2022 Abarth 595 Competizione review

Those of you looking at the hot hatch segment might not have even considered the 2022 Abarth 595 Competizione. Its historic origins as an Italian take on the original Volkswagen Beetle – that is, a utilitarian car for the people – in the form of the Fiat 500 hides its ability to put a smile on your face at any speed.

The arrival of the Hyundai i20 N has added some meat to the segment, with Abarth previously only really having the Volkswagen Polo GTI to go into battle against. I've also listed the most affordable Mini Cooper S – the Cooper S Classic – as a competitor for some added flavour.

Given the Mini is more expensive, you could equally add the Kia Picanto GT in as a sub-$20,000 alternative. It's why this segment is a fascinating one to dissect and work through.

Interestingly, I don't think practicality comes into the debate. If it did, you'd hardly be shopping for any of these vehicles. A base five-door Polo will do the job nicely if practicality is the key consideration. Rather, I reckon you buy this kind of car on emotion and interest, and on those counts the Abarth continues to hit the ball out of the park.

The starting price is $32,950 before on-road costs, but as you can see below, our tester is enhanced with a few options. Options pricing and inclusion is always a fascinating debate to have, no matter the vehicle or segment.

For mine, I'd forgo the special matte paint, and even the Competizione body kit. Our car also came loaded with the Premium pack, which adds xenon headlights, a sunroof, and an antenna with aluminium roof cap.

Given the sunroof steals some valuable headroom, and you don't need fancy headlights in town, I'd be more than happy not ticking that box. And matte paint is just harder to clean. Regular white for me, thank you.

Further, I could also live without the Sport pack – Sabelt GT Black leather seats, 17-inch matte black wheels and Alcantara dash trim, and the yellow Brembo brake calipers. Like the sunroof, the seats, which don't lower into the cabin (but do look and feel fantastic), steal taller drivers of some head space. Optioned thus, our test Abarth starts from $42,350 before on-road costs.

All that brings me back to the base Abarth 595 Competizione. I'd be grinning from ear to ear driving a mid 30-grand hot hatch that makes the noise the Abarth does and is as much fun to drive, while also doing duty as a sensational city car given its tiny dimensions. I completely understand that Abarth buyers love to add to and modify their cars, so if you choose to spend more money, go for it. For mine, though, the base car is the bona-fide bargain.

For comparison, then, the VW Polo GTI starts from $32,890 before on-road costs, the Hyundai i20 N starts from $32,490 before on-road costs, and the Mini Cooper JCW Sport starts from $53,200 before on-road costs. The Mini is, of course, a larger car with a 2.0-litre engine, so the comparison is a little unfair based on those numbers. Still, it's a modern take on a retro classic.

The Abarth has a way of making an impact on nearly everyone who drives one – even if they need more space, a bigger boot, or think the tech is behind the times. Let's find out if the 2022 iteration is as much fun.

I've always thought the Fiat 500, on which the Abarth is based, is a modern marvel in clever packaging. That is to say given the exterior size (it's tiny), the cabin is actually practical for day-to-day work. It really is TARDIS-like in other words.

On test, I had a six-footer in the passenger seat, with another six-footer behind them in the second row, and there was easily enough room to travel in comfort. There are larger vehicles with far less practical cabin space than the Abarth 595. As noted above, I'd prefer the standard seats, which are able to be lowered, simply because I'd like to sit lower into the cabin.

On that note, while the optional seats themselves are excellent, I felt like I sat too high in them in terms of the driving position and view out the front screen. The sunroof likewise eats into headspace. Easy for me to nix that one, because I don't like sunroofs in any car, but I'd recommend tall buyers give it some thought.

The driving position is upright and evokes memories of what an old Fiat 500 was like in a way. Some of you won't like it, but I think it fits with the ethos of the car, which is practical and space-efficient. Again, the standard seats would enhance this.

Visibility is excellent, even rearward, which counters the lack of a rear-view camera. If you can't reverse-park the Abarth 595, you probably shouldn't have a licence, put it that way.

There are two smallish cupholders below the shifter, and they will accept smaller bottles as well as cups, plus a small portal that holds large smartphones safely once they are plugged in. Once you're seated, the cabin is actually quite comfortable, as well as being ergonomic.

Flip and slide the front seats forward and it's pretty easy to clamber into the second row as well. Once you're in there, the seat is contoured enough that you don't feel like you're sitting on a wooden bench, and there's a surprising amount of headroom back there too.

The boot space is likewise useful given how small the car is. There's 185L with the seats up, extending out to 550L with them down, and don't forget to remove the world's smallest parcel shelf.

Most people shopping in this segment are buying a second car, and in that sense, the Abarth is perfect. However, if two of you are heading away for the weekend, there's enough room for decent-size cases or soft bags. Do Abarth owners play golf? If you do, there's probably room for a decent set of clubs so long as the bag isn't massive.

The 7.0-inch touchscreen is tiny by modern standards, and the smartphone mirroring is effectively the same size as my actual iPhone Pro Max turned sideways. Therefore, don't take a seat expecting to find a tablet mounted in the middle of the dash.

Size aside, though, the screen worked well for us on test, was quick to connect to the smartphone and didn't wig out or freeze. It was responsive to inputs and clear in bright light too.

You get a driver-focused, and some might say sport-focused, 7.0-inch TFT instrument binnacle, which displays what you need, but does feel old-school now. It doesn't bother me, but if you're comparing it back-to-back with a newer system, you'll notice it. Like the infotainment system, though, it works reliably and doesn't do anything silly. I found the gauges easy to read and you can set the steering wheel up neatly in relation to the gauges, even if you're a taller driver.

