Exactly where i was looking for, thanks!

I own an Abarth auto and it’s awesome. Just like anything in life it needs getting used to. Also remember it’s an AMT and not a torque converter single clutch box. The car has a two second hill decent function which is so wrongly portrayed in the video. For a person who knows how to drive it’s has what is needed. If it wasn’t there car would roll back on an incline and it doesn’t.

As per many other comments: it's a manual gearbox with a robotised clutch and shifting. Autoimode is pretty sh*t, but if you only drive it in manual and tell it when to change gears it is actually magic- I like this WAY more than the dual clutch or torque converter gearboxes. This is a gearbox for people who would rather have had a manual but for whatever reason ( eg me with a gammy leg) cant use the clutch. Upshifts are fine when you change JUST like a manual ie lift off throttle. I think it's actually smoother than me using the clutch- which says more about me than the car!

Good Review!!

Great video for those Interested in the MTA abarth . I agree it seems the gearbox is quite sluggish and slow which is disappointing. My automatic 124 Abarth shifts quite quickly when in sport mode. Just to correct you, Audi’s Stronic gearbox is in fact a dual clutch, it is one of the best autos you can get!

Start engine. Then press 1, drive away. Come to a stop press N, then R to reverse. :)

I think you are comparing it to a torque converter but the MTA (like the regular 500 dualogic) is an older and different kind of gearbox straight from the 90s where the clutch is operated just like in a manual (disengaged -> gear -> engaged) but electronically. Thanks for the video, i'm glad i got a manual hahah

I have driven a Fiat 500 automatic and it has same problems! Great video with very informative details. Subscribed. 👍

Great stuff👍😀

seems like fun to me

Thanks, this is useful, I was gonna test drive one but don't think ill bother.

JF Automotive Elite Flash tuning kit. 29% faster shifts. No more lag pulling out of junctions. Smoother gearshifts.

I have a 2018 model. The worst feature apart from only 5 gears is the car changing up going into corners even when I've downshifted meaning you have no power

I have the regular turbo one and no one ever makes videos on them so I can’t see what modifications are good.

Yep. I owned a Fiat 500 S auto. Loved thr car but the duallogic gear was a deal break

thanks for the video! I was at the dealership today; very tempted by their offer for the 2019 competizione 595; automatic or (MTA). my questions, is it reliable for everyday drive of 7Km to work and 7km back; or reliability will be compromised. I sincerely appreciate a feedback as I'm making a decision between this car and a 2018 alfa guilietta veloce

My 2002 Alfa 156 has the same semi auto type gearbox with paddles and I find it much easier to drive than any old type manual. I have with 60 years of experience found it gives you the best of both worlds.

Per other folks comments - it's neither a full automatic nor a dual-clutch (the 4c has a dual-clutch box, so don't compare); it is a robotized manual....so you won't ever get the creep like you do in a full auto when you take foot off the brake. What it does allow you to do, is drive easily in "Auto-mode" - for example around town when it's stop-start or, say if your wife/partner wants to pop out and just wants to get from A - B and isn't really interested in extracting anything other than a safe journey. It can be fun in sport and manual - and your 'tips' apply equally to an Aston Martin Vantage with the auto-box I have both a manual 695 Rivale in UK and an MTA in Spain - they are both great for what they do. Would a 6-speed DCT in the car be great, yes of course, but as a little buzz box to put a smile on your face, they can't be beaten and you adapt to each. By the way - the gearbox software adapts to your driving style too.

I'm still gonna get it. I want an Abarth 500, and I love driving automatic. I can drive manual, I do now, but I have driven my mom's automatic and it's so comfortable for daily regular driving

Wish I‘d seen this video before I started a 2 year lease on my Rivale 695. Fun but crap gearbox, exactly as you said.

Hmmmm .................. you drove it outside of Sports Mode! Thats more than a bit Sus. As everyone has said, put it in Sports and in Auto and drive it like a manual with the paddles. Most importantly take the power off as you change. This is actually recommended to protect the gearbox. If you do all that its a great fun car and you can work the gears up and down just like with a manual without the hassel of having to muck around with a clutch. The reason I got an auto is because in terms of manual fun - anticpating the gear you want - its the same, but when you get into stop-start traffic you can relax and just let the automatic let you creep along without exhausting yourself slipping the clutch in and out all the time. The only real downside of the auto is the slower start relative to a manul if you really want to really fang it.

