Abarth 695 by Fiat Test Review

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So much fun that it probably should be illegal................that's the thought that comes to mind when I think about the Abarth 695.

So what is it actually? It's a classic recipe that hardly exists in the world of motoring anymore. Take a cute but somewhat impractical Fiat 500, and put a sting in tail. Abarth is the tuning arm of Fiat in the same way as AMG is to Mercedes. So take the basic car, double the power output, add a bit of trickery to the suspension and a few very sporty touches to the interior. When was the last time that an extra gauge was added on top of the dashboard? It's a boost gauge in this case.

Search the fascia and you won't find a sport button. This time there's a button with a Scorpion logo instead. There's special meaning here, the Scorpion in the Abarth logo or badge of honour. A press gives you the proverbial "kick up the butt" or "sting in the tail", changing everything in the characteristics of the car and letting the beast loose.

125kW and 250Nm from a little car that weighs only 1050kg can only translate to performance that can border on crazy. BUT........it's total fun. The stubby gear lever operates a 5 speed manual transmission that is quick and precise. The ride may be a touch hard on the 17" alloys but it's sharp and turns and handles. This is true FUN car in every sense of the word.

Ok, so maybe everything isn't perfect. The basic 500 is tiny and somewhat impractical. The interior is showing it's age and boot space is virtually non-existent. But this really is a case of WHO CARES. It's the crazy, the fun factor or the grin factor that outweigh all the possible negatives that you can ever think of!

The fact that only 10 of these cars were available in SA in 2023 means they are guaranteed collector status. Add the fact that this will be the last ICE (internal combustion) powered model from Abarth and this increases the exclusivity in my opinion.

The price was listed as R570 000 for this model but that's irrelevant.

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