Discussion
Le Man said:
Joseph Jagger said:
I WANT this car...do Abarth have UK version of their website with any sort config etc?? Last time I checked there was just a dodgy Italian version with scarce details on it but it was quite a with ago.
look at thescorpionreturns.comI'll see you later on today!!!
Ed!
Small world...
Well after a bit of refection I have to confess that after my test drive yesterday, overall I'm a tad underwhelmed.
I think the car looks pretty good and the build quality and general feeling of solidity are very impressive.
It was on the road that the question marks started to appear in my head. I'll start with the minor stuff, I found the boost gauge/shift light pod intensely annoying mounted up on the dash in your field of vision - especially in normal mode where it constantly flickers at you to change gear!!! Moving on, I thought the engine was nice and eager on a progressive throttle between 3 - 4k rpm with a pleasant swell of torque, however, given more revs not much more seemed to be happening and it seemed to distinctly run out of puff around 5.5k.
The steering was a real disappointment, I found it rubbery and completely lacking in any kind of feedback, perhaps this was due to this particular example riding on the larger 17" wheels. The particular roads on the test weren't the best to assess the handling to be fair but despite feeling very grippy and well planted I didn't find it very entertaining in the way say my Clio Cup's were.
And perhaps that's the beef, I think my expectations of the car were too high, compared to my past machinery the Abarth just didn't gell for me as a drivers car. Infact, hopping back into my 'normal' 500 directly afterwards I found it more enjoyable - it wasn't trying to be anything it isn't and I get a perverse enjoyment out of getting the most out of it, plus the steering is miles better.
I just feel the Abarth needs more honing if it's going to cut it as a drivers car rather than just a marketing exercise, perhaps the SS would suit me better, on a set of 15" wheels...
As a conclusion I'd have to say it all felt a bit two dimensional and ever so slightly, dare I say it, contrived.
I wont be swapping my current commuting tool for one as I had planned, because I don't see what extra enjoyment the Abarth would give me on my daily trundle. Instead I'll continue my quest for a very rapid weekend toy - put my hard earned towards a real performance car again, Lotus...Maser... Time will tell...
I think the car looks pretty good and the build quality and general feeling of solidity are very impressive.
It was on the road that the question marks started to appear in my head. I'll start with the minor stuff, I found the boost gauge/shift light pod intensely annoying mounted up on the dash in your field of vision - especially in normal mode where it constantly flickers at you to change gear!!! Moving on, I thought the engine was nice and eager on a progressive throttle between 3 - 4k rpm with a pleasant swell of torque, however, given more revs not much more seemed to be happening and it seemed to distinctly run out of puff around 5.5k.
The steering was a real disappointment, I found it rubbery and completely lacking in any kind of feedback, perhaps this was due to this particular example riding on the larger 17" wheels. The particular roads on the test weren't the best to assess the handling to be fair but despite feeling very grippy and well planted I didn't find it very entertaining in the way say my Clio Cup's were.
And perhaps that's the beef, I think my expectations of the car were too high, compared to my past machinery the Abarth just didn't gell for me as a drivers car. Infact, hopping back into my 'normal' 500 directly afterwards I found it more enjoyable - it wasn't trying to be anything it isn't and I get a perverse enjoyment out of getting the most out of it, plus the steering is miles better.
I just feel the Abarth needs more honing if it's going to cut it as a drivers car rather than just a marketing exercise, perhaps the SS would suit me better, on a set of 15" wheels...
As a conclusion I'd have to say it all felt a bit two dimensional and ever so slightly, dare I say it, contrived.
I wont be swapping my current commuting tool for one as I had planned, because I don't see what extra enjoyment the Abarth would give me on my daily trundle. Instead I'll continue my quest for a very rapid weekend toy - put my hard earned towards a real performance car again, Lotus...Maser... Time will tell...
Interesting thread.
One thing i've read recently is along the lines of 'the engine isn't quite what it should be, as is the ride - however, you can't help love it for it's cheekiness'.
Or something along those lines.
And for me, that doesnt quite tick the box.
It looks fantastic, and the pedigree is great too - as with most Fiats, and despite the above comment, i'd still never say never.
