Fiat Abarth 595 Competizione Road Test Review

But all of that is good for a race track, the real question is how does it fare on Indian roads? Well to be honest it is a perfect fit in many ways, for instance most Indian roads are too crowded and space is not readily available. The length of the 595 stands at 3657mm making it quite compact and easy to move around in. But we found that the car does not have too great a turning radius, which stands at 5.4 meters. In terms of fuel efficiency as well this car returns a decent 14.9km to the litre making it reasonable to drive around in the city. But where the Abarth 595 Competizione really excels is performance.  If you are looking for leisurely drive then this car may leave you disappointed. The Fiat Abarth 595 Competizione has been tuned in a way to be extremely aggressive and can really throw you back in your seat. The punchy 1.4 litre turbo charged engine is ready from the word go and tear up the asphalt if you ask it to.

The engine has been mated to a 5-speed auto box. The shifts aren't exactly butter smooth but get the job done fairly well. One also has the option of throwing the car into Sport mode by the simple push of a button. In sports mode the vehicle is even more aggressive and happily revs up to the limiter. One can also shift gears using the paddle shifters provided on the Abarth 595 Competizione. One can cruise around the city in this car comfortable and the corsa fabric bucket seats from Sabelt will keep you well ensconced but the auto box we felt was a bit slow, which was a small kill joy. The 595 sits on Copaf front suspension and a Koni rear suspension. The suspension set up comes with Frequency Selective Dampers which adapt to frequency of movement and adjust the damping force levels accordingly.      

When we were driving the 595 on the race track the grip on tarmac was immense and we had good control over the car despite being a speeds in excess of 170kmph. On road the vehicle behaves in the same manner however one does need to be careful of potholes and bad roads as a lot of these can seep into the cabin and get a tad bit disconcerting for the occupants. The steering is well weighted and responsive, while braking is facilitated by self ventilated perforated oversized discs in the front and rear. The braking is quite progressive on the 595 and gives a good sense of confidence to the driver even at higher speeds. The 595 sits on 205/ 40 R17 tyre which provide some exceptional grip no matter what the road conditions.    

The 595 been built on the Fiat 500 platform and has a distinct road presence. The front sports a short snout kind of look with projector headlamps and fog lamps, the rear and sides all have the Abarth branding and the curvy lines give this car an adorable outlook no matter which angle you are gazing at it from. On the inside the seats are rather comfy and give a lot of support but I wish the people at Fiat had give the 595 more contemporary interiors. The touch and feel, quality, fit and finish all is rather appealing but the interior design and features front is a letdown. The Abarth 595 Competizione comes with manual climate control, electronically adjustable but manually folding ORVMs, 7 inch TFT colour display instrument panel, reverse parking sensors, bluetooth and USB integration and steering mounted controls. The minimalistic infotainment system does feel out of place in the 595.

The 595 brings a lot to the table, but how is it in the context of being an Indian car? Well, to be honest this car does check many boxes but on the practicality front a big question mark still remained. The car has a rather low ground clearance of just 105mm meaning that it could bottom out easily. The boot space on the 595 stands at 185 litres which is not much but can fit in your getaway luggage. All of this comes on offer at Rs. 29.85 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). Worth it? Well considering the performance on offer, the looks and just the feel good factor this car has makes it a must have but a few more features would make this car a sure shot hit.