Item: Used Abarth 500 2009-present
Rating: 3
Author: What Car? Team

The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/mini/hatchback/hatchback/used-review/n499">Mini Cooper</a> is a very well rounded car, with a smooth engine and excellent handling. However, it isn’t particularly quick, unless you go for the more expensive Cooper S and simply doesn’t have the character of the 500.

If you want a practical car that happens to be fast, the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/ford/fiesta/hatchback/review/n140">Ford Fiesta ST</a> is a great option. The turbocharged 1.6-litre engine is very punchy; the handling is a joy and it practical enough for a small family. It’s cheap to run too with sensible insurance and fuel costs.

The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/vauxhall/corsa/hatchback/review/n17271">Vauxhall Corsa VXR</a> is a bit of monster power wise, with enough mid-range grunt to blow rivals into the weeds. In Nurburgring edition form (which comes with a limited slip differential at the front) it even handles rather well. It’s not as involving to drive as a Fiesta ST, or the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/abarth">Abarth</a> 500, though.

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What is it like?

Ownership cost

Advice for buyers

Our recommendations

Alternatives

An early 500 with Bluetooth may have issues working with some Apple products, but this was sorted on later cars. Regarding the rest of the interior, a few squeaks and rattles are to be expected.

There have been other issues with door handles working themselves loose and windscreen washer jets failing, but no truly major problems have been found.

The Abarth 500 didn’t feature in our latest What Car? Reliability survey, but it is based on the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/fiat/500/hatchback/used-review/n323">Fiat 500</a>, which performed pretty well.

It’s still a specialist model and it isn’t unknown for owners to modify their cars, so insist on a full service history from an <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/abarth">Abarth</a> dealer or known Abarth specialist and make sure that any modifications made to the car use factory approved parts or ones from a recognised Abarth tuner that come with a guarantee.

If you would like to see the full reliability list for city cars, head to the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/2017-what-car-reliability-survey/n16171">What Car? Reliability Survey</a> pages for more information.

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Hatchback

A former motorsport team and independent tuning company, Abarth is now owned by Fiat and responsible for the firm’s sportiest cars.

In recent years, Fiat has even tried to establish Abarth as a standalone brand – in the same way that Citroën has split off its DS luxury division. However, the major difference is that DS cars look completely different from the Citroëns on which they’re based, whereas Abarths rely on bodykits and big wheels to mark them out.

The Abarth 595, for example, is a beefed-up Fiat 500 hatchback, while the Abarth 124 Spider is a hotter version of its Fiat namesake.

ABARTH

Pint-sized pocket rockets don’t come much smaller than the Abarth 500; it’s an entertaining car for tackling the city streets

Used Abarth 500 2009-present 

Being a small car and having a relatively small engine means that fuel economy should be reasonable compared with the 500’s bigger rivals. Even the most powerful 187bhp 695 Biposto should do 45.9mpg and costs £150 to tax. Most models have a combined average of 47.1mpg and will set you back £135 per year to tax, though, those figures will plummet if you drive the 500 as it was intended to be driven.

All cars registered after April 2017 will cost £140 per year to tax.

Servicing costs should be relatively inexpensive thanks to long 18,000-mile service intervals. Insurance is a bit more expensive than it is for rivals, so make sure you get a quote before you commit to buying one.

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Pint-sized pocket rockets don’t come much smaller than the Abarth 500; it’s an entertaining car for tackling the city streets

The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/abarth">Abarth</a> 500 starts at around £5000 for a high-mileage example with a full service history. If you up the budget to £6500-£7000, you will find plenty of newer, lower mileage examples, including some Esseese versions.

You'll need to £8500 to find a 595 from 2012. A 2016 595 Competitzione with less than 20,000 miles will set you back £14,000, or, if you’re interested in the special edition 695, then be prepared to pay £22,500 or more for one of these stripped out, high-performance examples.

The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/abarth">Abarth</a> 500 has been around a while now, with plenty of improvements made throughout its life. For this reason, we’d suggest going for the newer 595 Competitzione with the 178bhp engine. It’s just as economical as the lower powered 1.4-litre engine and, once you’re past the small amount of turbo lag it does suffer from at low revs, it’s noticeably quicker.

The Competizione also comes with a number of upgrades to the chassis and brakes that improve the way the 500 drives. You also get a lot more equipment for your money, which is always a nice bonus.

