So there I was, not looking for a Fiat...

Well I guess I was kinda looking for a Fiat. My wife bought a new Subaru Crosstrek at the end of 2015 and I wanted to convert her old car (Scion xD, yeah you heard me) into something cool. Preferably something Subaru-y. Problem was that we couldn't swing another full car payment at the time and BRZ prices were still just out of reach, so I needed something fun and new enough that I wouldn't have to spend all my time repairing it (like the last few projects I failed at). And instead of getting a Miata like any normal person would, I let my mind drift to a 500 Abarth... you know, like a weirdo. The noises it makes are just hilarious, I thought it was the coolest thing when it hit the salesfloor five years ago. I found a good deal on one, drove one state to the left to get it, and now here I am.

Driving it hard was way more fun than I'd expected. It belches and snarls and whistles, it has more turbo lag than you'd expect, it loves trail-braking a little too much, and people stare and point and laugh when it goes down the road. Old ladies who drive regular Fiat 500s seem especially confused. I can't keep myself from smiling every time I drive it.

And apparently Photobucket and I are not on speaking terms at the moment, so until I can get my account back up and running here's a link to a Fiat forum with more words and pictures: Click for Fiat goodness

I'll keep this thread updated with other happenings as they happen.

Welcome, newest weirdo. And I'm not logged into the forum so I can't see the photos from work.

And I totally back the idea of messing with the xD, as a former and recurring Scion owner. (On my 2nd 1stgen xB and remember the Rally xD that I used to follow online.)

(I'm curious what you paid. Mine was $20.1k for the 2013 in early 2014 brand new, I owe about $5900 on it. I've seen a few online lately in the $9k's)

Oh I forgot the pics might not work... nuts...

The xD would've been fun to play with but parts are scarce except for a few mild TRD bolt-ons. It's a lot of $$$ to put into a smushed-up van-looking thing with less than 130hp. But it's sure different.

I think I paid $12.5k last year (with 27k miles, still had about a year left on the warranty), but I've seen people picking up '15s for about that recently.

Man, I'd love to sell my wife on an Abarth Cabrio. She has her heart set on an R107 MB though and has for 20 years, so that's what she's getting. Have a really nice one lined up.

Secretly hoping she'll hate it and we'll and up with the Fiat.

The noise to cute ratio on those cars is out of control, you have my approval for that alone.

Here's what you can do with them... Switched the Eibach springs out for KW Variant 1 coilovers last month, can't wait to test them out on the Tail of the Dragon in 2 weeks.

Congrats! I've deferred my Abarth hunt a bit, but it's still on the radar. Glad I saw this, as it looks like with some waiting (which I've gotta do anyhow) and some poking, I can find one for $10k or less, which is at least $3k less than they're mostly popping up around here...

Jerry wrote: Here's what you can do with them... Switched the Eibach springs out for KW Variant 1 coilovers last month, can't wait to test them out on the Tail of the Dragon in 2 weeks.

Nice! What do you think of the KWs?

In reply to bluescooby:

I haven't had a chance to test them much. Right after they were installed the weather went to E36 M3 again. Cold, then rain, back again... A few warm-ish dry days and they seem to be fun. Went with an alignment a bit more slanted towards autocross so it's a bit twitchier, I definitely feel the road more but not terrible. I've made a few very sharp corners under moderate speed and think it has great potential.

As for the twitchieness I feel like a Fiat with a turbo and mostly open exhaust should feel like it's trying to kill me at least a little bit or it's totally wasted.