Abarth 595C Review 2024

The Abarth 595C is an open-top hot hatch that is huge fun, but it can be quite bouncy, especially on anything less than a perfectly surfaced road. However, you’ll forgive it a lot for its looks, sound and zip compared with a broad spread of rivals that includes the MINI Convertible, the stylish DS3 Cabrio and even South Korea’s Hyundai i20 N. Read on for our full Abarth 595C review.

The Abarth 595C is simply an Abarth 595 fitted with the full length canvas electric sunroof of the Fiat 500C.

Since the Abarth brand reached the UK in 2008, it’s caught the imagination of drivers looking for something exclusive, stylish and sporty.

Sales of the original Abarth 500 and the Abarth Grande Punto exceeded the firm’s expectations, so introducing an Abarth version of the chic Fiat 500C was an obvious move, and it’s also popular as a used car.

Abarth re-engineered the standard Fiat 500C, giving it some unique features, great performance and a distinctively sporty style. It was powered by the same 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine as was in the Abarth 500, with output boosted by 5PS to 140PS.

The buzzy engine gives the Abarth 595C strong performance, and there is much to like about it, with a great exhaust note and plenty of low-down poke.

Of course, having the open-top car means you’re able to appreciate that racy sound even more. In summer, with the roof down, it’s a real feelgood car to travel in.

It’s not all show and no go, though. Along with the turbocharged performance, the Abarth 595C has re-tuned suspension to deliver agile and precise handling.

There’s also a system called Torque Transfer Control, which mimics a limited slip differential and endows the Abarth 595C with a sharpness in corners, helped by very little body roll.

Unusually, the Abarth 595C wasn’t immediately available with a manual gearbox. Instead it started off with a five-speed semi-automatic Competizione gearbox, which dispensed with the traditional gear lever and replaced it with buttons on the dash, along with gear shift paddles on the steering wheel.

The cabin of the Abarth 595C is as sporty as the outside with some unique features and a great hot hatch feel.

For those seeking the ultimate Abarth 595C, there’s also an optional esseesse pack which boosts engine power to 162PS, speeds up the automatic gearbox’s shift times and adds larger alloys.

Fancy a second opinion? Read heycar’s Abarth 595 review.

The first thing you notice is the chunky leather steering wheel, which is flat at the bottom and features the stylish Abarth badge.

It’s great to hold, and although there’s no reach adjustment on the steering column, the well positioned driver’s seat – which does adjust for height – means finding a good driving position is simple.

The sports seats impress, too, and provide plenty of side support for when you’re tackling tight bends. As with the Fiat 500C, the layout is very chic, with the coloured dash panel helping keep things bright, while the quality is decent.

The big single instrument dial is housed under a leather-covered dome with red stitching, and there’s also an extra dial to the left which acts a turbo boost guage.

Even taller drivers will find there’s plenty of legroom and headroom in the front of the Abarth 595C, although it’s considerably more cramped in the back. The boot is a different design to that of the hatch, to allow it to accommodate the roof, but cleverly is only slightly smaller, with 182 litres of luggage capacity.

The double-layered roof is identical to the one used on the Fiat 500C, and can be opened by a button next to the interior light or by using the key fob.

It can quickly and smoothly be slid part-way back – like a sunroof – or all the way back like a convertible. It also operates at up to 37mph, useful if you get caught in a sudden downpour.

With the roof down, you can enjoy the raspy exhaust note even more, while inside it’s reasonably quiet with only slight wind buffeting, although the optional wind stop certainly helps to reduce this.

The standard seats come in a black fabric upholstery, but leather is available as an option and certainly adds a chic feel to the interior.

The one big gripe is rear visibility. With the roof up, the view out of the back is severely restricted, as there’s only a small rear window. It’s even more of a problem when there are passengers in the rear.

With the roof slid all the way back, it’s not much better, as the folded fabric sits right in your line of sight. So it’s useful that parking sensors come as standard.

The pizzazz of the Abarth 595C’s cabin is matched in most places by the quality and finish. There are a few bits of plastic that don’t feel quite as substantial as, say, those in an Audi A1, but it’s a good place to be.

Models with the Competizione gearbox don’t have a gear lever at all. Instead, it’s replaced by four buttons on the dash, along with two paddles on the back of the steering wheel – one for changing up and the other for downshifting.

The absence of a gear stick looks quite strange, but the system is easy to use, although you do have to have a quick glance down to remind yourself where neutral or reverse are.

Like the rest of the Fiat 500-based models from Fiat and Abarth, the Abarth 595C received an updated infotainment set-up in 2014 with a new digital instrument display which, despite adding some modernity, fits with the retro design.

It’s much clearer and easier to read than the traditional analogue display fitted to all early Fiat 500 models, which has a combined rev counter and speedo.

The seven-inch infotainment screen is small, but easy enough to use.

A loyal following has ensured the Abarth 595C and its sister models have stable used prices.

