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2015 Fiat 500 Abarth Cabrio Road Test | Edmunds.com

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,315
edited March 2015 in FIAT
image2015 Fiat 500 Abarth Cabrio Road Test | Edmunds.com

From outward appearances, the 2015 Fiat 500 Abarth Cabrio may attract shoppers seeking personality and performance, but reality proves otherwise.

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    bankerdannybankerdanny Member Posts: 1,021
    Personally I question if the Mini S is the Abarth's competition. I think it is the base Mini, which is only slightly slower to 60. The S model crushes the Abarth in every possible performance measure.

    I really want to like the Abarth. I do like the look and it has such potential to be a fun, sporty, economical city car. But it's not. It is way too expensive for what you get, that turning circle is embarrassing, and how the heck does something this small with only 160hp fail to break 30mpg on a highway heavy trip?

    Throw in the typically abysmal reliability that the 500 has demonstrated so far and I can't think of a single reason to buy this car.
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    doverosxdoverosx Member Posts: 2
    -40C In canada and I bested your mileage by miles; http://www.fuelly.com/car/fiat/500/2015/doverosx/325080

    Perhaps you folks should stick to boring Hyundais.
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    doverosxdoverosx Member Posts: 2
    bankerdanny said:

    Personally I question if the Mini S is the Abarth's competition. I think it is the base Mini, which is only slightly slower to 60. The S model crushes the Abarth in every possible performance measure.

    I really want to like the Abarth. I do like the look and it has such potential to be a fun, sporty, economical city car. But it's not. It is way too expensive for what you get, that turning circle is embarrassing, and how the heck does something this small with only 160hp fail to break 30mpg on a highway heavy trip?

    Throw in the typically abysmal reliability that the 500 has demonstrated so far and I can't think of a single reason to buy this car.

    The Cooper S is 10 G more so you're right, it isn't the competitor and if you think a Cooper is more reliable than a Fiat, go buy one. LOL. My Abarth regularly punches above 30MPG and its still breaking-in. Also, 0 issues what so ever...the reliability of these cars is only down played by people that have never owned one.
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    peccipecci Member Posts: 5
    Frustrating! Every car that worth the fun, is not worth the lack of (even average) reliability. Fiat, Mini, VW, Ford's ST models ... and so it goes.
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    nuievenuieve Member Posts: 43
    Did you Edmunds people drive it AFTER pressing the SPORT BUTTON? Apparently you have to do it EVERY TIME YOU START THE CAR to get the other 20 torks or something otherwise it's pretty anemic. There's no noticeable turbo lag/spool delay if you're in a Sport mode, and car feels punchy all the time, according to all owners.

    Also, something everyone is missing (and it's big) Abarth can be had for less than 20k with steep discounts ($6-8000 is not uncommon). Good luck buying a Cooper for anything less than MSRP. Fiesta is so depressingly ugly and econoboxy, it's for the same people who don't give a damn about what they look like driving it (kind of like riced up 20 y.o. Civic, looks stupid but a good bargain after all the go-fast mods). Comparing Abarth to Beetle is like comparing a picture fridge to a TV because they're both rectangular. Not even in the same category, but I understand that per article rules you are required to provide 2-3 competitors even if they really aren't.

    Abarth is all about the looks, size and that sound that you can't get until you step up at least to Alfa 4C. According to most owners (not car magazines) it's a real hoot to drive. So there's a lot of discrepancy between pro auto reviewers who have the car for like 2 hours and actual owners who drive this car every day.
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    meteor10meteor10 Member Posts: 59
    anyway it should be fun to drive i think)
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    henry4hirehenry4hire Member Posts: 106
    but it sounds so gnarly! Snap, crackle, and popping everywhere, I love it. Is it worth buying the car for the sound alone? No...but it is one of the nastiest (in a good way) sounding 4-cylinders I ever heard.
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    allenyoallenyo Member Posts: 1
    edited September 2015
    I have a 2015 automatic 500 Abarth. Agree with other poster - the Sport button provides more than just a minimal change in performance. It is very fun to drive - wife even likes it. I have not noticed excessive body roll (but I have not driven it on a track). Since I also have a Porsche Cayman I know what near zero body roll feels like and the Abarth does not seem that bad. In our case, we wanted the Italian retro design more than a few more HP, although it is quite easy to get more HP from the Abarth, and we will be doing that soon.

    I can see how the noise would be annoying. There is no muffler on this car. Between the turbo and the cats, the noise is knocked down enough to get by. If I could get a valved exhaust with a muffler and button to open the valve and bypass the muffler, I would consider it. Not willing to pay 1000s of dollars for one, however.

    Also agree on the turning radius. I had not looked into what it is, but I noticed it seemed larger than you would expect when driving it and trying to do a 180.
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