Oodles Of Character But Nowhere To Put It - Abarth 595 Road Test

Abarth have been warming up various Fiats since the 50s. With a refreshed 500 having hit UK roads back in September, what does the future hold for Fiat's sportier small cars? To find out I thought I'd pop in on some of the current models in the Italian stalwart's tuning arm's roster.

A 595 Yamaha Factory Racing which was hiding the day I went to drive it

I had hoped to get my hands on a Yamaha Factory Racing special edition Abarth 595, launched to celebrate Abarth's ties to the FIM MotoGP Championship, which comes with the 160bhp iteration of the gutsy 1.4 T-Jet engine, uprated suspension and a Record Monza exhaust system which promises to be very loud.

Sadly, there were no YFR-edition cars available on the day of my test, so instead I hopped behind the wheel of a 'normal' 595 with the 140bhp engine to get to grips with. The standard 595 is no slouch however, still managing a 0-62 time of 7.6 seconds. It doesn't take a lot of power to move this car around, weighing only just over 1,000kg.

The car I did drive was still a delight

The seating position is unusually high for such a small car, something I've noted in both the Abarth and the standard 500. I can foresee this becoming an issue for passengers who regularly suffer motion sickness, the raised seating combining with the car's sharp handling to give potentially disastrous results. The pedal box, too, seems to be situated at an unusual angle to the seat, and, particularly in stop-start driving, the angle at which I was pointing my foot in order to operate both the brake and the accelerator became quite a strain.

Once seated, the amount of premium touches the car has been dressed with become apparent - first and foremost being the chunky leather, flat-bottomed steering wheel. This lends a very big-car feel to what is undeniably a very small car.

The sports wheel is to the regular 500s steering wheel like what eating a Yorkie feels like after a Galaxy Ripple

Looking through the wheel, the retro dials have been replaced by an all-new TFT display, which displays information about the car - from the usual revs and speed, to g-force indicators and something called an 'Eco Index' - more on that later.

The digital dials are a welcome distraction from some of the other elements in the cabin. Retro dash trim aside, in between the garnish of new tech a lot of this car is still very recognisable as carry-over from the car the Abarth is (distantly) based on - the previous-generation Fiat Panda.

Nice premium garnish over basic underpinnings inside

Turning the key, it would be easy to forget that the teeny bonnet hides just a 1.4 as the burble from the exhaust combines with the chunky wheel to add to the illusion of 'bigness'. Elbows out driving it is.

Burbling my way into early-afternoon Edinburgh sunshine, it wasn't long before my fingers were drawn to the 'Sport' button. This announced my arrival to the roads of Leith, with the exhaust barking and spitting it's way through the Shore. Sport mode also sharpens the throttle response, making the tiny Abarth like a poison-tipped dart, slicing it's way into the smallest of gaps with incredible precision.

As expected with an Italian car, revs are required to make the most of this in-town gap-grabbing prowess. At low speeds, before the turbo kicks in, the engine can feel quite slow on the uptake. The firmer suspension and heavier steering add to a pay off that lead to me turning sport mode off in town - though on better maintained roads this would be less of an issue. With a car as small as the 595, it feels like it could easily be lost down one of the many potholes that litter the landscape around the north edges of Edinburgh.

As the roads opened out towards the west I re-engaged sport, taking a moment to admire the turbo dial jutting from the dash top. This takes on a red hue in sport, a trick car companies have been using for a while now to emphasise their cars' Jekyll and Hyde sporting potential.

The 595 is a very Jekyll and Hyde car: around town it can be comfortable, compliant and even economical; but push that little button by the air-con and suddenly it pops and cracks and snaps at the heels of the Astra in front which has been hogging the outside lane on the bypass for the last mile.

The car doesn't settle well in Sport mode, and the infectious bite to the controls was turning me into a crazed lunatic, unable to settle myself. Popping back into normal mode on the bypass, I noted through exuberant driving, I'd been afforded an ' Eco Index' score of 2.5 out of a possible. Dr. Jekyll was displeased with my right foot. Settling into a cruise, it wasn't long before the digital dial crept back up to hover around 5.