As a consequence, you’ll pay around £7000 for an Abarth 595C that’s ten years old and with 50,000 miles on the clock.

A three-year-old car with 15,000 miles will require a spend of around £14,000. More powerful Abarth 595C Turismo and Abarth 595C Competizione models can add £1500 to those prices.

New prices for the Abarth 595C kick off at almost £26,000, and you can quickly add to that with options and technical upgrades.

The 140PS version is the one to look for if you want to balance performance with lower running costs.

It returns a claimed consumption of 57.7mpg, though this was assessed under the old NEDC method.

When the new WLTP form of economy testing was introduced in 2017, this dropped to an official 43.4mpg and you can expect around 40mpg if you don’t make too much use of the car’s performance

There are more potent models that will also deliver fuel economy of around 40mpg with gentle driving, but expect this to be in the low 30s if you use the cars as intended.

Road tax, or Vehicle Excise Duty, shouldn’t bruise your wallet as all pre-2017 Abarth 595C models require a maximum of £240 per year. For cars registered from 1 April 2017 and on, the flat rate of £180 per year is applicable.

Insurance will be more of a consideration for Abarth 595C drivers if you go for one of the quicker models or special editions, as they can reach as high as Group 34. Group 14 insurance is more palatable for a more mainstream Abarth 595C variant.

Servicing an Abarth 595C is as easy as any Fiat 500, other than the need for some specific Abarth parts, such as brakes and exhausts.

The Abarth 595C’s Torque Transfer Control is a clever system that mimics a limited slip differential by braking the inside wheel in a corner, making turning in more precise.

It works well and means that the car feels very keen in corners, with responsive steering. Strong yet progressive brakes, along with impressive body control, ensure that it’s great to drive.

There is a downside, though – the firm ride. It struggles on uneven roads, but it’s much better on smoother surfaces such as motorways.

It’s certainly better on the standard 16-inch alloy wheels rather than the optional 17-inch items.

The Abarth 595C is powered by the same 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine used in the Abarth 595 hatchback.

The ECU was initially reprogrammed to add another 5PS, boosting overall power to 140PS. The extra power is there to compensate for the weight of the sliding roof mechanism, giving it a 0-62mph time of 8.1 seconds.

It’s certainly quick enough on the move and has a real buzzy feel about it. Thanks to the sports exhaust pipes, there’s also a suitably raspy exhaust note when you accelerate.

The engine is incredibly flexible, helped by the fact it boasts more than 200Nm of torque, so it doesn’t need to always be revved hard to get decent performance, pulling well from low down.

Abarth added more powerful versions to the range, including 145PS, 160PS, 165PS and 180PS incarnations of the same engine. 

The models fitted with these are quicker, but not necessarily better, as much of the fun of this car is making the most of what you have. However, the esseesse power upgrade that saw the 140PS engine increased to 160PS is coveted by Abarth fans.

The car was initially only available with an MTA (Manual Transmission Automated) semi-automatic transmission (the manual came later). The five-speed system does away with a gear lever, replacing it with four buttons on the dash, plus paddle shifters behind the steering wheel.

This means that on twisting country lanes, you can concentrate more on your steering and cornering without having to worry too much about changing gear.

In manual mode, the shifts are quick without any drop off in performance, although it’s useful to come off the power in order to make gear changes smoother. You simply pull the right lever to change up and the left-hand one to shift down.

There’s also an Auto mode, but it’s not the best and seems to constantly want to change gear, often when not necessary, such as when slowing down. As a result, it will often be in a lower gear than you’d expect.

There’s a Sport button on the dash which speeds up the gear change times (in both manual and auto modes), increases steering weight and engages the Torque Transfer Control.

Even so, we still prefer the standard manual gearbox for its better engagement with the driver.

Every Abarth 595C comes with seven airbags (including side airbags and a driver’s knee airbag), ESP stability control and a hill hold function.

However, the car does not have autonomous emergency braking, even as an option on new models.

For this reason, it scored a measly three stars when the Fiat 500 range was tested by Euro NCAP in 2017, which is a result that has now lapsed as testing methods have moved on.

We’re mystified why anyone would want to tow with an Abarth 595C, but if you must it can haul an unbraked trailer of up to 400kg.

Hitch it up to a braked trailer and you can pull a maximum of 800kg.

Every Abarth 595C comes with a height-adjustable steering wheel, electric front windows, electric door mirrors, manual air-conditioning, CD stereo with steering wheel controls, Blue&Me hands-free system with a USB port, sports pedals, sports seats and a leather steering wheel.

It also has front foglights, rear parking sensors, an electric fabric roof with built-in spoiler, xenon headlights, side skirts, twin chromed exhaust pipes and 16-inch alloy wheels.

To this, the Abarth 595C Turismo model adds 17-inch alloy wheels, automatic headlights and wipers, climate control and leather upholstery. This version also comes with uprated suspension.

The Abarth 595C Competizione has bigger brakes, quad exhaust pipes and Alcantara interior trim.