2015 Abarth 595 180 Competizione
Discussion
Hi all. Purchased my first A500 in 2010 and enjoyed 2 great years with it. During my ownership I decided to go back to University as a mature student, and funds became a bit tight. As a result, I had to sell the little Fiat. Sad times. I always promised myself I would buy another, and kept my eye on the model range.
Well, it just so happens as Fiat have introduced the facelift 500, Abarth released the 180hp 595, as what can only be viewed as the 'last of the line' until the Abarth gets the facelift from the 500. Essentially the same car as the previous 695's like the Ferrari edition, the new 180 comes with the 695's brakes, larger Garret turbo, Koni FSD suspension, Sabelt seats, and all sorts of other bits.
So I decided to treat myself!! Already after a thousand miles of ownership I decided to cage the car. Why? Well, why not! The rear seats are all but useless and I wanted the car to be unique. It is also sitting on H&R springs, and i removed the side stripes. I absolutely love the car, it makes me smile every time I drive it. It makes a fantastic noise, is cheap to run, rare, Italian and red. Its the closest I will get to owning an Italian supercar for a while yet.
My only other plans at the moment are to increase the tyres from 205/40/17 to 215/40/17 once they need replacing. I did this on my previous A500 and it made a surprising aesthetic difference, with just a hint of aggression without ruining the speedo or handling of the car. I was thinking of getting it remapped, but in all honesty it goes very well at the moment and I don't think its worth it.
The eagle eyed amongst you will notice it has three badges on the sides. This is not standard, as they only normally come with 2. Unfortunately the car was damaged sightly after 4 weeks of ownership when some swine decided to throw a glass bottle at it. The paint is a pearlescent, and I did not want to repaint it unless I absolutely had to. In trying to find a solution I decided to cover it with a 3rd badge (99% hidden now!). Might seem like a bit of a cop out on such an expensive little car, but until and if, I ever decide to get it painted, the badge will do.
Well, it just so happens as Fiat have introduced the facelift 500, Abarth released the 180hp 595, as what can only be viewed as the 'last of the line' until the Abarth gets the facelift from the 500. Essentially the same car as the previous 695's like the Ferrari edition, the new 180 comes with the 695's brakes, larger Garret turbo, Koni FSD suspension, Sabelt seats, and all sorts of other bits.
So I decided to treat myself!! Already after a thousand miles of ownership I decided to cage the car. Why? Well, why not! The rear seats are all but useless and I wanted the car to be unique. It is also sitting on H&R springs, and i removed the side stripes. I absolutely love the car, it makes me smile every time I drive it. It makes a fantastic noise, is cheap to run, rare, Italian and red. Its the closest I will get to owning an Italian supercar for a while yet.
My only other plans at the moment are to increase the tyres from 205/40/17 to 215/40/17 once they need replacing. I did this on my previous A500 and it made a surprising aesthetic difference, with just a hint of aggression without ruining the speedo or handling of the car. I was thinking of getting it remapped, but in all honesty it goes very well at the moment and I don't think its worth it.
The eagle eyed amongst you will notice it has three badges on the sides. This is not standard, as they only normally come with 2. Unfortunately the car was damaged sightly after 4 weeks of ownership when some swine decided to throw a glass bottle at it. The paint is a pearlescent, and I did not want to repaint it unless I absolutely had to. In trying to find a solution I decided to cover it with a 3rd badge (99% hidden now!). Might seem like a bit of a cop out on such an expensive little car, but until and if, I ever decide to get it painted, the badge will do.
Edited by rare6499 on Saturday 14th November 22:45
Edited by rare6499 on Saturday 14th November 22:46
Edited by rare6499 on Saturday 14th November 22:52
Edited by rare6499 on Thursday 19th November 12:04
The Sabelt's stand up better than the leather seats.
It depends what turbo the car is running. With the larger 1446 Garrett they will make circa 200 very easily and very reliably from a simple remap.
You can make more if you are willing to play with it, 230-50. The smaller turbo cars are limited realistically to about 180-90.
It depends what turbo the car is running. With the larger 1446 Garrett they will make circa 200 very easily and very reliably from a simple remap.
You can make more if you are willing to play with it, 230-50. The smaller turbo cars are limited realistically to about 180-90.
I do love the look of these, I was going to buy a 1.4 na 500 with the optional 17 inch wheels back in 2012, my dreams were dashed by that car unfortunately 
I found that even with being only 5ft10 it was a struggle to get my arms from hitting the door panels, and the ride on the 17's was just horrid, so much I wanted to love that little Fiat and yet it crushed my dreams of doing so with the harsh ride and snug cabin.
I hope you have lots of fun with your Abarth and hope they have overcome any of the issues I had with a standard model
I found that even with being only 5ft10 it was a struggle to get my arms from hitting the door panels, and the ride on the 17's was just horrid, so much I wanted to love that little Fiat and yet it crushed my dreams of doing so with the harsh ride and snug cabin.
I hope you have lots of fun with your Abarth and hope they have overcome any of the issues I had with a standard model
Cheers guys, it really is fun, thats why I went back for another one. I've only ever purchased 2 brand new cars, both of them Abarths! I've always had Mercs and BMW's (the odd Clio cup, and JCW Mini thrown in for good measure) but there is something about these little Fiats which I love. I am quite looking forward to my tyres wearing down so I can put some fat ones on it. All race car and such :P
tonyb1968 said:
I do love the look of these, I was going to buy a 1.4 na 500 with the optional 17 inch wheels back in 2012, my dreams were dashed by that car unfortunately
I found that even with being only 5ft10 it was a struggle to get my arms from hitting the door panels, and the ride on the 17's was just horrid, so much I wanted to love that little Fiat and yet it crushed my dreams of doing so with the harsh ride and snug cabin.
I hope you have lots of fun with your Abarth and hope they have overcome any of the issues I had with a standard model
I had a similar experience with 1.4 as well but that car was on 16" wheels, with me driving 306 GTi-6 at the time! It is a shame as until that point I quite liked the 500!I found that even with being only 5ft10 it was a struggle to get my arms from hitting the door panels, and the ride on the 17's was just horrid, so much I wanted to love that little Fiat and yet it crushed my dreams of doing so with the harsh ride and snug cabin.
I hope you have lots of fun with your Abarth and hope they have overcome any of the issues I had with a standard model
A TwinAir or one of these however may be enough to change my mind
.
d, I'm just too big to use it comfortably on a daily basis. Miss Mafffew on the other hand might be persuaded into one 
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