RE: Fiat 500 Abarth: PH Used Buying Guide

[staffs Mike]

berlintaxi said:

Indeed, but you would have had to driven one to know that, not that that ever stops people posting nonsense on here.

I own one...

[berlintaxi]

staffs Mike said:

berlintaxi said:

Indeed, but you would have had to driven one to know that, not that that ever stops people posting nonsense on here.

I own one...

So do I and it has a foot rest, which my size 9s have no issue with whatsoever.

[Squadrone Rosso]

I have no issue with the clutch rest. Size 10 Magnum boots or active duty shoes.

Wide fitting too.

Mine is a 2017 S4 but it was the same on my 2012 TA+.

Both great cars with tons of character.

[Dale487]

Kawasicki said:

Drove one of these a couple of years ago. It felt to me that the seats were set way too high...like being perched on a bar-stool. A fiesta is a low-slung sportscar in comparison.

I've sat on bar stools with more thigh support too - the seat base is tiny!

[cjcf]

stanglish said:

The problem I have with them is the utterly lifeless steering with zero feedback and the incredibly high seating position. Gearbox also had the action of a toy. Not intending to tear strips off it but these were the issues that jumped out as dealbreakers for me.

Yep it is pretty much a tart up from the base car, the seat can be lowered with a kit (Sabelt buckets not the standard seats) and adding a short shift kit + aluminium gear made changing much more pleasurable.

[nikaiyo2]

staffs Mike said:

I drive mine everyday, you cannot call that a rest. You would need an incredibly narrow foot/shoe to rest on it and you will catch or be resting on the clutch.

Yes, but there is a rest there, that functions, its not the biggest but there is one. As PhantomPH says I only ever had problems when driving in size 10 work boots, never normal shoes. so simple solution boots in er the boot and shoes to drive simple.
Drove one every day from 2009 till feb this year.

[Dale487]

nikaiyo2 said:

staffs Mike said:

I drive mine everyday, you cannot call that a rest. You would need an incredibly narrow foot/shoe to rest on it and you will catch or be resting on the clutch.

Yes, but there is a rest there, that functions, its not the biggest but there is one. As PhantomPH says I only ever had problems when driving in size 10 work boots, never normal shoes. so simple solution boots in er the boot and shoes to drive simple.
Drove one every day from 2009 till feb this year.

That sounds like luxury compared to a Peugeot 106 - no left foot clutch rest at all plus even size 9 driving shoes are a requirement (you'd press all 3 peddles at the same time with size 10 work boots).

[adamcot]

My wife has owned a 2011 Abarth 500 for the last 4.5 years. It's an utterly brilliant little car - completely reliable, cheap to maintain and a pleasure to drive. We looked at replacing it earlier this year - but nothing else can match it for us. The only trouble is, the new cars aren't that much different and you are paying well over £15k for the privilege. These are a great buy at £5k.

[geeks]

Something to remember, there is a lot of spec variation on the cars dependant on the model, from the base level T-Jet to the Competizione to the 695 editions. Each have different suspension, seats, power etc etc

[Ajax Treesdown]

J4CKO said:

The Fiesta ST was mentioned, anyone driven both ?

Only been in some barking mad special edition with a sequential box that was 30 grand, it was great but too full on really.

Ive had both. Went from the Abarth to the Fiesta ST Mk7. Both great to drive and both totally different in so many ways but the one thing that both did was put a smile on your face when driving on A and B roads.
My Abarth was modified with chip, TD04 turbo conversion, brakes and suspension, but the best mod was the straight through stainless exhaust. The noise and pops and bangs on over run from such a small car made you giggle and smile like a small child at christmas.
The fiesta ST was good straight from the off and i didn't do anything to that apart from drive it every day. I would have kept it but upgraded to the I30 N Performance. (This is a bigger more grown up Abarth for me just due to the noise it makes!)

The Bisposto special edition Abarth with the dog leg box and no interior was mental. But so was the price.

[lunaunderscores]

I've owned a trofeo for nearly a year - it's a noisy, angry little thing. Totally agree about the seating position - it's the one thing I really dislike, I can never get comfortable and the seats are terrible. When I get into my friends VW Up, it feels like I'm sitting on the floor.