Our favourite Abarth 500: 595 1.4 T-Jet Competizione

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<h2>What we're looking for:</h2><ul><li>Engaging handling </li> <li>Thrilling performance </li> <li>A characterful engine with an enticing soundtrack </li> <li>Reasonable running costs </li> <li>Not hard to live with day to day</li></ul>

A popular choice with UK buyers since the days of the original Volkswagen Golf GTI, the hot hatchback mixes everyday practicality with higher performance and the sort of handling and agility that’s ideally suited to British roads. A good hot hatch should be fun and, since it’s likely to be your daily drive, it should also deliver respectable running costs.

The Golf GTI remains one of the best hot hatches on the market, along with its main competitor,&nbsp;the&nbsp;equally as responsive and cheaper to buy Hyundai i30 N. But there are some terrific options for even less money than both of these cars. We're big fans of the Ford Fiesta ST, which is definitely one of the best hot hatches ever and certainly one of the most fun to drive. It's full of character and its engaging handling makes it a bit of a hoot at all speeds.&nbsp;

If you’ve got a bit more money to spare, there are even faster cars available, such as the Honda Civic Type R. This latest version is sublime to drive, either on road or on a track, as it's so sweetly balanced. It's also incredibly quick in a straight line&nbsp;and round a corner, and yet it's as practical as a regular Civic.&nbsp;

Hot hatch

The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/abarth">Abarth</a> 500 is a performance car, so check for accident damage. Poor bodywork repairs could hide all sorts of problems later in the life of the car, so get an HPI check done because it will let you know if the car has been written off by the insurance company at any point in its life.

If you’re in need of further reassurance, then the AA and RAC offer pre-purchase inspection services that involve a trained inspector viewing your potential purchase, for a fee, and will point out any potential issues with it.

<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/abarth">Abarth</a> is to <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/fiat">Fiat</a> what Cooper is to <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/mini">Mini</a>. Both of them were tuning companies that took sensible little cars and improved the performance of them, so when Fiat bought out the 500 to compete with the Mini, it was only a matter of time before the Abarth name was resurrected.

Unlike the original from the late 1950s, the current car is based on the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/fiat/500/hatchback/used-review/n323">Fiat 500</a> and competes with other hot-hatches such as the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/mini/hatchback/hatchback/used-review/n499">Mini Cooper</a>, <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/vauxhall/corsa/hatchback/review/n17271">Vauxhall Corsa VXR</a> and <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/ford/fiesta/hatchback/review/n140">Ford Fiesta ST</a>. The 500 is at a slight disadvantage size wise, but it does offer competitive performance.

Speaking of power, the 500 only has one engine size, a turbocharged 1.4-litre petrol. But, it can be had in various states of tune. When it was launched, the 500 came with 133bhp or 158bhp in the Esseese version. Later versions were rebadged 595 and came with three different equipment levels and three power outputs ranging from 143bhp to 178bhp. Then there was the ultra-expensive 695 Biposto that had 187bhp.

The standard car has all the essentials: air con, Bluetooth, seat height adjustment and electrically adjustable door mirrors. The 178bhp 595 Competizione from 2016 onwards adds climate control, Xenon headlights, auto-dipping rear view mirror, parking sensors, uprated suspension, bigger brakes, stickier tyres and a sports exhaust.

To drive, the 500 is quite rapid in town thanks to its powerful engines. However, out in more open country, it isn’t quite so comfortable. Being rather tall and narrow means that stiffer suspension and fat anti-roll bars need to be fitted to control body lean. This has an impact on the ride, which is very firm in the 500, and is made worse by some of the special editions with even stiffer springs fitted. The 500 isn’t particularly great in the bends either, tending to understeer more readily than rivals.

Space is also at a premium with the 500, and some of the ergonomics will infuriate. Like the seat height adjuster that’s impossible to use unless you open the door. To make up for that, the 500 has lots of uprated bits of interior decoration that really help give it a sporty feel. The outside has unique bumpers, alloy wheels and spoilers that make it look the part. Then there’s the exhaust that pops and crackles on the overrun to give the car a character all its own. Indeed, there’s a sense of occasion to the 500 that has a way of charming you.

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Used Abarth 500 2009-present review

Alternatives

What alternatives should I consider to a used Abarth 595 hatchback?