The New Abarth Punto: A Hot Hatch that's Truly Worth its Iconic Brand

The Abarth Punto, Fiat's latest reborn hot hatch range, has finally arrived, and we're excited to get our hands on the standard 155 horsepower model. The first thing that catches your eye is how stylish it looks, with an Abarth logo at the front, deeper and lower bumpers, 16-in gray H Wheels with Brembo brakes red calipers behind them, and nice white body work with red wing mirrors here and sports stripes a bath written down the side. The only thing missing from this high-performance hot hatch is the iconic Fiat badge, as Abarth wants to establish its own strong identity. Instead, you'll find a NA Bath badge plumped on the rear hunches.

As we delve deeper into the car's features, it's clear that Abarth has put thought into creating a unique and sporty hot hatch. The engine, a 1.4L unit, is enthusiastic with 155 horsepower and revs to an impressive 62,000 RPM. However, it also boasts a sports over boost button that boosts the torque up to about 170 bhp at around 3,000 RPM. This feature allows you to push the car harder and experience a more thrilling ride. The Punto feels like an old-school hot hatch from about 15 years ago, which is great news for enthusiasts who love the thrill of driving a high-performance car.

Performance-wise, the Abarth Punto scores an impressive 8 out of 10. The handling is spot on, and it's an absolute riot when you chuck it around corners. It has loads of grip, turns in nicely under steer, and is safe to push too hard. However, there is one aspect that lets it down compared to other high-performance cars - the steering. While it's not bad by any means, it can feel a bit wooly and not very precise at times. Nevertheless, the fun factor of this car is incredible, making it well worth giving an 9 out of 10.

When it comes to handling rough roads, the Abarth Punto has surprised us with its comfort and performance. It's surprisingly comfortable, even on Britain's notoriously bumpy and potholed roads. We were able to drive at a steady pace of around 60 MPH without any issues, making this one of the best-riding hatchbacks on the market.

As we explore the interior of the Abarth Punto, it's clear that Abarth has gone to great lengths to create a sporty and premium cabin. The leather-mounted handbrake with red stitching is a nice touch, as is the sporty gear knob. However, the most impressive feature is the turbo boost gauge, which keeps an eye on the overboost feature. This ensures that you can get the most out of your car without putting excessive stress on the engine.

