My Abarth 500 Esseesse

[p4cks]

It's a suped up Fiat 500 basically. Ideal for my 12 mile commute.

Had the wheels refurbished in anthracite as the white ones were kerbed and pitted


The gearknob was worn (these cars don't seem to wear their miles very well, this is 38k)



So I spent a tenner on a new one



So far, I absolutely love it. It's fantastic fun and although it's a girls' car it's still pretty good looking!

[idibbers]

They're bloody good looking cars these, especially in white!

Can't believe the gear knob was as worn as that though!

Nice car OP.

[Otispunkmeyer]

Nice car

We've looked at a few normal 500's and I think its true that they don't seem to wear very well. A lot of the ones we saw seemed rather tatty despite not being very old. Then again, it could be that a lot of 500 1.2's are bought and run by idiots who don't give a crap!

[irish boy]

Great little machines. Wife's first abarth 500 was ran till around 65k from memory with no issues at all. Couldn't get her talked into looking at any other type of car so got another new one.

They also depreciate rather slowly making them a better bet then a lot of these new lease deal things.

[Martin_M]

Great cars - I recently parted with my 595 comp - just couldn't deal with the poor seating position for my 6 foot 3 frame any longer - hope they sort it out on the new model.

[bazza1000]

Fantastic little cars I really rate them as so much fun.

Recently sold our Abarth 500 (just the normal version) and really miss it as they have bags of character! Imagine the essesse version you have goes well.

[burger81]

Love these, always wanted one. They look like they have so much character. Yours looks like it sits nice and squat at the back. I see so many that look like they sit up a bit.
Darker wheels suit it so much better too.

[neilbauer]

Nice like the dark wheels white car combo

[p4cks]

Rear badge was looking a little sorry for itself so decided to replace it with a new one...



It left a load of gunk, which was eventually removed with Tardis then a going over with a clay bar


Then after the surface was free of all of the old glue and muck I stuck the new one on


Also changed the rusty wheel bolts


fitted these alloy ones with my new nylon covered (to prevent scratches on the wheels) socket


The locking wheel bolts still let them down somewhat so might have to get new ones. Also I know the rear tyres are Nankangs, they were put on by the garage I bought it from to get through the MOT. I actually don't mind them as I don't exactly drive it on their limit

[justanother5tar]

I love look of these, and they sound ace even on the standard pipes.

Know what you mean about the wear though, had a look at some for OH and some of them look absolutely shagged after 40k miles!

[EJH]

irish boy said:

Great little machines. Wife's first abarth 500 was ran till around 65k from memory with no issues at all. Couldn't get her talked into looking at any other type of car so got another new one.

They also depreciate rather slowly making them a better bet then a lot of these new lease deal things.

I have had one of these since October 2009 and a whole 21,400 miles. I had a MINI years ago which managed ~£8,000 of warranty work in just over 2 years and 18,000 miles (the printout was ~40m long). The Abarth's finish isn't quite as polished but nothing has gone wrong on ours; it's rather better made than my MINI was!

Agree on the depreciation as well; despite doing very few miles, it has been very cheap to run!

[J4CKO]

Had a go in a 595 Anniversary the other day, utterly barking and great fun.

[p4cks]

Gave the engine bay a bit of a clean

[p4cks]

Fitted a Monza exhaust and had it remapped to 185bhp (280Nm of torque)

[Butter Face]

Very cool car!!

[Yadizzle1]

Phwaor! The monza exhaust sounds seriously epic! Got to thrash the tits off a 695 biposto and am seriously lusting after a 500 abarth. Don't think I can afford to run one as a student though

[Lgfst]

I don't know why I like these but I really do. Great little car OP, I bet it shifts with the remap.

[p4cks]

Lgfst said:

I don't know why I like these but I really do. Great little car OP, I bet it shifts with the remap.

Cheers. Yeah it does shift like, and it also managed an impressive 42.1mpg on a recent trip to Hartlepool (mainly motorway but still impressive).

I've always wanted one of these and the only thing that prevented me getting one was what other people would think as let's be honest a Fiat 500 is a bit girly. It's only a 1.4 so the fuel use is minimal when you don't put your foot down (worst I've had is 32mpg) and it shifts when you do want to get somewhere quickly. It's perfect really!

[p4cks]

And it's now up for sale

[AyBee]

What's replacing it? Is the essesse worth the extra over the standard model? I assume it's just an engine tune which could, in theory, be done by any aftermarket tuner?