I have an American Abarth auto with the slappy handle...no complaints here Does everything it said on the tin

You only have to press the Sport button one time in a t jet engine. Is to activate it when you buy it. Bravo Tjet since 2008 sport always on.

I had one of these as a loaner the other day and I have to say I agree 100% with what you are saying. I could not believe how bad the gearbox was. My wife's Honda Jazz with a CVT gearbox is nicer to drive around town. If they used the same dual clutch transmission in that Alfa uses in the Giulietta then the 595 Abarth would be a much better car.

I drove for several months a Fiat Panda 1.2 Dualogic (which uses the very same Magneti Marelli "Selespeed" system as the Abarth 595 Competizione) and, honestly, I find it a perfect alternative to a classic automatic transmission. In many ways, I find it vastly superior to a conventional automatic, also because it can be fixed by every Fiat service facility, with no special tools. A conventional automatic transmission is infinitely more complicated.

I got an automatic driving license and fell in love with cars 2 years after I got my license So im thinking about buying that car in automatic gearbox, so shouldn’t I ? It looks like a lot of fun to be honest.

In disabled lost an arm in s bike accident 30 years ago, you should try my 80k miles fabia vrs, awesome gearbox and great fun to drive again finally.

So the quickest way to change gears here manually if I understand it correctly, is to accelerate then take your foot of the accelerator, change gear and then step back on the accelerator?

The S tronic gear box is a dual-clutch mate.

Nobody buys an abarth because it’s a good car, people buy them because they’re ridiculous and fun

The fiat is a single clutch manual with a robotic selector. The 4c is a dual clutch dry type. The Audi TT is a wet DSG dual clutch.

Hey man, I've owned an abarth in 2017 and I loved how much control I had over bang, I just had to hit 3000-4000 then hard push on the clutch and I almost always had a nice bang. I'm wondering how is this happening under an automatic gearbox ? Pretty random right ?

Drove a manual one yesterday. I guess I changed gear faster than that Sequential gearbox lol

Use Neutral at the lights, and that thing called a handbrake. It means you dont just rest on the brake pedal burning the retinas out of the poor guy behind.

Check out Bilal Abarth with this gearbox and then tell me something. Running on 310bhp.

I found the explanation of the gearbox buttons very confusing. Also, he said "why would you put it in neutral". Well, what about waiting at the lights, or parking up? And later he referred to "put it in sport". How? I didn't see a "sport" button.

Is the gearbox quick in manual mode?

S tronic is a duel clutch has been since vw used the dsg because it's vw group, that is why its a quick box

Last question which I cannot find anywhere. Is the automatic a lot slower in pull away from the manual or the differences or minor? Say green light short race on the street against a manual.

they obviously had no room to put manual linkage, in which would be awesome.. im sure you could figure out how to make it work.. i bought a manual and it is gREAAAT

You should review this for what it is… a manual box with automated clutch. This is a very reasonably priced car, adapting another gearbox for the 500 would not have made sense… At least there is an auto option for those who cant drive manually for whatever reason.

Intro song please? Subscribed.

Thanks, great honest review. I'm looking for an Abarth as a daily and this has confirmed what I thought...avoid the auto! Cheers dude!

Currently own a 595 (see profile pic) and do love it. Nearly owned 3 years now but I have a dilemma. I'm in need of an auto (health issues 😥) was going to upgrade to another abarth but auto. But your right the gearbox is 💩. Question is tho. What do I upgrade to???? Budget is £15k must be fun but also auto??? Ps subscribered 👍👍

He CARRIES ON TOOOOOOO Much.

I love Automatic in Abarth, but run always with shift paddles.

I think this sums up that I go for manual. ta

Anyone had any reliability issues with gearbox?