Returning the keys of the Abarth, I felt a slight lump in my throat. Ominously, there will be no Sat Nav integration into the new screens, and whisperings from Turin seem to hint that Abarth will not be working their magic on the new-edition Fiat 500, instead making way for a fast version of the imminent 124 Spider, which will go on sale later this year.

Whilst a base-spec Abarth 595 undercuts gutsier competitors like the Fiesta ST and Mini Cooper S, to get close to their levels of performance in the Italian car you need to spend a lot more and opt for the 180bhp Competizione spec car. Either of those rivals would do very well to best the tiny Abarth on character though, something that the 595 has in larger quantities than could be squeezed into it's miniscule boot. (I'm assured roof bars are available.)

Tiny boot left after space taken up by oodles of character and fun

Spring Clean Motoring Part 1: Jealous Green 'i's

GreenFleet Scotland has released a sneak preview of some of the eco-flavoured vehicles that will be showcased at this year's Evolution motor show.

The two day event, held at the Royal Highland Centre at Ingliston, focuses on innovations in green technology, and aims to educate companies and individuals alike in the virtues and reality of environmentally conscious motoring. But, unlike most motor shows where the cars are precious objects held high on a plinth, visitors to Evolution get the chance to get seriously hands-on with the cars - and there's even the opportunity to get behind the wheel on Inglistons 1.03 mile long circuit.

Over the next few weeks in the run up to the show, McMotors will be bringing you a preview of each of the cars that will be available to sample at the show. If you're near Edinburgh on the 16th April you can come along and try them for yourself!

An i3 from last year's Evolution motor show

The first car we'll be looking at is one of the stars of last year's show. The BMW i3 is a prime example of one of the giants of the car world taking green technology and injecting a bit of experience and know-how to produce something that packs a punch whilst still managing to help protect the environment.

It may look a tad high up and humdrum, but with an electric motor pushing out 125kW (roughly equal to 170hp) and 184lb/ft of torque it's no slouch, managing 0-60mph in just 7.2 seconds. It can (briefly) show the previous generation V8 M3 a clean pair of heels off the line, and though it may only have a top speed of 93mph, in pure EV mode it can do all this whilst producing no carbon dioxide whatsoever.

Suicide doors prove the i3's innovation isn't limited to its powertrain

The car comes off-the-shelf as a standalone EV or with a petrol range extender, essentially an engine that isn't connected to the wheels in the traditional sense, but which instead charges the batteries, giving an impressive and useful range of 185 miles.

And, being an electric vehicle, all of that power is available from a standstill. No turbo lag, no powerband to chase up the rev range, and this low down grunt helps make the i3 perfect for gap-hunting inner-city driving.

BMW have shared a lot of technology between the i3 and it's bigger, sportier brother, the i8. This includes a carbon fibre passenger compartment - both strong, making it incredibly safe in an accident; and light by keeping the centre of gravity in the floor of the car with the batteries. It's strength isn't the only thing keeping occupants safe, as BMW's Driving Assistant system is available as an option which keeps a constant lookout to try and prevent potential collisions even happening.

The somewhat flasher i8, poaching attention from its wee brother

The car is connected too, with an app for smartphones, which allows the owner to check where they parked their i3, and what range is left in it. You can even lock your i3 from anywhere remotely, as long as you have your phone, helping put to rest those feelings of 'did I lock it' anxiety.

Having driven an i3 at last year's Evolution show, I'm very much looking forward to getting my hands on another one this year to see how it stacks up against newer rivals to the eco-car market.

GreenFleet is hosting events at Ingliston for companies and fleet owners on the 15th April, with the show being open to the general public on the 16th April.

TAPS AFF For Less This Summer

Mercedes-Benz's new SLC roadster hits showrooms next month. As the German marque's compact sports car, it's almost certain to be a fixture on UK roads when (or if) summer arrives this year. But with prices starting at £30,495 is it the best option for taps-aff countryside fun?

