{"id":37502,"date":"2019-07-08T06:00:38","date_gmt":"2019-07-07T21:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/?p=37502"},"modified":"2019-10-20T18:33:34","modified_gmt":"2019-10-20T09:33:34","slug":"abarth-mt-testdrive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/abarth-mt-testdrive\/","title":{"rendered":"Abarth 595 Manual Test Drive: Stylish, Great-Sounding, and Easy to Drive"},"content":{"rendered":"

Abarth<\/h3>\n

One Sunday morning, I headed to Royu Driveway and finally met a follower I\u2019d often chatted with on Twitter. They own a manual Abarth and, to my surprise, offered: \u201cWould you like to take it for a drive? It\u2019s a manual, but it\u2019s easy and fun to drive.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, now\u2026 I was grateful for the offer, but I didn\u2019t want to risk damaging someone else\u2019s car\u2014and it was a manual, too. I turned them down at first, but then they said:<\/p>\n

You drive a manual BMW 320i every day, so I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll be just fine!<\/p>\n

So I took them up on their kind offer and got behind the wheel.<\/p>\n

The Abarth I drove was a 2018 Abarth 595 (manual, left-hand drive)<\/strong>. It was finished in Grigio Campovolo (hard to believe this gorgeous color is a standard option)<\/span>, and had the base trim along with a Clarion navigation system and lowering springs.<\/p>\n

I asked the owner why they chose the Abarth 595:<\/p>\n

I was looking for a new car with left-hand drive, a manual transmission, and everyday usability. At the time, there weren\u2019t many options\u2014pretty much the Abarth or a Peugeot Sport model.<\/strong> I considered the Peugeot, too, but in the end I decided to buy from a dealer I\u2019d known for a while, so I went with the Abarth.
\nI wanted a left-hand-drive manual because I hope to own a Cayman GT4 someday, and I wanted to get used to that setup.<\/strong>
\n\u2026Though I\u2019ve ended up falling for my little Abarth! (laughs)<\/p>\n

They explained.<\/p>\n

When I was considering buying a manual car back in April, one of my blog readers recommended the Abarth, saying, \u201cIt\u2019s a great car!<\/strong>\u201d I also see them around my neighborhood now and then, so I\u2019d been curious about the model for a while.<\/p>\n

The Abarth\u2019s trademark is the scorpion<\/strong>, inspired by the zodiac sign of its founder, Carlo Abarth.<\/p>\n

My First Abarth Test Drive<\/h3>\n

The Abarth 595 I drove looked beautiful in its Porsche Crayon-like paint. And above all, its compact size made it incredibly cute.<\/strong> I thought it had just the size and styling that many women would love.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Abarth 595 measures 3,660 mm long, 1,625 mm wide, and 1,505 mm tall. It looked like it would be easy to drive around town.<\/p>\n

I was surprised when I first opened the driver\u2019s door. It felt much more solidly made than I\u2019d expected. It\u2019s a compact car, and it\u2019s Italian, so I\u2019d assumed\u2014without any real basis\u2014that it might look good on the outside but be a bit slapdash underneath<\/strong>. (I\u2019m really, really sorry\u2026)<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The interior was stylish, too<\/strong>\u2014just what you\u2019d expect from an Italian car. The seats felt just right\u2014not too firm, not too soft\u2014and were solidly made. And despite its compact dimensions, it can comfortably seat four<\/strong>. What a great package!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This Abarth was a left-hand-drive manual. In most manual cars, the gear lever is usually near the handbrake (like this)<\/span>:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In the Abarth 595, however, the gear lever sits high on the center console<\/strong>. The owner told me that this position makes shifting easier: as soon as you take your hand off the steering wheel, you can reach the lever in a quick, natural motion.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

That made sense. I practiced reaching for the lever a few times, and it was right where my hand naturally fell after only a small movement<\/strong>\u2014easy to use. The car also has a five-speed gearbox<\/strong>, so reverse is where you\u2019d normally find sixth gear.<\/p>\n

After the owner had shown me the basics, I adjusted the seat and got ready to go. This was my first time driving a manual car that belonged to someone outside my family<\/strong>, so I nervously started the engine.<\/p>\n

Wow\u2014it sounded pretty sporty!<\/p>\n

Next page \u2192 Driving the Abarth in second gear: how the shifts felt and what the engine sounded like<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n


\nWith my nerves kicking in, I eased out the clutch and pressed the accelerator. The car pulled away smoothly, and I breathed a sigh of relief. The road from the East Rokko Observatory down to Royu Driveway starts with a hill, so I had to make a hill start\u2014but I managed that, too. The owner even complimented me:<\/p>\n

