing is since then it has been playing on my mind if I have made the right decision and there are lots of positive reviews but after reading the review of someone who's actually bought the same exact model as mine I am very confident that I have so you get a big thumbs up from me!
Now all I have to do is wait! frown

Yours look good btw!

1598Craig

Original Poster:

121 posts

123 months

Wednesday 27th January 2016
quotequote all
Kohmikey said:
Hi I ordered the 595 competizione 180 in officiana red a couple of weeks ago and was constantly searching reviews and YouTube videos on what others think of it. Anyway I have only just came across this thread and it is the first long term owners review that I have come across and is perfect for what I was looking for, here is why......

My car history is longer than it should be considering I have been driving 13 years I have owned 9 cars e.g. seat ibiza cupras (mk4 & mk5), Leon cupra r (mk2), Nissan S14 Silvia, Juke nismo, 370z - my favourite so far but not child friendly frown, to my current Audi TT mk2 tdi. Let's just say unless I was forced to change like with the 370z, I get bored quickly and it is starting to not only get on my wife's nerves but also quite costly aswell.
So realising that my currently remapped TT was going to have a software update at some point (hello vw emissions scandal) which I can only imagine will not only wipe the remap but reduce performance and eventually cost more to tax I decided to look for a new car. The thing is I now have to show myself that I have learned from my previous cars and what I need, don't need, like and don't like. This means the next car has to be child seat friendly, petrol, quick, look sporty, be generously specced as standard, reasonably priced, cheap to maintain, sound good and most important of all be fun to drive as this is what will keep me interested in it. This led me to the Fiesta ST and the Abarth 595. I was actually swaying towards the ST on cost and power but got the chance to test drive the Abarth first. All I can say is as soon as the salesman started the car up I was amazed at how good it sounded, my 370 was so quiet in comparison and that was a 3.7l v6! Then after having a go in it i knew I wouldn't need to try the ST out and I came back with an order a few days later. The thing is since then it has been playing on my mind if I have made the right decision and there are lots of positive reviews but after reading the review of someone who's actually bought the same exact model as mine I am very confident that I have so you get a big thumbs up from me!
Now all I have to do is wait! frown

Yours look good btw!
Thanks for replying to this mate glad to hear I've helped someone in some small way - reading your story was exactly how it happened to me - when the dealer started it up, I was sold. Definitely think you've done the right thing by choosing an Abarth, there won't be a journey you take in that car when your not reminded that it's a fun and raw hot hatch. Yes, as ST would get universal respect of most people you meet but the odd few that know what an Abarth is like will more than make up for it.

Quite happy to say even with its flaws, it's massively loveable car. Great colour choice in yours too, you'll have to share some photos when you get it biggrin

problemchild1976

1,376 posts

149 months

Wednesday 27th January 2016
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i love the look of these cars and the power they can get out of the little 1.4

its a lot of money for a warm hatch though

but then my BRABUS forfour was expensive when new too (£17k dropping to £11k after a year)

the 500s do seem to be popular and are holding their value

glad you are enjoying it - what does a remap take the power up to?

JJ

1598Craig

Original Poster:

121 posts

123 months

Wednesday 27th January 2016
quotequote all
problemchild1976 said:
i love the look of these cars and the power they can get out of the little 1.4

its a lot of money for a warm hatch though

but then my BRABUS forfour was expensive when new too (£17k dropping to £11k after a year)

the 500s do seem to be popular and are holding their value

glad you are enjoying it - what does a remap take the power up to?

JJ
It is as expensive as the likes of the peugeot sport 208 GTi and Fiesta St3 amongst others, but in terms of power and pace it's right up there with them, I don't feel short changed having come from a 208 GTi.

Saw some limited edition Abarth 500's that were sold at 38000 pound going for 28000 on autographed, with 5 years of use, even a normal fiat 500 hold there value well so it bodes well for the Abarth range.


Saw on YouTube a guy has got his up to 240 bhp but to be honest I think 180 is too much for the car around 80% of the time, so I think any more power is a waste. A good set of tyres and a lot of fuel is where I'd always spend my money.

Kohmikey

2 posts

99 months

Thursday 28th January 2016
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Thanks for the reply I will get some pics up when I finally get it.

