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5 reasons why the Abarth Urban Cross should be your next purchase

Hot hatch power. Crossover practicality. Nuff said

It's no revelation that crossovers are all the rage these days. Jack up the ride height, throw in some roof rails, add some plastic cladding and you have yourself a car that's as adept at going through trenches as it is to take on sharp corners. Almost. While crossover hatchbacks are a dime a dozen, no one has thought of adding hot hatch levels of power to one. Until the Fiat Abarth Urban Cross. The Urban Cross is basically the same car as the Avventura - Fiat's ill-fated attempt at turning toughening up the Punto EVO - except its deary old petrol-engine has been replaced with a spunk 1.4-litre T-Jet turbo-petrol, and that has essentially changed everything. Here's why buying one makes so much sense.

It stings

The Abarth name essentially re-baptises all domesticated Fiats into the fiery temperamental Italians they were born to be. It's an in-house performance division for FIAT Spa and is to the brad what AMG is to MErcedes-Benz or the M division is to BMW. This means a pretty sizeable power upgrade, stiffened suspension and tyres which offer greater track - that's basically the holy trinity of automotive performance, and the three magical ingredients that make for an excellent afternoon in an empty parking lot. Which brings us to our next point.

It doesn't cost a fortune

The hot hatch market in India is woefully underserved. Most of the serious performance hatches in India, including the likes of the Abarth 595 Competizione, lie at the top end of the price spectrum and as a result miss out on their target demographic (we're looking at you) given that they cost as much as much larger and fancier cars. Which makes the Abarth Urban Cross, pound-for-pound, the biggest performance bargain available given that it dishes out 138 bhp of power and costs Rs 9.93 lakh. Which is nearly a third of what you'd pay if you went in for any of the more powerful models.

It's versatile

While the Abarth Punto also offers the same levels of performance and houses the same engine, it doesn't have the versatility of the Urban Cross, which is essentially a rebadged Avventura - sans the spare, tailgate mounted wheel. Like a proper Crossover, the Urban Cross comes with proper skid plates and plastic cladding which allows it to waft over moon-like surfaces in the crater-strewn Indian suburbia. The Avventura's rather pretentious embellishments (remember the inclineometer?) have thankfully been removed. So whatever's left is all business.

It's pretty fast

Yup. The Urban Cross isn't scary quick. But there's a rawness to its power delivery that can make for some interesting driving experiences. It isn't the most refined car, and if you floor the throttle at in first gear, get ready to battle torque steer that needs the forearms of a stevedore. The Urban Cross' power kicks in around 2000 rpm with the T-Jet's turbocharger kicking in after due consideration. But there's plenty of fun to be had, especially from a point-and-shoot, city based perspective.

Your folks won't disapprove

Apart from a distinctly Ferrari shade of red, the Urban Cross does not bear the markings of a performance car. In fact it offers the utility of a crossover, so for all intents and purposes it's a pretty sensible purchase. There are a few cues you must ensure nobody picks up on - such as the big black scorpion emblazoned on the rear door. But apart from that it has all the making of a great family car. Just make sure that the kids skip breakfast on the school run, and you'll have no problems.


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