That was a smooth shift from first to second. You\u2019re good!<\/p>\n

I was pretty pleased with that! (laughs) With a 1.4-liter engine, it\u2019s not a particularly powerful car, but it climbed the mountain road in second gear with more strength than I expected.<\/strong> The steering felt natural, and just as the owner had said, the gear lever was in a great position.<\/p>\n

Combined with the compact body, the Abarth made me feel like I could control everything right at my fingertips<\/strong>. Then the owner suggested:<\/p>\n

Try accelerating hard in second gear!<\/p>\n

On a straight stretch, I pressed the accelerator firmly and got to enjoy the engine note.<\/p>\n

The exhaust note was refined and smooth, with a lovely rise in pitch.<\/strong> It wasn\u2019t loud or aggressive; it was simply a beautiful sound\u2014one you could call a \u201ctone.\u201d I\u2019ve always preferred a factory exhaust over the sound of a modified one (When I once rode in a supercar with an aftermarket exhaust, I embarrassingly told the owner, \u201cThat engine sounds like a cow giving birth!\u201d\u2026)<\/span>.<\/p>\n

If the factory setup sounds this good, I thought, it\u2019s more than enough for me.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Another thing I noticed while driving the Abarth 595 was its \u201ccompanion\u201d feel<\/strong>. Some cars make you feel like you\u2019re driving alongside a trusted partner, while others don\u2019t. Even after a short test drive, I could already feel myself getting attached to this one.<\/p>\n

I could imagine taking it out not just for everyday errands, but on longer drives to explore new places. I found myself picturing the fun of driving it along brick-paved roads through old Italian towns<\/strong>\u2026<\/p>\n

I also asked the owner how it performed on the highway:<\/p>\n

It\u2019s actually pretty impressive. It feels planted, too. I usually drive at around 1\u25cb0 km\/h, and it\u2019s no problem at all. Maybe it\u2019s because I drive like that, but fuel economy is 9 km\/L, which is a little poor.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

After seeing the fuel economy figures for the GT3 and Panamera Turbo, my sense of what counts as good or bad mileage is so distorted that I couldn\u2019t tell whether 9 km\/L was good or bad\u2026 (laughs)<\/p>\n

The owner also invited me to try rev-matching on a downshift. I\u2019ve been practicing in my BMW 320i, but I\u2019m always too timid with the throttle, and it ends with a \u201cScreeeech!\u201d and a massive jolt. I\u2019ve never managed to get it right, so I decided to pass this time.<\/p>\n

After that, I reversed in a parking area along Royu Driveway and headed back the way we\u2019d come. Thanks to the owner, I completed the test drive without stalling once. Phew!<\/p>\n

I Want to Drive More Cars<\/h3>\n

The test drive lasted only about ten minutes, but I could tell that the Abarth 595 manual is easy to drive and a whole lot of fun.<\/strong> The gear lever moved easily, and the clutch was light and engaged low down, so even a manual-transmission beginner like me could drive without feeling intimidated.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I also discovered that I find a left-hand-drive manual easier to drive than a right-hand-drive one.<\/strong> I\u2019m right-handed, so shifting with my right hand feels more natural. Maybe I should look for a left-hand-drive manual next time I buy a car\u2026 (I\u2019m getting ahead of myself! lol)<\/span><\/p>\n

The Abarth is stylish inside and out, too, so I imagine it would go down well with my wife and other women. My review ended up being a bit more impressionistic and vague than my husband\u2019s, though\u2014I\u2019m sorry about that\u2026 (-_-)<\/p>\n

A huge thank-you to the owner for kindly letting me drive the car. I really appreciate it!<\/p>\n

Lately, when I visit Royu Driveway, blog readers and followers have been coming up to me and offering to let me drive their cars, saying, \u201cPlease take it for a spin! And feel free to write about it on your blog!<\/strong>\u201d I\u2019m incredibly grateful.<\/p>\n

To be honest, lately I\u2019ve been curious about not just Porsches, but also the Mazda Roadster and Toyota Supra. I wonder if anyone at Royu would let me take one for a drive\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026Okay, maybe I\u2019m getting a little carried away. Sorry! (laughs)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Abarth One Sunday morning, I headed to Royu Driveway and finally met a follower I\u2019d often chatted with on Twitter. They own a manual Abarth and, to my surprise, offered: \u201cWould you like to take it for a drive? It\u2019s a manual, but it\u2019s easy and fun to drive.\u201d Now, now\u2026 I was grateful for the offer, but I didn\u2019t want to risk damaging someone else\u2019s car\u2014and it was a manual, too. I turned them...","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":12531,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/?p=12503","footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-testdrive","en-US"],"yoast_head":"Abarth 595 Manual Test Drive: Stylish, Great-Sounding, and Easy to Drive - Porsche Owner's Blog from Japan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Considering Porsche ownership? 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