I was thinking about remapping it later down the line but would think twice if 180 is more than enough power as you say. I might replace the dash with a carbon fibre effect one to break it up a bit.

I didn't choose any options (to keep costs down) which means I have the standard speakers, would you say that they need a subwoofer that you could put under the (very high) drivers seat or is it just the music streaming that you have issue with?

1598Craig

Original Poster:

121 posts

123 months

Saturday 13th February 2016
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Been a while since I've updated this so heres a quick sit-rep;

- crossed 5,000 miles
- first time driving in London with the car (as well as my first time there)
- showed some utter knob that a 1.4 Fiat sounds much nicer that his orange 350Z (that felt very nice biggrin )

5000 miles in, the car is really fitting into my life very well. other than a slightly smaller boot and lack of a 5th seat, can help feeling the Abarth is as practical as my old 208, most of the time, you'd never notice how much physically smaller the car is. I recently saw a new 208 GTi by Peugeot Sport, and after my initial longing for its fantastic chassis (which sadly my 595 can't really match), couldn't help notice how large it seemed. Good things do come in small packages!

Also this year, I've had my first time driving in London. I've driven in Birmingham and Cardiff extensively, but i was slightly apprehensive about London as its so much bigger, with congestion charges, no sat nav and no local knowledge. It was here I released that I live in a very Abarth friendly world - wales, with big empty roads and winding lanes suit the car well. put it in an environment of speed bumps, width restrictions, traffic, and theres no way round this, its hopeless. Heavy steering with an over active accelerator, rubbishy loud exhaust and a crash ride, i totally understand how many reviews say that the full spec 595 would drive you mad on an everyday basis.

in simple terms, this tuned city car doesn't work in a city.

to end on a high, whilst in st davids multi story car park i had the perfect opportunity to show the car off. a bloke in a tuned (i.e ruined) fiesta ST thought the fifth floor of a car park was the perfect to rev the hell out of his car. as great as the ST is, the sound is somewhat lacking compared my 595. imagine sucking air through your teeth and thats about all you hear. all i had to do was start the Abarth, creep out the car park at a safe speed and judging by the spitting, popping and howling exhaust, its safe to say, my car won biggrin

As if by magic, while waiting outside in traffic, a foul orange 350Z pulled up along side. from one of my first posts, i posted a video of a shouting match between an 595 the 350Z. much like that video, the 595 sounded far better in real life. And its not like you have to drive in an anti social manner or rev the hell out of the car, the car is always on full volume.

The weather is getting warmer, and the car seems to be benefitting from it, as I've only had the car during (a mild admittedly) winter. can't wait till spring/summer to carry on this improvement. think a track day is looming biggrin

  • Bad news, car has a nail in its tyre. damn.

Phunk

1,976 posts

171 months

Saturday 13th February 2016
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Regarding the heavy steering in town. Turn Sport mode off, it makes the steering lighter smile

1598Craig

Original Poster:

121 posts

123 months

Saturday 13th February 2016
quotequote all
Phunk said:
Regarding the heavy steering in town. Turn Sport mode off, it makes the steering lighter smile
Yeah, but then the accelerator becomes dead, and the turbo boost gauge doesn't say "sport". Can't have that biggrin

1598Craig

Original Poster:

121 posts

123 months

Saturday 13th February 2016
quotequote all
Thanks to the good blokes down at king David's tyres in bridgend, my car no longer has a nail sticking in one of its Michelin's. 15 quid and very quick, can't recommend them enough.
Plus I got a good look under the wheel arch of the Abarth, ill post some photos when I'm back home. Brembos and FSD dampers look big on such a little car needless to say biggrin

1598Craig

Original Poster:

121 posts

123 months

Thursday 18th February 2016
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Here are my pictures as i said in the last post;

(apologies they're poor quality, i had to lower the quality and crop them to get them on here)



the front offside was where the pesky nail decided to embed itself, luckily the damage was caught by a keen eyed mate of mine and i managed to get it fixed pronto. if i hadn't, dread to think what could have happened. (although to be fair, during its weekly clean, the Abarth gets a damn good check over)





the wheel was off within minutes of being there, great service especially as i arrived 2 mins after they had closed on a saturday - once again can't recommend king david tyres in bridged enough



and there is the suspension and brake set up at the front. the brake discs are 305x28mm perforated discs with Brembo four piston callipers (quoted straight out the brochure i still have) the suspension is the Copaf front suspension with FSD (frequency selective damping)

