Drove the new Fiat 500 Abarth today.

[Adriank]

Stopped by my parents house today to take my Dads new Abarth out for a drive. He traded up from the Fiat 500 sport to this. The first one on Vancouver Island, and it should stay that way for a few more months.

The car is a blast to drive, it handles wonderfully and is quite quick even in the lower revs. I didn't get to push the car at all, due to my father wanting to follow the break in period (no revs over 4k for the first 500kms)

I'm not a fan of the seats, I wish the bolsters were bigger and little tighter. I also found it very strange that you could not order heated seats in the Abarth... does anyone know the reason for this?

Definately a huge improvement over the 500 sport, but that was to be expected.

I snapped a few pics of our cars while I was there. The Corrado is mine, the mini is also my fathers, his car show / autocross car.















Excuse the dirty interiors, we were out driving all day!

[RobMarkToo]

i like the color scheme on the Fiat, makes the shape look good for once.

[spockcat]

I also found it very strange that you could not order heated seats in the Abarth... does anyone know the reason for this?

It's such a hot car it doesn't need any more heat.

[Chiropractor JW]

337 in the garage?

[Hufeisen]

Love the cars! It seems like the 500 Abarth is a fun little car by the feedback .

[Adriank]

337 in the garage?

Nope, just a 2.0L. My mothers car.

Love the cars! It seems like the 500 Abarth is a fun little car by the feedback .

There is quite a bit of attention to detail in the design of the vehicle.

The badge on the grill acts as part of the air intake system, via a series of small ducts bordering it. The boost gauge has a programmable shift light in the center of it. The abarth scorpion is even stamped to the bottom of the muffler, just incase you were wondering who made the exhaust, while looking at the car from below...

Those are only a few of the neat details I've found so far. I'm sure I haven't noticed everything yet.

It truly is an amazing car, I wish I was a little better at conveying my impressions of the vehicle. My few words do not do it justice.

I'm sure it still has lots in store for him, once the break in period is over.

[dieselraver]

looks nice!

[2k4golfgen4]

Nice cars!

Clean Corrado!

[spitfirevr6]

I approve of every car in that driveway.
I need to test drive one of these. at first I thought they were ugly, but they have really been growing on me.

[kraut_pauer79]

That is one hell of a neat stable in that driveway. Your Corrado is super-clean.

while the bolsters in the Abarth may not be adequate, at least those seats look comfy as hell. For being such a little tin-can car, it actually looks mean, especially in that color combo

[the modem wizard]

The Abarth looks gorgeous in that colour. The Mini is amazing as well.

[deadernie]

How long before Dad hits the auto-x with it? Be interested to know how it compares with his mini.

[manol2]

Great cars! I love the Abarth, white for me ( or light gray if available)

[epbrown]

I also found it very strange that you could not order heated seats in the Abarth... does anyone know the reason for this?

You can't get a manual transmission and heated seats in any Fiat 500 because of the way they wire the buttons into the console.

[SpecialFX]

I thoroughly enjoy the cars in that driveway!

[feels_road]

That color combination certainly looks hot - although I don't think I would ever get a black car. I would have to start washing it - and I am too old to change my habits.

[Inspector Detector]

The Fiat is nice, although your Mini Cooper qualifies as very nice.

[rains]

very good looking car

I've driven in the sport model many times, and quite liked it. I would _really_ like to test drive an abarth sometime.

Could you take more pictures?

[AndyTR32]

Awesome car, love the color combo! Thanks for sharing and please keep us posted after the break-in period is over.

[Aonarch]

I want one.

[TheRedMouse]

I heard an abarth yesterday driving down the road (not agressively) and it did have a deep growl to it, i was somewhat shocked.

I like everything about the fiat 500 except the price...

[Slayer]

<4k break-in

just wind it up and wear it in properly.. only get one chance

[Aonarch]

I drove my GTI of the lot with about 30 miles on it and headed up to the Dragon.

