No overspend, no new mats, no mechanical issues and no fluid changes! That’s all well and good Matt but no number plate change 😮 I’ll have to go and lay down for a while 😂 New year new profit margins 🤞🏻😀
That 595 Abarth is just short of 1100kg - I had a FIAT UNO Turbo back in the day with a 1.4 turbo petrol engine. That weighed under 850kg - that with the lack of safety features was borderline lethal - great fun though
@@jt-hb8lhanything around the 1000kg mark these days is considered very light indeed. At 1.1 ton you need to bear in mind the power to weight ratio. The old Uno would still spank a 595 today to 100.
I am not a Fiat fan after many bad experiences selling them over the years, however, I love these little 500 Abarths! They are like little go carts and are as close as we come to a modern-day 205 Gti. Watching your video, I found it very funny that straight after you got flashed with the 'SLOW DOWN' sign an advert came on RU-vid for Injury Lawyers for You! 😂😂😂😂 Love it.
Be cautious with the roof! I bought a 500 Abarth convertible last summer for my missus. The very next morning a clip broke in the roof. Turns out it’s a common problem which is ridiculously expensive to repair. Fiat wanted £7000 for a new roof. The dealership we got it from was great but after 2 attempts to fix the roof they agreed to keep the car and refund. Great car, I personally really like them but I would get a hardtop
Would love to see an Up! GTI on the channel! I really want one as my first car, but they've held their value ridiculously well and are still way to expensive!
I love these, worked for Fiat/ Abarth a few years back. Nerd fact. All the cars come as 595 and when you want uprated versions, they have exhaust, suspension, brakes remaps metal pedals fitted at the dealer. Very nice little jobs, some have 220/250bhp they are bonkers!
@@gazzertrn yes, they call them the 695 Biposto. Come with 2 seats and a roll cage, 190bhp as standard with option to map. They are completely bonkers.
@@gazzertrn I have a turismo, came standard with 165bhp. Fitted some induction mods & a new back section exhaust. Had a tune done on a rolling road, dyno'd at 215bhp. It does shift when you put your foot down
@gazzertrn it is said that in Italy,most Italians owning an Abarth,program it to stage 3,getting, ofc in my country I can't say I've seen it happening,but the usual 180hp is great
Nice going! I’d been curious about Abarth, so I enjoyed this, thank you. I think this rather top outcome insures you against the inevitable mid year Range Rover spasm!
I did toy with the idea of one of these. Went for my swift sport instead as the ride is significantly better. Would be great to see one on the channel at some point 😆- great video as always Matt 👍
I've loved these Fiat 500 ever since I was a little kid, there was a girl in our street who's dad had a Fiat 500 L I use to knock on for her to see if she was coming out only cos her dad use to let us play in the car we was in it for hours lol we were both 7 years old at the time that was 49 years ago we are still friends to this day Thanks Matt for the video enjoyed it as always
Its obvious this Abarth is egging you on as you drive it!! I once had a 500 Sport Twin-Air with 16" alloys, a sporty bodykit and some go-faster decals plus an Abarth-style steering wheel, chrome gearknob and half-leather sports seats - basically it had an air of "Abarth-lite" about it and I absolutely loved it. On paper its 0-60mph was something like 10.5 seconds but somehow it felt much faster with its light body and grippy rubber, plus if you've driven the Twin-Air engine you'll know what a fantastic noise it makes. I remember constantly seeking excuses to go and drive it... If I didn't need a 5-door car as I do nowadays I'dve definitely looked to upgrading to the Abarth... Great to see this one didn't twist your arm into another overspend! 👍
My Dad had one as a courtesy car about 8 years ever since then I’ve had a fascination over them. They seem so much fun to have. Always called them a modded hairdryer with the way they sound.
I've got a 1.2 petrol ka (not a flex) but for my needs it's perfect as a second car, cheap to run, insure and tax, ideal for city parking and with the seats down a surprisingly good tip run car. Tiny cars are ace!
Talking of 1.4/1.5 turbo's, my Sister had a 2010/11 Mitsubishi Colt Ralliart (5 door). What a weapon that was! Big mistake not buying it off her. Now rare.
Forced to agree.... None of us are used to this. Sensible Matt is going to take some time to get used to. Not massively overspending might hurt t-shirt sales. That would be unfortunate.
Tyre prices in the UK seem much better value than here in NZ, $435 each.... A small zippy local car is very handy for all those chores, easy to park, good on fuel, easy to egress and puts a smile on your dial every time you get in it to go somewhere.
Give. That is one of my favourite cars. Issue: insurance. I can buy the car, I cannot afford to insure it. Solution: get older. I hate insurance companies.
There was one of these competing at my local hillclimb event. It was setting some good times on the tight twisty track, looked like fun. I kind of want one!
Got one of these as a 2nd car in a matte grey, Sabelt seats. It makes absolutely no sense, ride is rock hard but is perfect for blasting down derestricted Isle of Man roads. So much fun!
Hello Matt, great looking car and what a start to the new year. As others have said ‘No new number plates’ I never thought I would see that. Thank you for taking the time to upload another video. Ged.
