[.anshuman]

The Abarth 595 Competizione has been launched in India at a price of Rs. 29.85 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi).

The Abarth 595 Competizione is a performance hatchback based on the Fiat 500 hatchback. It is brought to India as a completely built unit.


The Abarth 595 Competizione gets the 158 BHP version of the 1.4-litre T-Jet petrol engine. It generates peak torque of 230 Nm between 2750-3000 rpm and is mated to a 5-speed automated manual transmission (AMT). The manual transmission version will not be sold in India. The company claims a 0-100 kph acceleration time of 7.6 seconds for the 595 and a top speed of 205 kph. It features Torque Transfer Control (Electronic LSD), perforated and ventilated front disc brakes, ventilated rear disc brakes and frequency selective dampers at the front and rear - the rear ones are Koni-supplied and the front ones are from Cofap. The display and drive cars were shod with Pirelli 205/40 ZR17 tyres. The car also gets Sabelt branded Abarth Corsa racing seats.

The Abarth 595 Competizione will be sold through dealerships in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bengaluru. The Mumbai dealership is yet to be announced. It will be available in 4 colours - Iridato White, Scorpione Black, Cordolo Red and Campovolo Grey.

The launch of the 595 Competizione signals the arrival of the Abarth brand in India. The Abarth range will be expanded later with the addition of the highly localized Abarth Punto and Abarth Avventura.



Front bumper houses a wide airdam with a honeycomb mesh grille and a pair of fog lamps. There is an additional air vent on each side:




Retro styling continues, the chrome is gone compared to regular 500:


The Abarth logo takes the place of the Fiat badge:


'500' subtly embossed:


The exhaust sounds great, even at idle. Concentric design exhaust tips look good too:


A look at the car in the Iridato White colour:


The Abarth 595 Competizione has compact dimensions. It measures 3,657 mm in length, 1,627 mm in width and 1,485 mm in height:




Xenon headlamps are a part of standard equipment:


The sunroof is large, but the roof lining intrudes into head space:




Prominent Abarth badging along with the model name:


17" alloy wheels with 205/40 ZR17 tyres:


Notice 'competizione' mentioned on the rear parcel tray:

[.anshuman]

I got the opportunity to drive the Abarth 595 Competizione on the Buddh International F1 Circuit for a few laps. The engine is started in the traditional way - with the twist of the key. The signature Abarth exhaust note is sweet, yet not too loud to be disturbing.

The AMT does not have the initial surge of torque convertor type automatic transmissions. The button marked as "1" has to be selected to get the car moving and the paddle shifters can be used for manual gear changes. The T-Jet in this version has the typical turbo lag we normally see in turbocharged petrols, but once past 2,500 rpm, it starts pulling violently. From this point onwards, the acceleration is strong and this engine rewarding to drive in the top end, near the redline. The gear changes, however, play spoil sport here. Though not as slow as the budget AMTs, this gearbox is not as good as any of the torque convertor type transmissions, forget dual clutch units. The gearshift logic however is well tuned, and the gearbox stays in the right gear most of the time.

Using the Sport button changes the gearbox mode to a more aggressive one. Other parameters like engine response, ESP mode and steering weight are transformed too, for a sportier drive. The performance is strong enough for the niche sport segment that the 595 is positioned in. Thanks to the light weight, even the 158 BHP engine makes it super quick.

The handling balance is fantastic - expected for a car of this size. The agility is the best part about the drive experience, along with a perfectly tuned handling balance. It's about as good as it gets for a front-wheel drive car and understeer is well controlled. It's only while accelerating hard through the turns that I missed having AWD / RWD. Otherwise the TTC (Torque Transfer Control) did a good job in the corners. The steering here is an EPS unit. While it has much lesser weight to it than the Punto's, it is a lot more precise and direct. It does get reasonably heavy in Sport mode. It's one of the nicest EPS systems I have driven.

The only major disappointment is the interior quality. The materials and switch gear (with their crude operation), feel out of place in a premium hatchback like the 595. The Mini Cooper S, in comparison, feels luxurious on the inside. Tall people will not like the high seating position - my head was almost touching the roof and this car does not have height-adjustable seats. For performance cars, most people would prefer lower seating.

Familiar layout of the dashboard, similar to the old 500:


The steering wheel feels great to hold, on the drive it is incredibly direct and full of feel. Notice the paddle shifters for changing gears:


Digital MID + speedometer:


Standalone turbo boost gauge sits on the dashboard:


A look at the waterfall console - let alone a touchscreen infotainment system, there isn't even a 2-DIN audio system! Still, USB and Blue&Me Bluetooth connectivity has been provided:


Sport button alters the steering weight, engine response and ESP settings:


595 misses out on automatic climate control, gets the regular manual HVAC unit:


Press "1" to get the car moving, "A/M" is to shift between Automatic and Manual modes:


The 1.4-litre T-Jet engine is a tight squeeze here. The header shield is just next to the bonnet opening lever, it's difficult to open the bonnet once the engine gets hot:


Note the 'BMC air filter' mention:

[.anshuman]

Fiat also had the Abarth Punto on display. It's not the same as the international Abarth Punto, but a toned down version, designed for India. Not much information has been revealed about the car as it is still in the "work in progress" stage. The Abarth Punto will get the 145 BHP version of the 1.4-litre T-Jet engine. The cars on display had generous ground clearance - similar to the regular Punto Evo. Almost the entire car felt like the regular Punto, except for a few changes.

Since the car is still being worked on, I was not allowed to drive it, but I got an opportunity to ride in it as a passenger. The acceleration is really strong. On the straights, it easily passed the 170 kph mark despite being driven relatively easier and overall, it had ample power to justify the Abarth tag. The body lean and massive amount of roll, however, felt similar to the regular Punto - just not right for a car with an Abarth tag. I hope this is not the final version. The Fiat MD had mentioned a stiffer suspension for the Abarth Punto, I just hope it's going to be much stiffer than this and lower too.