[barry2952]

Parked next to one Saturday. It looked like a toy next to my Mark II. Sounded nice!

[Vanilla_Coke]

Great cars! I love the Abarth, white for me ( or light gray if available)

Indeed, wish we got that color here instead...

[pattrick02]

that's awesome. i'd love to test drive one of these. awesome selection of cars in the driveway.

[GahannaKid]

It's nice to hear the difference between the Sport & Abarth is that noticeable. I liked the Sport but wasn't impressed with it's pick up & go nor the handling. Tell your dad he has great taste

[NoDubJustYet]

You can't get a manual transmission and heated seats in any Fiat 500 because of the way they wire the buttons into the console.

Because Italians.

[mtbscoTT]

I went as far as having a deposit down on an Abarth pending testdrive....and after driving two of them I got my money back and will be keeping my MINI JCW.
It's a great car for what it is but it was substantially slower than my JCW. As Car and Driver noted in their comparison test this month, the JCW SHOULD be better for almost $9K more. If I had been cross shopping the two cars between each other, the price difference would have likely tipped me to the Fiat but since I already have the MINI it wasn't enough.
I spent a couple of months on the Fiat forums, there's some real region specific demand for the Abarth. In my area, 3 of the 4 dealers either had some available for immediate delivery or with a very short wait (the one I was going to get was already in the system and would have taken less than a month to get.), but in good old SoCal, the giant "market adjustment" is in place as usual.
Most of them being sold at the studio I was dealing with were to repeat 500 Sport customers. To them I'm sure the extra 59 HP makes it seem like a rocket, for me not so much. It's a great piece for what it is though.

[ErikGTI]

I went as far as having a deposit down on an Abarth pending testdrive....and after driving two of them I got my money back and will be keeping my MINI JCW.
It's a great car for what it is but it was substantially slower than my JCW. As Car and Driver noted in their comparison test this month, the JCW SHOULD be better for almost $9K more. If I had been cross shopping the two cars between each other, the price difference would have likely tipped me to the Fiat but since I already have the MINI it wasn't enough.
I spent a couple of months on the Fiat forums, there's some real region specific demand for the Abarth. In my area, 3 of the 4 dealers either had some available for immediate delivery or with a very short wait (the one I was going to get was already in the system and would have taken less than a month to get.), but in good old SoCal, the giant "market adjustment" is in place as usual.
Most of them being sold at the studio I was dealing with were to repeat 500 Sport customers. To them I'm sure the extra 59 HP makes it seem like a rocket, for me not so much. It's a great piece for what it is though.

I feel like a better comparison would be the JCW and the Abarth Esseesse, right? It seems to me that the Esseesse is to the Abarth as the JCW is to the S besides the fact we don't get the Esseesse.


Erik

[epbrown]

I feel like a better comparison would be the JCW and the Abarth Esseesse, right? It seems to me that the Esseesse is to the Abarth as the JCW is to the S besides the fact we don't get the Esseesse.

The US Abarth has the same power as the EU Esseesse, we just don't get the paddle-shift gearbox.

[ErikGTI]

The US Abarth has the same power as the EU Esseesse, we just don't get the paddle-shift gearbox.

Oh, I had no idea the HP numbers were the same, never mind then.

[mhjett]

The Abarth is supposed to sound really nice. I get the feeling this would be an absolutely fantastic city commuting car.

One thing I didn't know, as pointed out in the recent Car and Driver comparo test with a JCW Mini, is that there isn't a single Fiat badge anywhere on the 500 Abarth.

[epbrown]

The Abarth is supposed to sound really nice. One thing I didn't know, as pointed out in the recent Car and Driver comparo test with a JCW Mini, is that there isn't a single Fiat badge anywhere on the 500 Abarth.

The Abarth isn't a Fiat in the EU. It's sold at separate dealerships, even. It's more like the RUF version of a 911 or Alpina version of a BMW.

[Dave Zero]

I thought they banned the 500 from autox because tipover?