The Abarth Punto is also an affordable option, with a starting price of £132. Given its performance, handling, and premium features, it's clear that Abarth has finally created a hot hatch that's truly worth its iconic brand. We can't wait to see what other cars Abarth has in store for us.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthis is the new abath pun the first car from fiat's reborn hot hatch range we've got the standard 155 brake horow car here today and it looks for absolute business but is it worthy of the iconic abar brand and more importantly can it out gun its Rivals Fiat is desperate for the abath brand to have its own strong identity and to that end you won't find a Fiat badge anywhere on this high performance of bar it's an A Bar logo at the front deeper and lower bumpers 16-in gray H Wheels with Brembo brakes red calipers behind them you won't find those on a standard p and pelli zero Nero tires it's nice white body work with red wing mirrors here and sports stripes a bath written down the side and just for good measure a na bath badge plumped on the rear hunches here what feed is trying to say and what a bar is trying to say is that this is more than a soup top punto okay so now we're doing the important bit actually driving the above Pote first impressions well it's a really cheeky little hot hatch with this really enthusiastic 1.4 L engine 155 horsepower as I said revs to 62,000 RPM and it's got 152 PBT of torque but there's this Sports over boost button which boosted the torque up to about 170b foot at around 3,000 RPM it loves to be rev though encourages you to push it harder really good fun just sort of fizzes along down the road in fact it feels like an old school hot hatch from about 15 years ago it's great stuff I reckon even though this is the 155 horsepower version and not the 180 SS model still loads of fun 8 out of 10 for performance the people at the bar have really got the handling of this PTO spot on it is an absolute riot when you Chuck it a Corners it's got loads of grip turns in nicely under steers safely if you push too hard speaking of which the ESP can't be completely disengaged but let's not be matcho about this you can still move it about a bit on the throttle it's still lots of fun in fact any Keen driver is going to find driving this car an absolute hoop the only thing that lets it down though is this steering compared with something like a Renault CLE 197 cup it's really wooly not very precise it's a bit of a shame but you'd still give I mean the fun factor of this car is incredible you'd still give it 9 out of 10 we first drove this at B at its launch in Italy on a racetrack so one of the big uncertainties was how well it would handle Britain's rotted and bumpy and cut up roads the answer is very for such a stiffly sprung and firm hot hatchback it's actually very comfortable we're bumbling on a sort of 60 MPH at the moment and it's very good indeed it's very impressive actually it's one of the best riding hatchbacks on the market so what's it like inside the new Ab Bar's cabin well it's got loads of nice touches that make the driver feel quite special sporty stuff like this leather mounted handbrake with red stitching the same again on the gear knob you've got the abath badge of course it's not a Fiat remember that more leather red stitching comfortable bucket deep set seats and uh really sporty dos as well with a turbo boost gauge so you keep an eye on that over boost feature if you press your sport boost button the result is a more upm Market cabin than you would expect from a car of this price this new abov is exactly what the brand should be about it's fun to drive full of character and it's affordable this car starts at 132 Grand so are we glad that fat resurrected ABA absolutely let's just hope there's more cars like this to comethis is the new abath pun the first car from fiat's reborn hot hatch range we've got the standard 155 brake horow car here today and it looks for absolute business but is it worthy of the iconic abar brand and more importantly can it out gun its Rivals Fiat is desperate for the abath brand to have its own strong identity and to that end you won't find a Fiat badge anywhere on this high performance of bar it's an A Bar logo at the front deeper and lower bumpers 16-in gray H Wheels with Brembo brakes red calipers behind them you won't find those on a standard p and pelli zero Nero tires it's nice white body work with red wing mirrors here and sports stripes a bath written down the side and just for good measure a na bath badge plumped on the rear hunches here what feed is trying to say and what a bar is trying to say is that this is more than a soup top punto okay so now we're doing the important bit actually driving the above Pote first impressions well it's a really cheeky little hot hatch with this really enthusiastic 1.4 L engine 155 horsepower as I said revs to 62,000 RPM and it's got 152 PBT of torque but there's this Sports over boost button which boosted the torque up to about 170b foot at around 3,000 RPM it loves to be rev though encourages you to push it harder really good fun just sort of fizzes along down the road in fact it feels like an old school hot hatch from about 15 years ago it's great stuff I reckon even though this is the 155 horsepower version and not the 180 SS model still loads of fun 8 out of 10 for performance the people at the bar have really got the handling of this PTO spot on it is an absolute riot when you Chuck it a Corners it's got loads of grip turns in nicely under steers safely if you push too hard speaking of which the ESP can't be completely disengaged but let's not be matcho about this you can still move it about a bit on the throttle it's still lots of fun in fact any Keen driver is going to find driving this car an absolute hoop the only thing that lets it down though is this steering compared with something like a Renault CLE 197 cup it's really wooly not very precise it's a bit of a shame but you'd still give I mean the fun factor of this car is incredible you'd still give it 9 out of 10 we first drove this at B at its launch in Italy on a racetrack so one of the big uncertainties was how well it would handle Britain's rotted and bumpy and cut up roads the answer is very for such a stiffly sprung and firm hot hatchback it's actually very comfortable we're bumbling on a sort of 60 MPH at the moment and it's very good indeed it's very impressive actually it's one of the best riding hatchbacks on the market so what's it like inside the new Ab Bar's cabin well it's got loads of nice touches that make the driver feel quite special sporty stuff like this leather mounted handbrake with red stitching the same again on the gear knob you've got the abath badge of course it's not a Fiat remember that more leather red stitching comfortable bucket deep set seats and uh really sporty dos as well with a turbo boost gauge so you keep an eye on that over boost feature if you press your sport boost button the result is a more upm Market cabin than you would expect from a car of this price this new abov is exactly what the brand should be about it's fun to drive full of character and it's affordable this car starts at 132 Grand so are we glad that fat resurrected ABA absolutely let's just hope there's more cars like this to come\n"