Fiat 500 Abarth, any good?

Zeebedy

Zeebedy

Zeebedy

Soldato
Joined
28 Jan 2011
Posts
8,535
hey guys,

Looking at a new car when I come back from a business trip, how does this hold up?

Is it really as girly as people say, or a good hot hatch?



Cheers.
 
If the pedal positions are anything like the non-Abarth version I don’t understand how anyone can drive it for more than 5 minutes. Fiat 500 accelerator pedal is so high you need clown shoes to drive it comfortably.
 
My mate has a 500 Abarth and he took me out for a spin in it the other day... Around town and country lanes its nippy and sticks to the road so well.. Sounds great to. If i had a car licence id happily have one, i think they're the best looking hatch at the moment
 
[TW]Fox said:
How is it not a hot hatch? 7 seconds is hardly slow.
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Considering the hot hatches of the late 70's/early 80's were doing it in 6.5 it's pretty slow!

Take your typical set of hot hatches - Focus RS, A45 and Golf R. They're all in the 5 second region. 7 by today's standard is 'warm'.

What's also worrying is I think that version costs about 25k. Cars such as the 208gti and Cooper S are quicker and cheaper!

Also worth highlighting the standard Arbarths were doing it in about 8 seconds.
 
To be fair, I'd class the likes of the Focus RS, A45 and the Golf R more as "hyper" hatchbacks (With a price tag to match), when you consider you still have the likes of the Golf GTI, Focus ST, Mini JCW etc which are hardly slow on the road. The Abarth 595 Competizione will hit 60 in 6.7 seconds, which makes it what, .5 seconds slower than the new Golf GTI, but with a savings of around 10k. Not bad if you just want something with a bit of poke and fun.
 
Mart2912 said:
To be fair, I'd class the likes of the Focus RS, A45 and the Golf R more as "hyper" hatchbacks (With a price tag to match), when you consider you still have the likes of the Golf GTI, Focus ST, Mini JCW etc which are hardly slow on the road. The Abarth 595 Competizione will hit 60 in 6.7 seconds, which makes it what, .5 seconds slower than the new Golf GTI, but with a savings of around 10k. Not bad if you just want something with a bit of poke and fun.
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The golf gti costs 25k. The same as the 695 and about 4k more than the 595 compet.
I'd much rather have a fiesta st for sub 20k.
I'm struggling to find any comparisons of current hot hatches which include the fiat - it seems the motoring press either don't count it as one either or simply don't rate it.
 
[TW]Fox said:
No they were not. Heck even a BMW M3 was over 7 seconds in the 80s.
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Sunbeam Lotus. Between 150 and 250bhp depending on the variant produced in a road going version from 1979.

Mg maestro was 88 and that was the same.

Could further chuck in some if the lancia delta/hf variants of the mid to late 80s too.
 
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[TW]Fox said:
Hardly representative of the mainstream hot hatch. The Golf GTI was the definitive hot hatch and was nothing like that quick.
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Quite. 10 sec for the original or thereabouts? The Mk2 was quicker but certainly not in the 6s.
 
[TW]Fox said:
Hardly representative of the mainstream hot hatch. The Golf GTI was the definitive hot hatch and was nothing like that quick.
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My argument was it's slower than equivalent cars from the early 80s. It is. I didn't say it was slower than every 80s hatch.

The golf was the definitive car because it was an excellent all round car, relatively quick, had good handling plus was quite practical. Importantly it was cheap. The fiat 500 is neither. Like I've said, the top spec is 25k! That's just short of focus rs money. It's crazy.

There are cheaper, faster, better handling more practical cars in the same class. Like the fiesta.

If we're taking definitive hot hatches now then the list is probably along the lines of:

  • Focus rs
  • Rs3
  • A45
  • M140i
  • Golf r
All of which are substantially quicker than the 500!
So back to my original conclusion - by today's standard it's a warm hatch. Not hot.
 
Dis86 said:
My argument was it's slower than equivalent cars from the early 80s. It is. I didn't say it was slower than every 80s hatch.

The golf was the definitive car because it was an excellent all round car, relatively quick, had good handling plus was quite practical. Importantly it was cheap. The fiat 500 is neither. Like I've said, the top spec is 25k! That's just short of focus rs money. It's crazy.

There are cheaper, faster, better handling more practical cars in the same class. Like the fiesta.

If we're taking definitive hot hatches now then the list is probably along the lines of:

  • Focus rs
  • Rs3
  • A45
  • M140i
  • Golf r
All of which are substantially quicker than the 500!
So back to my original conclusion - by today's standard it's a warm hatch. Mans Not hot.
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Had to....
 
All of those cars are a level above the hot hatch and arguably do not meet the original hot hatch brief.

Importantly it was cheap. The fiat 500 is neither.
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The cheapest 180bhp Abarth can be had for £19k. In 1988 a Golf GTI was £11.5k. Adjusted for inflation that is equivalent to £30k today - so the Abarth is considerably cheaper.

The Golf R, A45, etc etc are all pointlessly overpowered and don't offer what the hot hatch was intended to.
 
Dis86 - you keep saying that the top spec Abarth is 'almost Focus RS money' - have you actually looked at what Ford are asking for the Focus RS these days?

Abarth 695 Rivale, standard equipment but with the mechanical LSD added (because it makes an already fun car utterly hilarious to drive ) is £24,290. The Focus RS is £36,325. Now, I reckon that's quite a difference personally. A quick potter around the PH classifieds suggests that the price gap is similar on the very-nearly-new stuff as well.
 
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