Size of brakes and branding is one thing, whether or not they're effective is another. the suspension, for all the stiffness and bounce it produces, does a very good job keeping the car flat and allows seriously quick progress and sweeping roads. not as adjustable as my old 208, but very effective (and a little bouncing on a rough road feels much faster biggrin)

one thing i don't remember mentioning are the brakes, which are superb. no qualifying or explaining needed, they feel strong, constant, well servo-ed and don't trigger the abs like the early Abarths were sometimes noted for. part of their success is that they don't have a lot of car to stop, but also there quite big for such a small car (|the photo unfortunately doesn't show this great, but they're thick chubby units, much like the suspension.



there is the spring itself, in real life, its a deep red colour, and looks great and substantial. i had a tyre change on my 208, and although not strictly a good assessment, the small springs it had under its body left me a little disappointed. not so here.



The whole repair only took 15 mins, and after the tyre pressure monitor had lost cool and needed a reset (all tyres switched from "OK" to "KO" - is that me or is that a nice touch?) I'm back on the road.

5100 miles in, still love the car, don't regret buying it, and looking at a Biposto more and more...

1598Craig

Original Poster:

121 posts

123 months

Friday 26th February 2016
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MY TRIP WITH A VOLVO XC70

Although this is a thread about the Abarth 595 i own, i thought it would be interesting to mention a car I've had the chance to drive for the last couple of days. in no feasible way are the Volvo and my little fiat related, but there is method to my madness. The volvo i drove is an estate car with a slightly off-road feel and look bestowed upon it, in many ways then, an early "crossover" type vehicle (in spirit at least)

for the most part, it looks like a traditional volvo estate with chunky bumpers. I've drove a volvo v70 estate and it was a great car, did around 400 miles in a day and felt fresh at the end like i have only drove 40. the xc70, is actually quite tall,(about 10cm up on the estate)and its a long car (4.7 meters to my fiats 3.5). i should also mention i took this car from where i live in rural wales into London and back.

On the drive down, i started used the cars impressive tech to do most of the driving. blind spot monitoring, radar cruise control, 6 speed auto gearbox, auto air con, in fact, to much to mention. But put simply, the whole 130 miles on the m4 was pretty much done by the car. cruising at 70mph, it would slow down when approaching a veichle, waiting until it moved or i changed lane. the car told me when it was clear to change lane, as as soon as i had, we accelerate back up to speed. obviously, you need to have good lane discipline, to prevent you from undertaking or pulling out on someone going much faster, but other than minimal steering inputs to maintain the car's position in a lane (theres lane depatrue warning too) the car semi-drove itself.

and as a committed petrolhead who often goes out simply to drive, i loved it. There are no interesting motorway journeys, so why not let the car take the strain? if like on the new tesla it has a lane keeping function, i wouldn't have needed to do anything till we arrived in London. My Abarth is very much an analog car in this respect, no cruise control or any other assists (other than a traction control which can't compete with 180 bhp so tends to occasionally flash on the dash but do little more).

if I'm honest, after a pleasant (but very slow) drive in London, i started to question why i didn't drive a big comfy estate car with all the latest mod cons (even though my car was from 2011). the drive back gave me the same thoughts, and right up until i left the m4, i was slightly wishing i had been a touch more sensible in my car choice.

Then This happened. first off, i tried to overtake a honda doing 30moph on a 60mph large country road. the auto box and torquey diesel engine were great at motor way speeds, but here, there was much noise, but little forward motion. i did pass, but given the choice, i wouldn't do that again, as it simply didn't pass quick and safely enough for my liking. then, a "blast" down a country road turned my like for this car upside down. i may be stating the obvious, but a fwd estate car made into a "soft roader" is the most joyless car to try and drive with any verve. poor body control, leaning, wobbling, it did them all. the brakes were good, but they would be, as your not going at a particularly quick speed.

i like the volvo, and in fact, most cars of this style. if you had a family, and drove on the motorways consistently, it would be a great car and fit into your life. My Abarth may occasionally wear my out, give me cramp and be a noisy little so and so, but its also huge fun. I'm glad i live with a car like that and not the other way round.


