| First Drive | Helmsley, Yorkshire | Abarth Punto Evo |
Back in 2008 the
Abarth Grand Punto re-launched Fiat's performance sub-brand in the UK. Yet it was the subsequent runt of the Abarth litter,
the 500, that rubberstamped the Italian racing brand as capable of greatness. Given that, we could expect Abarth's second stab at the Punto to be quite good. Fret not, for quite good the Evo is, as Abarth's chief chassis Jedi said. Allegedly.
In the Metal
LOUD. The regular Punto is quite chintzy in
Evo decal, so to add a complement of Abarth clothing is to put the car into big-fat-party-animal-in-a-Hawaiian-shirt territory. It works, though, because hot superminis suit being small and loud.
The red mirror caps and vinyl side stripes are a £160 option, but they're a fitting finishing touch to a car littered with air vents, skirts, spoilers, splitters and scorpions. The cabin is a little more sombre, distinguished from regular Puntos by a set of sports seats, a three-spoke sports steering wheel, some red and yellow stitching, and a prominent 'manettino' next to the gear lever.
What you get for your Money
The Abarth Punto certainly feels like £16,500 worth of car. Many of the surfaces are of the hard, hollow plastic kind, but the contact points are pleasingly tactile so that, at least superficially, it all seems impressively high rent.
Options are conspicuously limited because standard kit is comprehensive, including 17-inch alloys housing painted Brembo brake callipers, cruise control, air conditioning, Bluetooth with voice recognition and an upgraded stereo. It's favourable compared to, say, the slightly cheaper SEAT Ibiza FR, which has less power and standard kit. There's no five-door version though. Not yet.
Driving it
Something of the standard Punto's chassis softness is retained, though the Abarth's stiffened suspension (by 20 percent) and thicker anti-roll bars can be felt as the wheels nibble away at rougher tarmac. It's a nice balance though, keeping the body tightly controlled around corners while retaining a forgivingly supple edge. The steering, although too light at low speeds, firms up markedly in correlation with the speedometer, and there's enough accuracy and feel through the rim to make the Abarth properly enjoyable to throw into corners. Switching to Sport using the manettino adds an extra edge to the steering and throttle, but in either mode there's a largely unfiltered line of communication between palms and tyres.
The real highlight is the engine. The 1.4-litre MultiAir turbo unit develops 165bhp, but the torque plateau from about 2,500rpm makes it feel stronger than that. The six-speed gearbox doesn't have the tightness of, say, the MINI's, but its ratios are spread so as to make the most of the relentless mid-range pull of the 1.4. A visceral edge is added by means of induction whoosh at full load, and a mild banging in the exhaust at lift off - just what you want.
Worth Noting
An esseesse kit will become available before Santa does his yearly world tour. It will comprise a new set of springs, some bigger wheels and an ECU upgrade. The MultiAir's turbo is unaffected, which, says Fiat, will keep the cost of installation right down. It will result in an Abarth Punto with around 180bhp and a slightly worse ride.
Summary
There's something beguilingly crude about the Abarth Punto Evo, especially set against the relative conservatism of the automatic-only
Skoda Fabia vRS. It packs plenty of punch, aesthetically and actually, and it handles predictably no mater how hard you try to corrupt it. Yet beneath that there's still a quite spacious, quite comfy and reasonably priced little hatch.