Bit of a marmite situation with me, I've been pondering getting an Up GTI

[Zed Ed]

Nerdherder said:

If anything this article is making me look up the current going rate of used twinairs.

Edited by Nerdherder on Wednesday 10th October 13:15

Sweet spot for the car imho and so much character.

Just added a 500C TA 105 to my garage.

[Dalto123]

Agreed with other comments on here. On the right road, it could be a decent car. Mine got along pretty swiftly in standard 135bhp trim, but I imagine the 170bhp ones behing good fun. Always good to note that the back box can easily be swapped on these which greatly improves the noise. My one had the TMC straight pipes and sounded excellent in my opinion, especially for a 1.4.

However, there are some other things to note:
1. Really some time to getting used to the seating position before you buy. I didn't and in the end it was one of the things that really put me off (stupid mistake). You do feel as if you are sitting on, rather than in the car.
2. The steering wheel only moves up and down, not towards or away. I found my arms weren't long enough to get properly comfortable. This can be fixed for about £300 if you buy a plate that extends the wheel.
3. The car has electric steering which is pretty devoid of feel (more on this later)
4. The ride is incredibly harsh, which I hadn't noted on the test drive as I was on a lovely resurfaced country road.
5. I found it pretty sluggish around town. You can put the car into 'Sport' mode, which sharpens up throttle response, boosts the turbo earlier (or so it feels, and weights up the steering (which is weightless before). However, I then found it a bit too 'urgent'.
6. If you plan to track it, upgrade the brakes, mine were going soft after three, admittedly hard, laps of Bedford at 110mph

All of this said, I think it could have potential as a track car with some improvements. The grip in the wet was a welcome bonus after the Elise. The noise was infectious, and I was impressed how stable it was for a small car on long motorway journeys and at speed. Plus the community for Abarth's is great.

[rob.kellock]

My wife is on her second Abarth 500 which we have had for over 3 years now. She absolutely loves it as her daily drive.

Both have been completely reliable.

I don't like the absence of a 6th gear, the lack of feedback from the steering, the high seating postion and some of the interior plastics are a bit nasty. The ride is a little on the harsh side but not as bad as I had expected before I drove one. On the right road in the right conditions it is a hoot to drive. It sounds great, I like the looks (but then I loved my MG Metro in the 90s) and the handling is good. It is not particularly sophisticated but as a fun town car, it is a lot less dull than much of the competition. It's not a rival to serious hot hatches though, at least in entry level trim like ours. We'd have another.

[J4CKO]

Fiat must be due to revamp the 500, its been in production for 11 years now and, as far as I am aware the basic car is unchanged, there have been three versions of the Fiesta in that time.

[BricktopST205]

ToothbrushMan said:

with the std 5 speeders......none of the issues of the Fiat c510 6 speed box either as found on punto/bravo/corsa/astra from around the same era.

i think for £5000 youre getting a heck of a lot of car for the money.

If you look at the Alfa Mito you are getting even more car for the money.

5 grand is Cloverleaf territory with 3 grand netting you a decent 155.

[Roman Moroni]

Squadrone Rosso said:

I have no issue with the clutch rest. Size 10 Magnum boots or active duty shoes.

Wide fitting too.

Mine is a 2017 S4 but it was the same on my 2012 TA+.

Both great cars with tons of character.

I have a problem with the clutch pedal, but thats because I'm a size 13. Other than that I love my 595 (especially the noise from the exhaust)

[TdM-GTV]

I do think this needs some work I'm no expert but these have been through lots of spec changes over the years. 595 turismos are 160bhp I believe and so were comps then recently they became 180.

Servicing is 12 months or 6000 miles I think, until recently when they changed it vaguely for newer models to the longer specs but old ones still operate under the old rules. It's also noted that nothing changed in between and it's probably worth sticking to the original rules....

I'm sure someone else knows better than me but I'm not sure this article is entirely accurate.

[AGAR]

My mate had one of these for about 6 months. It was white with a tan / caramel interior and really looked the business. However, its was horrendous to drive IMO. Suspension was way too hard, seat position very high, pedals too closely spaced and really woeful handling.

[Alucidnation]

J4CKO said:

Fiat must be due to revamp the 500, its been in production for 11 years now and, as far as I am aware the basic car is unchanged, there have been three versions of the Fiesta in that time.

If it ain't broke.