5:30 they hired VTEC fan to build this.. there is no other explanation 😂

it works better if you think of it as an automated manual shifting process. lift the gas a little for a short time when pressing a paddle. it's a little better then. but come on, you can get them for 20k brand new in 2024 (at least at my local dealer). you won't get a dual clutch gearbox for this pricetag.

They should bring this one to America I want to buy it

This is AMT, automated manual transmission. Can not be compared to conventional automatic gearbox.

great video, I'd only suggest more engine note and less music

What about the Clio RS 200, that gear box it's worst

Why don't they use the C635 dual-clutch? It's way faster and can handle 350 nm of torque.

lived in Asia and you will never ever see a manual Arbath

You can also remap the gearbox and it will change it completely

That’s a semi auto they all are jerky and shit , I’ve had a few They are what they are semi auto .. they all do that no matter the make

You dont explain how the gearbox works in a clear manner,,,,

Think you need to read up on what a dual clutch auto is vs a manual with a robotised clutch. 4c has a dual clutch, s-tronic is a dual clutch. If you are going to go into technicalities, at least do the research

What's all that plastic in the back

My 2015 shifts lightning fast.. maybe something wrong with your tester

You should drive the bmw dsg gearbox , they were real crap and in the beginning only available in the performance models , they died a sudden death , thats how bad they were , I was offered a test drive in the then M3 With that rubbish gearbox , I got as far as the first uphill gradient traffic light and as soon as I took my foot off the brake to touch the throttle it started rolling back , out of control , I pulled up the handbrake , got out and walked back to the dealership to get back into my manual 400kw (on the back wheels )AC Cobra replica , only to see the sorry salesman still trying to drive the piece of rubbish back in heavy traffic as I left like a bat out of hell , at that time I was a motor dealer and I refused to allow that rubbish gearbox on my floor and refused to trade one in or buy as a stock item from BMW , that box in the Fiat is a lot better .

there is no single clutch automatic dude, automatics have a stator and rotor and couple over hydraulic fluid, clutches are in manual gearboxes or double clutch gearboxes. There are also automised manual gearboxes, dct, mct, sequential etc... but automatic has no clutch. This sounds like a automised manual gearbox to me, in other words it a manual gearbox with a robotised clutch, which sucks

The music in this vid is worse than the gearbox pal!

Best automatic ever!!!!!

What a confusing over explanation about the gear selector

Neutral to park it.before you explain it you need to understand it which clearly you dont

i rented a non-abarth 500 with this type of gearbox (manual with a computer and actuators doing the shifting). It is literally the worst car I have ever driven and anyone who thinks it is good in either auto OR pseudo-manual mode can't tell their arse from their elbow. WTF were fiat thinking perservering with this? It leaves you waiting at the traffic lights while it stuffs around deciding whether to engage 1st and let the clutch out, changes gear mid corner for no good reason, all sorts of other stupid quirks, and it was slow as hell when controlled from the steering wheel. Horrible horrible product.

It seems like this gentleman does not understand the gear systems in cars.

You’re not selling to me.

Terrible manual as well

This car is not really made for the highways . A : it consumes a lot on the highway B : it doesn't have any cruise control option. For the country roads like driving through wine gardens in Italy, it's the best and very good looking car ,brakes are quite good and the sound system is on point.

ordered mine manual because of this slow bullshit changing gears

why start up the car to view and to hear the quad tips sounds ..no no lets put stupid music over the top that.

Automatic on this car 🤮 no involvement also much less reliable than the manual

Do you not understand the difference between a proper automatic gearbox and an automated manual???? 🙄

I can’t understand road testing one of the best hot hatches on the market in automatic form. Abarth make less than 4% for the disabled market. Who buys a pocket rocket auto? Review proper cars that do as they say! Not malign a proper car that caters for the few. Best thing you said was buy a manual. The other 99% was diatribe shite young man. Review a car for what it is not what it’s been adapted to do. The airways are full of negativity. Next week do a Fiesta ST Auto eh! Kick the shit out of that gearbox.i/ we/us don’t need your early learning days opinion on auto’s. I know they’re shite and don’t need you to tell me that. Test abilities not inabilities.

Who buys an abarth auto? You need to just retire from driving if you actually want an abarth auto.

Ugly car