I knew 7 mins into the video that it would be a winner. 160hp and 183lb-ft of torque is great fun for a car that weighs not much more than a bag of sugar 🤣
That is smart and I know they drive great my mate has one and when he comes to work he always has a big smile on his face the car wakes him up and a short drive to work makes him happy what more could you possibly want ❤
You seem to really love that car - the smile when you were driving said it all! Why not buy a L/H drive one in Spain for use there? Pure enjoyment with the roof down on the Costa!
Great little car, and a good video, my wife is on her 5th 500 convertible and although not an Abarth it is a great little car, its nit meant to be in the same league as the mainstream manufacturers but I love it....i had the 1.4 T Jet in a Fiat Punto, not a bad engine.
My 2009 BMW Z4 E89 had first service at 21k. It's the only stamp in the logbook! I bought at 29k. And i bet my car is better and more well kept than one with fully stamped log book. Never failed a MOT.
We owned a 68 plate 595 for 4 years and did 28,000 totally trouble free miles, no creeks or rattles, a well screwed together car. We sold it in 2023 to a dealer for considerably more than £7800 and it was not the 'C' version! It was a hoot to drive and we sort of miss it, but then there are only so many cars you can own at the same time!
Ford owners - "I get my car serviced annually by my local garage" Fiat owners - "You mean I have to change the oil, even though my car is new?" BMW owners - "My car drains the oil all by itself, I just top-up every week." Vauxhall owners - "What is engine oil?"
Weve gotta 595 turismo on a 2014 owned it for 6 years, bought it for the mrs because at the time i had a civic type r g.t. untill i retired and sold it, we kept the abarth, only need one car now as both retired, but its been a great little car 160 b.h.p. iv had stainless steel exhaust on it, new drivers door handle, they are prone to breaking off, run it on yokohama advans all round, regulary serviced at my mates garage etc ! 33 m.p.g. turning circle of a narrow boat, bumpy ride, none of that bothers us.
I’ve had two of these and for the buck they are the best fun you can have , plus show a clean pair of heels to other more powerful cars , the handling is amazing . Plus with the monza quads sound great too . I left the U.K. for the states 7 yrs ago and I’m sure £7.8 it’s nothing if that’s a minter .
Nokian tyres: "Better", i.e. less worn tyres should be fitted as rear tyres, mainly for safety reasons. With more tread on the rear axle, it is easier to avoid oversteer, i.e. the rear end coming off the road. In challenging situations, the risk of oversteer is more dangerous than understeer.
Always look forward to a new video, and I'm constantly impressed with your attention to detail and great explanations... And this has just been rubber stamped by your straightening of your parking into a space of an empty carpark..😂😂😂 Don't change Pal..👍
It's really interesting - in the UK you can be so open about what you paid for the car and how much profit you want make. This would never happen in Germany. Even car dealers on RU-vid who are open and frank about everything around their business they would never disclose this. They just can't - customers would want to get to car with almost no profit for the dealer - "he's rich enough" they would say. Although everyone know you got to live from something, many people would just think: "but not from me". May a 100€ profit would be fair😂
You did well buying that for £7800. Cracking little hot city car. Just spent the weekend driving a standard 500 hire car. Not the most manly car ive ever driven but 58mpg was pretty impressive. 😊
Fiat did a great job with these and it's probably the best 'Retro Look' out there imo....yes, even better than the 'Mini'!.... Missing the 'I've massively overspend'....I'm guessing the upcoming A8 might be the one, The 'Works' A8 I used to drive liked to consume pound after pound!🤑🤑
The lack of early service history might be because it was a FIAT fleet/press car? So, some somewhere there might be a computer print out. But probably impossible to track down. I looked at a similar car at a main dealer with missing service history. I walked way (primarily because of the top price) and refusal to give a test drive without a note of my national insurance number !
Had an original Cinquecento sporting as one of my first cars.They are that small you enjoy foot to the floor motoring.Especially good at the traffic light grand Prix until you got to second gear.
I test drove one of these after an ST-3 and a JCW. This was miles ahead of the ST in terms of driving fun and I just couldn't deal with the naff interior of the ST. The Abarth just wanted to go while it felt like the ST took ages to get going. I would have bought one but I don't think I could have dealt with the comedic size of it long term coming from my 1 series
Had base 500 as a curtesy car when a lamppost collided with my Audi I remember seeing it on the recovery truck that was taking my car to be condemned. In a Mint green colour and my heart sank (having a Fiat Uno in my time and never a Fiat shall I tred ever again). Was a bloody good car, bit feminine, was very surprised was quite sad to see it go
Matt with his sensible head on is like Top Gear going from May, Hammond and Clarkson to Flintoff, McGuiness and that other bloke. I need my fix of massive overspend and parts list as long as the bible.
I love how those little buggers sound from outside. Great result again...long may it last?! Please get that awful premier car sales kak off the rear screen! Cheers!
Got one of these for the wife and liked it at first but soon got sick of it as always felt you were sitting on it and not in it and handling was quite fidgity. Looks like first owner could have voided warranty as ours had to be serviced every 9000 miles.