5potTurbo

12,529 posts

168 months

Friday 26th February 2016
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Dunno about the Ovlov, but I saw on Facebook that a local-ish tuner, Shiftech, Luxembourg, recently RR tuned a 595 Comp from 180hp/300Nm to 230hp/372Nm. That would be an interesting drive!

eric twinge

1,619 posts

222 months

Friday 26th February 2016
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great car, looks a right hooligan!

1598Craig

Original Poster:

121 posts

123 months

Friday 26th February 2016
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eric twinge said:
great car, looks a right hooligan!
It is. This is not a car you drive without concentration, you need to be on your game or it will bite

Fatsterjack

181 posts

177 months

Sunday 28th February 2016
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As I've previously mentioned, really useful thread this. Only contributed to what was starting to become inevitable and I bought a 595 Comp. on Thursday. Pick it up in a couple of weeks. Record Grey with Natural Leather Sabelts, black wheels and yellow callipers.

Thanks again for a really useful write up.

1598Craig

Original Poster:

121 posts

123 months

Sunday 28th February 2016
quotequote all
Fatsterjack said:
As I've previously mentioned, really useful thread this. Only contributed to what was starting to become inevitable and I bought a 595 Comp. on Thursday. Pick it up in a couple of weeks. Record Grey with Natural Leather Sabelts, black wheels and yellow callipers.

Thanks again for a really useful write up.
Thanks for replying mate! I've looked around on the web but there isn't much about the 180 version so hopefully this thread will work as some form of information source biggrin

Your spec sounds great. I bought mine as a cancelled order off the lot and do play about on the configuration quite a bit, reckon I'd go for Rally Beige paint, convertible, black roof, Brown interior. Would look like an allegro 595 rather than Abarth, but I quite like that

When you get it defo send some pictures!

roystinho

3,767 posts

175 months

Sunday 6th March 2016
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Fantastic write up. Was also scouring the net for info on this little beauty, but nothing worthwhile from the major magazines.

Currently have a Clio Trophy, which I love to death, but had it 18 months now, it's the 2nd one I've owned, and I fancy a change.

Gonna go for a test drive on the back of this, cheers.

turnipfarmer

177 posts

107 months

Sunday 6th March 2016
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Gonna subscribe to this, especially as your a fellow Abarth owner :-) not had chance to read it all yet but will do.

Gonna do a readers thread of mine too at somepoint so keep an eye out.

1598Craig

Original Poster:

121 posts

123 months

Sunday 6th March 2016
quotequote all
roystinho said:
Fantastic write up. Was also scouring the net for info on this little beauty, but nothing worthwhile from the major magazines.

Currently have a Clio Trophy, which I love to death, but had it 18 months now, it's the 2nd one I've owned, and I fancy a change.

Gonna go for a test drive on the back of this, cheers.
Glad to hear your enjoying it, haven't done much in it so far but like to think I'm getting used to the car and learning its character well. Have a long trip through Europe later this year and my car will be going, so should be a great chance to enjoy it

I've driven a couple of hot clios, a clio 200 T in 2014 and a trophy last year. I'd fallen in love with a 208 GTi and had my heart set on it, the clio (on an admittedly city bound test drive) really didn't gel with me. Didn't like the auto box (and I don't believe you need a manual to have fun) or the size of the car, it felt massive. I've no doubt however it would be a great day to day car, and rapid too.

I'd love to hear you thoughts after a test drive of an Abarth. My brother was in mine last night and said that the car was very surprising, it didn't perform how it should based on its looks (a rapid, excitable car but still essentially a small fiat), it's a very unusual car he said and reckoned it was a much more interesting one than my 208.

Hope it goes well, just dont be a sheep and by a Fiesta ST wink

1598Craig

Original Poster:

121 posts

123 months

Sunday 6th March 2016
quotequote all
turnipfarmer said:
Gonna subscribe to this, especially as your a fellow Abarth owner :-) not had chance to read it all yet but will do.

Gonna do a readers thread of mine too at somepoint so keep an eye out.
Will do mate what one do you have?