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  This is a weekend car, something to trot out early on a Sunday morning for a crisp drive down the coast.

Peter Barnwell road tests and reviews the Fiat Abarth 500 Esseesse.

Fiat has struggled in this country for a long time due in the past to the Fix It Again Tony syndrome and more lately, because its cars are uncompetitively priced against the competition.

VALUE

That seems to be the way it will remain with the new Fiat Abarth 500 Esseesse at $34,990 plus on roads. It pitches the pint-sized hot hatch at seven grand above VW's Polo GTi three-door which sells for $27,790. The Veedub also has significantly more power and torque, a seven-speed DSG gearbox versus the Fiat's five-speed manual. The Polo is more than a second quicker 0 100km/h, has more torque and is nearly as economical. 

TECHNOLOGY

But, Fiat says the Abarth 500 Esseesse (SS) is a finely fettled sporty hatch built for the demands of racing or track days with a swag of high quality components in the engine and on the chassis. That, Fiat says, puts it above road-based potential contenders. Tell that to the person in the Esseesse who has just been whipped by a Polo GTi. 

The Esseesse is out of Fiat Motorsport and Performance division which replaced Abarth a few years ago. Abarth, started in 1952 by Austrian Carlo Abarth, produced dozens of highly effective race cars that spawned numerous stellar racing careers. 

The name Abarth 500 returned last year along with the even sportier Esseesse model which is what we get here. It has special bits in the engine like forged pistons and crankshaft as well as sports oriented brakes, suspension, tyres, chassis components and even the air intake. It looks the goods when you read the spec' sheet accentuated by the fact that the Esseesse is "remanufactured" by hand at the Abarth factory in Italy after initial production in Poland. 

Fiat sweetens the deal with a range of features including a reasonable audio system, climate control, electric windows, mirrors and door locking, seven air bags, 17-inch alloys, Blue&Me hands free communications system and hill holder. The car scores a five star Euro NCAP crash rating. 

DRIVING

Because it's front wheel drive, the Esseesse has tricky electronics that function like a limited slip differential. Called Torque Transfer Control, it ensures the front wheels maintain traction and negates the effects of understeer while adding to driver feedback. It enhances cornering "turn in" and maintains stability on bumpy corners. 

Thankfully, the stability control system doesn't intrude during fast cornering. Power comes from a 1.4-litre turbo (from Japanese manufacturer IHI) petrol engine uses twin intercoolers and generates some 118kW/230Nm output. Its a T-Jet twin cam unit and not a Multi-Air with solenoids and a single cam as expected. 

The Esseesse uses a range of `go fast" body bits like the front skirt, flared wheel arches, rear splitter, side vents and rear roof wing. It has two widely spaced exhaust tips and front foggies. The ride height is low while the seating position is high in what is a "tall boy" style body. It seats four in relative comfort but the boot is small. Controls are easy to use and look good but the driving position is strange unless you have short legs and long arms. Limited pedal box room can cause the clutch and brake to be pressed at the same time.

We found the Esseesse to be unacceptably hard in the suspension for everyday driving - it will jiggle you almost to death. But it's intended as a track day toy and in this environment, that hard set-up comes into its own as the Esseesse hooks around corners in kart-like fashion, brakes on a two bob piece and blasts out the other side on a wave of power and torque. 

VERDICT

It's addictive and extremely gratifying as the car makes you a better driver than you possibly are. This is a weekend car, something to trot out early on a Sunday morning for a crisp drive down the coast on back roads or a drive to the local race track for some serious high speed driving in a closed environment. This in the knowledge that your Abarth has the credentials to take whatever you can dish out and then back up for more next week.