Let's first look at what you get for your money. £30k plus 2 years of pocket money is enough for the bottom-of-the range SLC200, a 2-litre petrol pocket rocket with 184bhp reaching the rear wheels through a 6-speed manual 'box, plus more than a pocket's full of standard equipment - including DAB radio, LED running lamps, 17" alloys and it's trademark folding metal roof, which should add to refinement when the weather isn't so nice.

At the other end of the range is the SLC 43 AMG, with Merc's new 3.0 V6. This seems a very attractive proposition with 367bhp and a quoted 0-60 of 4.7 seconds, but is all that really necessary in a sports car this size? Plus, once specced up, the little car with the bigger engine will be pushing £50k, which seems a lot when realistically there's only going to be 2 days in June per year you can get it out with the top down.

A typical example of the outgoing SLK in the wild

If you're in the market for a compact, 2-seat sports car but are repelled by the baby Merc's pricetags, fear not; there is another way...

Mazda's new MX-5 may not have anything like the aluminium origami of the swish SLC, but what it lacks in prestige it makes up for in peppy performance. The 2-litre MX-5 may only produce 158bhp, but that still gives a 0-60 time of 7.3 seconds, keeping close to the Mercedes' 7 seconds flat.

In the corners, the Japanese car should have the edge. Mazda's engineers have continued the weight-saving mentality they're so renowned for, which results in their roadster weighing almost half a ton less than the equivalent SLC. It's old-school fabric roof should help in keeping the centre of gravity nice and low, and the high tensile steel body manages to be both lighter and more rigid than the previous model.

The interior might not quite have the same premium feel as the entry spec Merc, but the 2l SE MX-5 comes with a 7" touch screen with app connectivity, and DAB radio and Garmin sat-nav are speccable options, not that you'll be able to hear them over the wind noise when you're making the most of the miles and miles of sky that come as standard.

A new MX-5 (thanks Michael R Perry of Flickr)

I've sadly not had a chance to test drive either of the current models of these cars, but I do have experience with previous iterations of each in their base specs. Whilst the SLK I drove felt sturdy and direct on the road, the 6-speed box in that car let it down and the whole thing felt a bit too lumbering for a sports car. The MX-5, on the other hand, felt nimble and effortless, it's lack of bulk more than making up for it's slightly lower power output.

So far as I can see, there's only one major difference between the two. If you can put up with having slightly less badge then you could save yourself a pretty penny. A base spec 2-litre MX-5 on the road will cost just £20,755, almost ten grand less than the Merc. With that difference, you could afford a decent set of waterproof clothes for you and your passenger, so you can enjoy top-down driving all year round - with a whole lot of change left over for petrol and 'oh, let's just stop at this country pub for a spot of lunch' motoring.

Hooves of Glory - New Mustang Spotted

The long motorway slog from London to Scotland can be a sea of grey and grim euroboxes, a string of seemingly neverending tailbacks and two-point-O TDis. Imagine my surprise when, galloping along in the fast lane of the southbound M11, came a sparkling yellow horse.

This was no standard steed, rather Ford's new Mustang, available for the first time through UK dealerships without the need for costly imports.

As I was travelling northbound, I couldn't confirm if at it's heart was the 313bhp 2.3 litre Ecoboost unit first seen across the sporty Focus range, or the full-fat, bald eagle cheeseburger 5.0 V8 blar

An three-cheese Mustang, courtesy of Sicnag on Flickr
(It was much too dangerous for me to snap while driving)

ing out 415bhp.

What I can confirm is that, no matter what's under the 'hood', this export from the *ahem* land of the free can definitely turn heads. It hides its bulk well, it's sleek lines building upon the 2005 and 2010 models' faithful yet modern throwbacks to the original of the 60s. The colour I saw, I'm reliably informed by Ford's brochure, is called Triple Yellow - and whilst this three-cheese sauce car appears quite fattening, the reality of the machine is much more nimble.

Mustangs that reach UK shores come as standard with Euro-specific modifications, which include suspension tweaks to better suit the tighter, curvier roads. GT models come with six-pot Brembos at the front for added stopping power, and tech-wise Ford's AdvanceTrac ESC helps keep things on the level when talent runs dry.

The new Mustang is available from UK Ford dealers now, with prices starting at £30,495 for a 2.3 Fastback.