Saying that though, i liked the way the Panda 100HP drove. It didn't seem massively powerful - but it was just good fun. Add to that the 500 abarth (essesse)'s extra 60 or so bhp - PLUS, it's probably built a bit more to be a sporty car than the Panda and i reckon it'd be a hoot!
One thing i've read recently is along the lines of 'the engine isn't quite what it should be, as is the ride - however, you can't help love it for it's cheekiness'.
Or something along those lines.
And for me, that doesnt quite tick the box.
It looks fantastic, and the pedigree is great too - as with most Fiats, and despite the above comment, i'd still never say never.
Saying that though, i liked the way the Panda 100HP drove. It didn't seem massively powerful - but it was just good fun. Add to that the 500 abarth (essesse)'s extra 60 or so bhp - PLUS, it's probably built a bit more to be a sporty car than the Panda and i reckon it'd be a hoot!
I'm willing to give it a second chance, and to this end am trying to get hold of an SS to have a go in on some decent roads and with the speed limiter turned off thankyou....
It might feel less like I'm doing my driving test again over 15 years on for a start.
I'm also hoping the extra grunt will make it sufficiently exciting to overcome that numb steering.
It might feel less like I'm doing my driving test again over 15 years on for a start.
I'm also hoping the extra grunt will make it sufficiently exciting to overcome that numb steering.
Le Man said:
Ed,
Book in for a one hour drive with me and we can go where the roads make sense.
The 500 shines in the pennines...
David,Book in for a one hour drive with me and we can go where the roads make sense.
The 500 shines in the pennines...
Thankyou for your kind offer, I will bear it in mind.
I would be very interested to see how it performed on some of the great roads we have up here, I think it would definitely give me a more rounded view of the cars abilities than a trundle round Trafford Park.
Also, would I be able to switch the speed limiter off in this instance and use my own judgement of 15+ years driving high performance cars instead?
photo_ed said:
Le Man said:
Ed,
Book in for a one hour drive with me and we can go where the roads make sense.
The 500 shines in the pennines...
David,Book in for a one hour drive with me and we can go where the roads make sense.
The 500 shines in the pennines...
Thankyou for your kind offer, I will bear it in mind.
I would be very interested to see how it performed on some of the great roads we have up here, I think it would definitely give me a more rounded view of the cars abilities than a trundle round Trafford Park.
Also, would I be able to switch the speed limiter off in this instance and use my own judgement of 15+ years driving high performance cars instead?
Le Man said:
photo_ed said:
Le Man said:
Ed,
Book in for a one hour drive with me and we can go where the roads make sense.
The 500 shines in the pennines...
David,Book in for a one hour drive with me and we can go where the roads make sense.
The 500 shines in the pennines...
Thankyou for your kind offer, I will bear it in mind.
I would be very interested to see how it performed on some of the great roads we have up here, I think it would definitely give me a more rounded view of the cars abilities than a trundle round Trafford Park.
Also, would I be able to switch the speed limiter off in this instance and use my own judgement of 15+ years driving high performance cars instead?
If you could contact me when you have an Esseesse demo in (Luke has my details) and work commitment permitting we can set a date for an extended drive in the countryside.
Many thanks.
Can't understand the shift up lights or numb steering comments unless you didn't have the car in sport mode? In normal mode the peformance is fairly flat with lifeless steering. Switch to sport and the steering firms up nicely and the responsiveness of the engine improves markedly. It takes near redlining through the gears to get the shift up warning to flash on the turbo pod boost guage in sport mode.
isuk said:
Can't understand the shift up lights or numb steering comments unless you didn't have the car in sport mode? In normal mode the peformance is fairly flat with lifeless steering. Switch to sport and the steering firms up nicely and the responsiveness of the engine improves markedly. It takes near redlining through the gears to get the shift up warning to flash on the turbo pod boost guage in sport mode.
I had it in sport mode for the duration of the test, I switched it into normal mode for about 30 seconds and was greeted by the inanely flickering shift light.As for the steering issue, as I said, I found it artificially weighted and lacking in feedback, when compared to even my standard 500 let alone something like a Clio Trophy. Some may think I'm going into the finer points here, but as the A500 purports to be a drivers car, I was disappointed that the steering felt so lifeless, I seriously think that the fashionable and admittedly great looking 17" wheels may have had something to do with it.
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