Abarth 595 Competizione - the bumblebee
Discussion
I'm now doing the 'Comp as a daily' thing myself, having bought this 2016 Competizione the other day. The round trip to get it was substantial but I was confident it would be a good one before I made the arrangements to go and get it.
I had an R53 Cooper S until the end of last year, which I loved for it's playful character and great induction noise (the supercharger makes a great sound). That was replaced with a stopgap Jaguar S-Type 2.7 V6 TDi. That was also a lovely car but at 20 years old, it was never going to be more than a cheap stopgap whilst I decided what I really wanted for my next proper car. I'll have plenty of fond memories of that car too, and it'll probably be the last diesel I own and definitely the only twin-turbo V6 Jag I'll ever have (an XJ220 is unlikely for me).
I had fancied a 595 for a while so started to investigate those alongside the UP! GTi and the Suzuki Swift Sport 1.4T. Whilst I think all three of those look great, it was the Abarth that I found the most compelling. I'd never driven one but I've been out in a couple with friends and thought they gave a good impression.
After looking at a couple of cars locally that weren't much good, despite being relatively strong money, and making enquiries about a 145bhp model that had sold, I decided to look a bit further afield since the MOT on the Jaguar was winding down. I found a 2016 Comp in yellow for sale at a Fiat and Abarth dealer down south and that was it, enquiries were made and I ended up driving down with a friend on Friday to collect it.
I know there is much discussion about the merits of the various models and I would have been happy with any of them. People with the 145bhp models with the IHI turbo say that it spins up faster than the Garrett in the more powerful Turismo, Trofeo and Competizione models. Well, petrolheads have been making arguments like that for years, remember the arguments about the 8v Golf GTi being 'torquier' than the 16v model, or the 1.6 205 GTi revving more 'sweetly' than the 1.9?
I really liked the little touches in the Comp models like the Sabelt seats, the alloy shifter etc, but after looking at how much it would cost to buy a set of Sabelts for a lower spec model I decided to focus my search on the Comp, hence why I was prepared to make the long trip for this one.
It is an objectively and obviously flawed car in many ways but the character it has and the fun it provides simply override whatever criticism you may level at it. The driving position in particular is baffling with the odd relationship between the pedals, the wheel and the seat, enough to make you wonder who first settled on those particular ergonomics. In spite of that, it's quite comfortable to sit in and the seats are absolutely amazing.
The engine and Record Monza exhaust are a fantastic duo, providing gurgling intake noises alongside whistling and wooshing turbo sounds and the crackle of the exhaust (sport button is always depressed). It's surprisingly quick too, certainly not lacking pace when you floor it. For all the complaints I'd read about the ride, I don't find it unbearable. It's taut but without being crashy. This one does have the Koni FSD units front and rear which may well be a deciding factor in the quality. My mates old Trofeo on coilovers was absolutely brutal! Despite being only a five speed, motorway cruising isn't a chore though in truth, now that I'm back home it'll rarely ever see a motorway unless I'm on holiday.
More photos to follow soon once I get them sorted out. In the meantime, here's to cheap thrills!
I had an R53 Cooper S until the end of last year, which I loved for it's playful character and great induction noise (the supercharger makes a great sound). That was replaced with a stopgap Jaguar S-Type 2.7 V6 TDi. That was also a lovely car but at 20 years old, it was never going to be more than a cheap stopgap whilst I decided what I really wanted for my next proper car. I'll have plenty of fond memories of that car too, and it'll probably be the last diesel I own and definitely the only twin-turbo V6 Jag I'll ever have (an XJ220 is unlikely for me).
I had fancied a 595 for a while so started to investigate those alongside the UP! GTi and the Suzuki Swift Sport 1.4T. Whilst I think all three of those look great, it was the Abarth that I found the most compelling. I'd never driven one but I've been out in a couple with friends and thought they gave a good impression.
After looking at a couple of cars locally that weren't much good, despite being relatively strong money, and making enquiries about a 145bhp model that had sold, I decided to look a bit further afield since the MOT on the Jaguar was winding down. I found a 2016 Comp in yellow for sale at a Fiat and Abarth dealer down south and that was it, enquiries were made and I ended up driving down with a friend on Friday to collect it.
I know there is much discussion about the merits of the various models and I would have been happy with any of them. People with the 145bhp models with the IHI turbo say that it spins up faster than the Garrett in the more powerful Turismo, Trofeo and Competizione models. Well, petrolheads have been making arguments like that for years, remember the arguments about the 8v Golf GTi being 'torquier' than the 16v model, or the 1.6 205 GTi revving more 'sweetly' than the 1.9?
