# What a stonking little car - Abarth 595 Turismo



## Squadrone Rosso (Aug 11, 2009)

Pretty much in love!





































Full top spec leather seats, upgraded hifi, Xenons etc etc. Simon wants......a lot 

£19k though.


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## Lloyd71 (Aug 21, 2008)

Oof, that's a lot of money for not a lot of car. The Abarth EsseEsse is heaps of fun to drive but I'd never pay that much for one no matter how unique.

BTW is that Research in Nuneaton?


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## Squadrone Rosso (Aug 11, 2009)

Yes it is, called in earlier. My 500 Twinair Plus was £13k. 

The 595 has all the toys, basically an Essess +. It's a very desirable car:driver:


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## Z4-35i (Jun 12, 2012)

Very nice, I think I prefer them in a lighter colour scheme though.


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## empsburna (Apr 5, 2006)

Tasty. Had SO's half bag from there.

What colour have you had?


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## Squadrone Rosso (Aug 11, 2009)

Ive not bought one but would love one, in that colour too.

We run a Twinair 500 Plus as a commuter & that's great.


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## xJay1337 (Jul 20, 2012)

Too much arch gap, needs dropping at least 20mm.


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## Squadrone Rosso (Aug 11, 2009)

xJay1337 said:


> Too much arch gap, needs dropping at least 20mm.


If you're 17, yes....lol.

I'm 43


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## willwander (Nov 30, 2012)

xJay1337 said:


> Too much arch gap, needs dropping at least 20mm.





Squadrone Rosso said:


> If you're 17, yes....lol.
> 
> I'm 43


Funny :lol:
(I'm 43 too)


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## Bristle Hound (May 31, 2009)

Very nice :thumb:

Not sure on the two colour option tho' ... IMO of course


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## Bristle Hound (May 31, 2009)

Z4-35i said:


> Very nice, I think I prefer them in a lighter colour scheme though.


Like this one - http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=265128


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## xJay1337 (Jul 20, 2012)

Squadrone Rosso said:


> If you're 17, yes....lol.
> 
> I'm 43


Nothing to do with age at all, what a blinkered view on society.

My Dad is 55 and lowered his Lexus IS. And he's not into car mods at all really!! Just beacuse it adds so much to the look of a vehicle from such a small change.

On the 595 or whatever, It's a sporty car but has the same arch gap as my sisters old Fiat Punto. As the demographic (a young, hip, trendy person) I would buy one and within a week it would be lowered to get rid of the grand canyon between the tyres and bodywork.

Just 20mm or so which would not affect ride quality (of which you won't have much anyway with a small car, short wheelbase with sporty suspension) or break the backs of people in their mid life crisis.










Looks a loot better* imo* just with a bit of lowering.


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## Guest (Feb 1, 2013)

^^^^^
That little outburst confirms you are 17:lol::lol:


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## xJay1337 (Jul 20, 2012)




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## andy monty (Dec 29, 2007)

willwander said:


> Funny :lol:
> (I'm 43 too)


must have had an easy paper round Squadrone Rosso had the sunday :lol:


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## johnnyguitar (Mar 24, 2010)

xJay1337 said:


> Nothing to do with age at all, what a blinkered view on society.


Don't you think it's a bit blinkered that you think every car you see has to be lowered? The line between looks and handling is getting finer and I've driven plenty of lowered cars that have had their handling seriously compromised by the way and amount they've been dropped. 
FWIW my own car is lowered, predominantly for the enhanced performance and partly for the looks however I appreciate it is not to everybody else's taste.


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## RichardM (Mar 1, 2009)

Squadrone Rosso said:


> Pretty much in love!


I think that last picture summed it up well :lol:

You need to "Man Up" and go look at some real cars


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

I really like that. £19 k is not OTT when you consider what a similarly specked Cooper S would cost

A left field choice but I would give serious consideration to one if I was in the market for a small hatch


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

I prefer the compitzione  but the 500 is a cracking little car.


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## insanejim69 (Nov 13, 2011)

I really do love the 500's, they are a cracking car to drive, so much fun, even the 1.2 twinair engined ones. But for me, I'm not a fan of this one, looks a bit like a ladybird with the twin coloured paintwork. A bit like what Audi did on some of the later mk1 TT's. 

Gotta say £19K is alot of money for that IMO. In no disrespect you can have a brand new Corsa VXR Nurburgring edition new for £17k. 

James


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## xJay1337 (Jul 20, 2012)

johnnyguitar said:


> Don't you think it's a bit blinkered that you think every car you see has to be lowered? The line between looks and handling is getting finer and I've driven plenty of lowered cars that have had their handling seriously compromised by the way and amount they've been dropped.
> FWIW my own car is lowered, predominantly for the enhanced performance and partly for the looks however I appreciate it is not to everybody else's taste.


