Fiat upgrades the 2016 Abarth 595 – costs from £15,090

The Abarth 595 – the pocket-rocket Fiat 500 – has been upgraded for 2016 with a three-model range and cosmetic tweaks. Costs from £15,090.

Fiat’s pocket-rocket – the Abarth 595 – comes in for a raft of upgrades for 2016, with a three model range – regular, Turismo and Competizione – delivering a bit more power, some cosmetic tweaks and equipment upgrades.

Prices run from £15,090 for the 595 Hatchback with the 1.4 TJet engine and 143bhp up to £22,290 for the Competizione Convertible with the 1.4 TJet engine producing 178bhp. A five-speed manual gearbox is standard, but you can opt for the sequential ‘box complete with flappy-paddles.

The three states of tune for the 595 are 143bhp in the standard car, 163bhp in the Turismo and 178bhp in the Competizione, all up by 5bhp, and with a limited-slip diff option on the 595 Competizione as part of a Performance Pack which also adds 17″ alloys, leather and Alcantara interior and a gloss finish for the trim.

Both the Turismo and Competizione come with Koni dampers (front only on the Turismo) and the Competizione also gets four-pot Brembo brakes.

All the new 595s get the 5″ Uconnect infotainment with DAB (and Sat Nav if you want) and with the option of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as well as BeatsAudio.

The new Abarth 595 arrives in Abarth’s (well, Fiat’s) UK showrooms today (13 May 2016).