Proprietary satellite navigation is standard, along with AM, FM and DAB+radio, Bluetooth connectivity and audio streaming, integrated voice control, and auxiliary and USB inputs. On test, the smartphone connection (wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are included) and Bluetooth both worked without fault.

The Abarth 595 has seven airbags, LED daytime running lights, two ISOFIX child seat mount points, rear parking sensors, and a tyre pressure monitoring system. There's also ABS and stability control.

The Abarth 595 range is currently untested by ANCAP, but the Fiat 500 on which the 595 is based was last tested in 2008 with a five-star result. Given that the test regime, and the requirement for driver assist tech, have advanced so far since then, there are no real parallels with current scores. The European test body equivalent, Euro NCAP, last tested the 500 in 2017 awarding it three stars.

Abarth gets a three-year/100,000km warranty, with services required every 12 months or 15,000km. There's a capped-price servicing plan that runs right out to 10 years or 150,000km, so you know what you're in for right from the get-go.

Three years costs $1271, while five years costs $2267, and the full 10 years costs $5626. Over 10 years, then, that's an average of just over $562 per year.

The claimed fuel consumption is a frugal 6.0L/100km, and on test, with most of our driving assessment around town, the 595 used 8.3L/100km. We only went on a short freeway run, so that's a realistic figure you can expect to see if you buy one.

Given we had the Abarth in Sport mode the entire time, and it's impossible not to drive it like a bit of a lout, that fuel return is not too bad at all. The fuel tank is comparatively small, but you'll get a relatively easy 400km between fills.

You could sum up the driving experience in three words – raucous, engaging and hilarious – and call this part of the review done. Want a bit more detail? Okay, then. Luckily, there's a lot more to driving the Abarth 595 than the sounds it makes and the way it makes the driver feel.

While 132kW and 250Nm might not sound like a lot when you look at it on paper, factor in the 1045kg weight of the Abarth and you're got a power-to-weight quotient of 126.3kW per tonne. In other words, a figure that would give some serious performance cars a thumping kick in the rump.

As such, the Abarth feels punchy. All the time. It's fast off the mark, and keeps barking all the way to redline, before you look for another gear and repeat the process. You don't have to be doing warp speed to be 'avvin' a larf' as they say, with fun accessible well under posted speed limits.

That could in fact be the Abarth's most measurable party trick. The engine really does feel strong, and it's an entertaining soundtrack as well, the exhaust barking and crackling off buildings and concrete dividers. The Abarth is the kind of car that makes every drive a riot. Oh, and leave it in Sport mode. All the time.

As you'd no doubt expect, we love the manual gearbox. In fact, there is no compelling reason to buy an automatic Abarth. If you don't know how to drive a manual, and you want an Abarth, learn how to drive a manual. Five ratios is enough, despite the proliferation of six-speed manuals, and it's slick too. You can slice through the gears at redline if you want to, but you can also roll around town effortlessly and more importantly smoothly.

It really is a fantastic manual transmission. Some of us noted the lightness of the throttle pedal, which means you can't rest your foot on it at constant speed. Difficult to explain in words, you have to hold the weight of your foot more than you do in some cars. I think it might only be an issue on long drives at constant speed. Around town, I didn't have an issue with it.

The engine fizzes from just off idle, and it's responsive and direct. Despite being turbocharged, it has the kind of throttle response and linearity that you usually find in a naturally aspirated engine. Not exactly, but close. And it's always fun.

If you nail the throttle with no fear of consequence, you will spin the front rubber, but that's usually deliberate unless you're on a really slick surface. Like most powerful front-wheel-drive cars, you should be respectful in the wet, rather than vicious with the right pedal.

The 17-inch wheels look right for the size of the Abarth, but you'd be forgiven for assuming the 205/40R17 rubber might be unforgiving on pockmarked Aussie roads. We've got some shockers in Sydney, and still I'd rate the Abarth as firm rather than harsh.

You do notice that it has a short wheelbase on choppy surfaces, and you do feel that its tune is obviously more sporty than lush, but it's not a bone-rattler either. Even three-up, it's not prone to bottoming out or crashing over bumps.

If you like your ride squishy, it's not the hatch for you, but I think it's exactly what the brief requires. Mid-corner ruts at speed will make it skip around, and if you're hustling on a choppy B-road, you need to have your wits about you.

The steering has a real meaty feel to it, especially at low speed. It doesn't detract from the go-kart-like nature of the Abarth, though, which has that effortless ability to zip around town, fire into a gap or get up to speed that we love in a city car. If you're getting out of a regular small car, that is overly assisted, you'll notice the extra heft the Abarth has.

If you like any drive – every drive, regardless of the road – to bring with it a sense of theatre and fun, the Abarth is the perfect hatch. There's a character to the way it goes about its work that ensures those of you attracted to hot hatches will love it.

Hot hatches are often tough to rate because they score high on the emotional factor and not so high on the practicality scale, and emotion is a difficult thing to measure. The Abarth 595 is one of the most fun cars you can drive, though.

The Abarth 595 is far from the perfect car – hot hatch or otherwise – but it doesn't either set out or promise to be. Rather, it promises to deliver a raucous, fun, connected and hilarious driving experience.

On all those counts it's a 10 out of 10. If you're the buyer who wants a hot hatch, but you have a conservative edge, the Abarth 595 isn't the one you should be looking at. However, if you like a palpable delivery of retro style, a real sense of theatre from the engine, and the fun that comes with flying round in a powerful go-kart, the Abarth 595 is as good as it gets.

In many ways, it's often easier to fall in love with an imperfect car than it is one that seeks perfection.