I really liked the little touches in the Comp models like the Sabelt seats, the alloy shifter etc, but after looking at how much it would cost to buy a set of Sabelts for a lower spec model I decided to focus my search on the Comp, hence why I was prepared to make the long trip for this one.
It is an objectively and obviously flawed car in many ways but the character it has and the fun it provides simply override whatever criticism you may level at it. The driving position in particular is baffling with the odd relationship between the pedals, the wheel and the seat, enough to make you wonder who first settled on those particular ergonomics. In spite of that, it's quite comfortable to sit in and the seats are absolutely amazing.
The engine and Record Monza exhaust are a fantastic duo, providing gurgling intake noises alongside whistling and wooshing turbo sounds and the crackle of the exhaust (sport button is always depressed). It's surprisingly quick too, certainly not lacking pace when you floor it. For all the complaints I'd read about the ride, I don't find it unbearable. It's taut but without being crashy. This one does have the Koni FSD units front and rear which may well be a deciding factor in the quality. My mates old Trofeo on coilovers was absolutely brutal! Despite being only a five speed, motorway cruising isn't a chore though in truth, now that I'm back home it'll rarely ever see a motorway unless I'm on holiday.
More photos to follow soon once I get them sorted out. In the meantime, here's to cheap thrills!
. I was watching your other thread so pleased you’ve continued. I’m interested in a 595 too so following. More pics please inside and out. 
Mr Peel said:
Love it. I Mine's red, but I would have happily gone for yellow.
I was briefly stumped by the second washer bottle, which is for the headlights (xenons)? It's not in the handbook!
Good to know! I hadn't needed to touch this yet but I remember running into this problem with my old R53 Cooper S - filling up what I thought was the only reservoir and yet finding there was still no screen wash coming through the jets. It was only after a couple of pulls and the headlight washers activating that I realised they might have been on a separate system. Checked again and on the other side of the engine bay, there it was, the windscreen washer filler! I was briefly stumped by the second washer bottle, which is for the headlights (xenons)? It's not in the handbook!
I consider this old MINI to be the closest benchmark I have for the fun that the 595 can provide. Whilst I've spent a lot of time driving an i30N and an automatic Focus ST estate recently, they're both bigger and way more serious cars than either the MINI or the Abarth and I wouldn't buy either of them.
The MINI had it comprehensively beat for driving position and interior design and build. The aesthetic touches like the heavily raked windscreen, the ceiling mounted clock, the supercharger intake, the orange glow of the dials at night - I loved that. It was a car where you felt like your arse was always skimming the tarmac because you were sat so low and it looked mint with the big wheels sat in the arches.
The Abarth definitely feels like a cheaper car to produce per unit and yet there is some intangible quality in it that I find so compelling. The Sabelt seats are absolutely supreme, maybe the best I can recall in a hot hatch. I know that seats are deeply personal things but these fit me like a glove. The boot is usefully bigger on the Abarth and the more upright driving position seems to give a bit more room to the back seats (that I'll never use).
The Abarth definitely wins for speed and drama though. The MINI wasn't a slow car but it wouldn't see which way the Abarth went down a back road. The noise is also much better in the Abarth, with that gurgling intake and exhaust noise being quite addictive. I only ever listen to Radio 4 in the car, which is adequately reproduced in the Abarth. I'm surprised at just how good the sound quality is in there, whereas the MINI always sounded tinny even with an upgraded head unit.
I haven't had a chance to test it at night yet, which will be interesting. The MINI had amazing headlights for it's class. It'll be nice just to see again as the halogen bulbs in the S-Type that preceded the Abarth were absolutely woeful.
bern said:
I loved ours. Such a characterful car.
Wife hated it, we had it 4 weeks!
My wife is a good judge of what a non-car person would think of something. I always let her have a drive of my cars and see what she thinks of them. The shortcomings and compromises are more apparent to her where as I'll put up with things for the sake of something I enjoy. Wife hated it, we had it 4 weeks!
Don Roque said:
bern said:
I loved ours. Such a characterful car.
Wife hated it, we had it 4 weeks!
My wife is a good judge of what a non-car person would think of something. I always let her have a drive of my cars and see what she thinks of them. The shortcomings and compromises are more apparent to her where as I'll put up with things for the sake of something I enjoy. Wife hated it, we had it 4 weeks!
I'll definitely have one again at some point as a second car for me! And I'd love a yellow one!
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