The Abarth Punto looks hot, just the high stance due to high GC looks weird for an Abarth-badged car:






The grille and airdam get a horizontal slat each in a contrasting colour instead of chrome:




Abarth badges replace Fiat logos at the front...


... and rear. The chrome slat in the rear bumper has been replaced by a red one. The exhaust has a chrome tip:


Notice the Abarth decals:


And the ORVM highlighted in a bright shade:


The 16" inch rims look great, but the Apollo 195/55 R16 tyres are not apt for this car:


Roof-mounted rear spoiler:


Interiors mostly similar to standard Punto, but the dashboard is all black. The black seats with red and yellow stitching look good, but offer little side support:


Instrument cluster features Abarth lettering and reworked dials with red and yellow markings and different fonts:


Steering wheel is carried over from the regular Punto Evo, but...


... houses an Abarth badge instead of the Fiat logo:


Not only does the gear lever look the same, even the gear shift action is similar to regular Punto:


Sports pedals with Abarth badges:


This matte finish Abarth Punto was also on display. The color scheme looked funky, i hope it makes to the final production car:






Orange scorpion decal on the bonnet:






Orange cladding for the roof-mounted rear spoiler:

[.anshuman]

Here are some pictures supplied by Fiat India:

[Aditya]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to Test-Drives. Thanks for sharing!

[DragonHawk]

Thanks ansuman for the report !!

Wow man, I am just drooling over the pics again and again. It is really heartening to see manufactures like VW and Fiat who are specialized in making driver`s cars coming up with such a niche product. Of both the cars, I am sure Punto Abarth will be under many enthusiast`s radar and no doubt it is more of a desirability factor rather than practicality which many enthusiasts like me are looking into.

[Asish_VK]

Thanks for sharing the experience.

The Abarth Punto looks hot (sans the high stance) . Especially in Black and with Abarth deacls. Hope the Indianising will not affect much and it retains the soul of Abarth.

Anyway its good to see many manufacturers are considering India for launching their performance cars, even the affordable ones to the middle class enthusiasts.

Great report. Thanks again

Asish.

[SnS_12]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Not only does the gear lever look the same, even the gear shift action is similar to regular Punto:
Attachment 1401162

We Fiat fans are just praying that the gearbox is not similar to the regular Punto when launched.

[vibbs]

I am disappointed. Immense body roll and the same rubbery gearshift as the old Punto. Not something you look forward from a hot hatch. They could have taken care of the gearbox at least. Not much can be done about the roll I believe. With the increased ground clearance itself Punto scraps the bottom and more importantly front bumper (probably got to do with the front overhang). Reducing the ground clearance may not be all that practical and stiffening the suspension will kill the ride quality.

Abarth 595? Well thats only for academic purposes. Wonder who is going to buy it for 30 Lakhs ex showroom price.

[rav11stars]

Originally Posted by vibbs

Abarth 595? Well thats only for academic purposes. Wonder who is going to buy it for 30 Lakhs ex showroom price.

Academic purposes liked it. I remember the MD in an interview with Sid Patankar saying that 595 is a connoisseur's car.
The Abarth Puntos look hot. But Karthik had already made these cosmetic changes 3 years back
All FIAT needs to do now is bring down the GC and sort out the gearbox. I read speculations that the GC is going to be lowered with a stiffer suspension.

[Doge]

Originally Posted by vibbs

I am disappointed. Immense body roll and the same rubbery gearshift as the old Punto. Not something you look forward from a hot hatch. They could have taken care of the gearbox at least. Not much can be done about the roll I believe. With the increased ground clearance itself Punto scraps the bottom and more importantly front bumper (probably got to do with the front overhang). Reducing the ground clearance may not be all that practical and stiffening the suspension will kill the ride quality.

Abarth 595? Well thats only for academic purposes. Wonder who is going to buy it for 30 Lakhs ex showroom price.

Ride quality can be compromised in the abarth variants at least.


I also feel that Fiat should throw in more safety kit for the Evo,like ESP or six airbags.

[bullrun87]

The abarth punto looks seriously hot . It could definately be my next ride. I am disappointed with the massive amounts of body roll you mention, hope they sort that out soon. I wonder why Fiat chooses 185mm and 195mm ground clearance for the regular punto which is much higher than rivals. I guess we can take the abarth to ladakh .

I was hoping for an improved gearbox in the abarth, perhaps a 6 speed for that sweet 145 bhp motor but I guess that looks unlikely. If it's the same gearbox as the regular punto then this could be a serious impediment to the overall performance of the car.

[moralfibre]

Great report Anshuman. We all can guess what the fate of a 30L rupee car without basics like a climate control, etc will be.

It is amazing how a 70 year old number plate light design continues on a modern day car with class. Just the size and scale changes:





Source of 2nd pic: One of the Fiat1100 restoration threads on Team-bhp.

[thesilentone]

Just read a facebook post where one person who had taken a test drive of the 595 was really praising the car and the experience it delivered. One of the replies was "Isn't this the same car which was released some time back and failed miserably?" Wow. Fiat has some catching up to do to change peoples' mindset before it can expect decent sales. By the way, I wonder if anybody has put his money down on the 595.

[.anshuman]

^ A day or two after Abarth 595 was launched, Mini dropped the prices of Cooper S by a few lakhs, now the pricing is not too far. Cooper S is a much superior product, not only is it better built and reeks of quality but also the B48 motor has lots of tuning potential, simple mods will easily take it beyond 300hp.