Well no I don't think it's bllinkered to be honest.
Some cars do not need, in my eyes, any sort of lowering, BMW m-sport models come to mind, they are sitting pretty perfect.

Others, like this little Abarth, are crying out loud for a bit of a drop. Every single standard car on the road would look better if it were dropped 20mm for example and would not result in any problems on a daily basis. It's a sports car and yet, as mentioned, my sisters old 53 reg Punto had less of an arch gap? Makes no sense.

The lowered cars vs handling is normally in the case where someone puts 60mm lowering springs on stock dampers. If you do it _properly_ with quality components, either springs & dampers, or with whole new coilover units, you won't have a problem.

I'm not saying everyone will like it, I'm just saying that in my view, many cars these days have far too much arch gap for my liking.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Twin air is less than 1.0, 0.9 I think.


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## Squadrone Rosso (Aug 11, 2009)

I've done the lowered car thing in the late 80's / early 90's. thought it was naff then...lol

Corsa VXR will always be a bit Barry in my eyes. I'd take a MiTo Cloverleaf every day.

The Twinair is 875 cc 2 cylinder turbo, either producing 85 or 105 BHP.


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

These are very nice and sound great and drive very well


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## nick3814 (Dec 31, 2010)

Looks the mutts, so nice, but sooooo expensive!


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## Clkrichard (Nov 17, 2011)

The most uncomfortable car we have ever owned !
Had my wife regularly at the chiropracters and was gone within 3 months.
Lovely noise on engine start up though .....


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## Alex_225 (Feb 7, 2008)

They are lovely little cars, can't put a price on the amount of fun you'd probably have.

I certainly know the RenaultSport Twingos aren't the fastest cars out there but comparable to the 500. Never ending smiles from driving them though!


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## Maggi200 (Aug 21, 2009)

Does this one come with the optional seats? If so it's justified the cost already in my eyes 

It's always going to be a slightly niche vehicle to fill a gap which fiat has done very very well. A slightly premium small hatch, so tbh it couldn't cost anything else!

I like them a lot, like Alex, not sure i personally would spend £8k more than I paid for my RS new but that's more personal finances and wanting a house than its not worth it. 

As for the comments... Thanks for the morning chuckle. Every time I find a thread with a particular member, I always pop off to make a tea and proceed to have a read as its always entertaining trying to understand how some people see the world. I have to, of course, remember not to drink and read though, in case I spit my tea out at the incredibly narrow minded comments. 

I'm off to drive my car now, with its huuuuggge arch gap that must be shrunk to appease the dubbers, even though I bought a car that isn't 'dub'


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## empsburna (Apr 5, 2006)

Squadrone Rosso said:


> We run a Twinair 500 Plus as a commuter & that's great.


What do you think of the Twinair? My SO has the 1.2 variant and most of the driving she does is between 0-45mph and never any sustained periods of time on Motorway - will we get annoyed with it being a two cylinder?

I think we are going to change hers in a few months when it turns three years old but might wait and see what the 500L will be like.


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## Squadrone Rosso (Aug 11, 2009)

I love the Twinair. I love the sound too. Very characterful.

It's a quick little car. Not fast, just nippy. Easily holds its own on the M Way too.

Ours is a plus so half leather sports seats, climate control, electric windows & mirrors, in build but tedious Bluetooth / media connectivity, privacy glass on the rear windows & 16" black wheels.

Lots of fun - love the little thing


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## empsburna (Apr 5, 2006)

Most of the driving is start/stop so shouldn't be too bad then. I expect it to sound like an original 500 (probably not a bad thing). She had one when they were first released and as a passenger it made me travel sick, the current one is fine though, so they must have either changed the suspension set up or the nasty dunlop eco tyres were ruining the ride. 

She has the Blue & Me in hers, is it the same system? (I agree, bit tedious but usable with a USB stick - do you know how well it handles the iPhone 5 and bluetooth?


Sorry, taking this thread off topic a bit!


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## Maggi200 (Aug 21, 2009)

Twin airs sound awesome


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## xJay1337 (Jul 20, 2012)

maggi133 said:


> I'm off to drive my car now, with its huuuuggge arch gap that must be shrunk to appease the dubbers, even though I bought a car that isn't 'dub'


:tumbleweed:

Buy what you want. I don't care.


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## 306chris (Jan 27, 2007)

Clkrichard said:


> The most uncomfortable car we have ever owned !
> Had my wife regularly at the chiropracters and was gone within 3 months.
> Lovely noise on engine start up though .....


Second this, having driven loads of 500s from lounges to Abarths I've yet to come across one that I have felt comfortable. Which is a shame because apart from that they are funky little cars.


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## Squadrone Rosso (Aug 11, 2009)

Our Twinair is really comfortable. Obviously you are aware of the short wheelbase but on the later cars, the damping is pretty well together.

Are the Abarths really that hard on a day to day basis? The 595's are fitted with Koni FSD's from what I understand.....


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