mndsm wrote:
I'll keep that in mind. Yeah, i've heard an Abarth before, I was entranced. It is a gorgeous sounding vehicle.
I'd say if you are contemplating replacing the S its definitely worth a look/drive of the Abarth before you do it. Nothing wrong with another S either though, very sweet cars as well.
I really like the Abarth and I have also considered it as a daily driver but there's one thing wrong with it in my mind..........it's too nice to be a daily driver here in Michigan!! Every pot hole, every stone bouncing off the hood, every expansion joint and protruding rail road track would absolutely make me cringe. As a weekend/summer ride I think it would be perfect. Or if I lived in a southern state but here............I shudder to think.
Went to visit the in-laws down at the shore today. Fun drive down on the backroads, definitely makes me realize I can live with this car day to day. Nice sedate cruiser when you want it to be, tiny little rocketship when you want it to be.
Still love the noises. As we were leaving I fired her up and saw a 50 something woman across the street in my rearview mirror just get a look of utter shock on her face. Talked to the 'rents later that night and they said after we pulled away she hollered over at them "what in the hell was that?!"
They must have done a great job on the exhaust to have it sound fun, but be liveable for a commute. It's a delicate balance that very rarely works. Sounds like it's a perfect fit for you!
dj06482 wrote: They must have done a great job on the exhaust to have it sound fun, but be liveable for a commute. It's a delicate balance that very rarely works. Sounds like it's a perfect fit for you!
That was probably one of my biggest concerns but at higher speeds it is pretty quiet. Had my first drive in to work today (just over an hour on the highway) and it was quite liveable. Sport mode off and just muddling through my morning it was just a nice fun little car and while it can certainly be loud when you hit the pedal it was nice and quiet on the highway cruise.
Going to start a build and impressions thread over in the build threads section as requested as there will be a few little things I do here and there to it ;)
I actually quite liked the normal 500. I can only imagine how much fun the Abarth is.
Also I have looked at the Dart haven't driven but it is really nice inside.
93EXCivic wrote: I actually quite liked the normal 500. I can only imagine how much fun the Abarth is. Also I have looked at the Dart haven't driven but it is really nice inside.
Don't get me wrong, I didn't dislike the 500. It was a great little car. But when it came time to part me and my money it wasn't great enough to take on payments again over just keeping the BMW which was a pretty nice car too.
The 500 and the Dart are both great cars and I would (and have) highly recommend either to friends and family.
Your doing our community a favor. The more new ones you buy, the more old ones will surface years from now.
There, but for a backseat, go I
aussiesmg wrote: There, but for a backseat, go I
It has a backseat...as long as your passengers don't have legs. ;) Really the only reason I can see that they put a back seat in this thing is so they can say "look, its not a Smart car, it carries 4 people"
Probably suitable for smaller kids, and it does have the latch system for car seats but I'd hate the struggle to get one back there.
PHeller wrote: Your doing our community a favor. The more new ones you buy, the more old ones will surface years from now.
And if you figure how many will get killed on a track or wrecked on the street we need to saturate the market now to ensure a good percentage of survivability ;)
Nice score. I've got a Cooper S. I've never driven an Abarth, but checked one out at the auto show. I do think the Cooper has more room inside, but "room" is a relative term... 
How's the steering feedback? The Cooper is ultra quick to respond, but a bit light on feel for my taste.
You're right, these things are really two seaters with a package shelf in the back. I put my 5 year old twins in the back of my MINI for the first time this weekend. What a royal PITA! I'm only 5'9" and I had to move my seat up just to give my kid enough room to actually put his feet down.
Nice score! I've put 2k miles on my base model 500 in the first month of ownership. It has been great. Four full-sized adults did ~200 miles in it Saturday. The rear seat is decent, though lacking a little headroom even in my hardtop model.
I sat in the Abarth at my local dealer, but I didn't drive it. I have no doubt that I'd love it, but I wasn't ready for the extra $10k.
Klayfish wrote: How's the steering feedback? The Cooper is ultra quick to respond, but a bit light on feel for my taste. You're right, these things are really two seaters with a package shelf in the back. I put my 5 year old twins in the back of my MINI for the first time this weekend. What a royal PITA! I'm only 5'9" and I had to move my seat up just to give my kid enough room to actually put his feet down.
The steering feedback is nice. In the "sport" mode it depowers the steering a bit to increase feedback.
As much as people malign the smart for only being a 2 seater at least it made no pretense about what it was. And by doing so it made some extra cargo space (extra a relative term also for what the car is) available.
Powar wrote: Nice score! I've put 2k miles on my base model 500 in the first month of ownership. It has been great. Four full-sized adults did ~200 miles in it Saturday. The rear seat is decent, though lacking a little headroom even in my hardtop model. I sat in the Abarth at my local dealer, but I didn't drive it. I have no doubt that I'd love it, but I wasn't ready for the extra $10k.
I must sit too far back then because I dont see how an adult could wedge in behind me, but I can probably cram my daughter back there in a pinch, she's used to my small cars. :)
And thanks for the welcome over on the 500 board! :)
Further updates and info now covered in the Build Threads section
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/2012-abarth-build-and-impressions/54194/page1/
JThw8 wrote: Going to start a build and impressions thread over in the build threads section as requested as there will be a few little things I do here and there to it ;)
Says the guy who said a few days ago that he didn't need a build thread 
I'm following this one closely, as I'm hoping to be in the market for a fun commuter that gets decent mileage in a few years...
dj06482 wrote:JThw8 wrote: Going to start a build and impressions thread over in the build threads section as requested as there will be a few little things I do here and there to it ;)Says the guy who said a few days ago that he didn't need a build thread
Won't be much build but since people wanted to follow along with general life with the car I thought I'd post it there. Of course I can't help but tinker a little bit can I?
My son is talking about one of these. Maybe I should go along for the test drive. Or maybe not.
Zomby Woof wrote: My son is talking about one of these. Maybe I should go along for the test drive. Or maybe not.
Well it sounds like you won't be able to avoid the exposure either way once he buys one so you might as well go along for the fun :)
This was not a healthy thread to read after a rough car week. It's fun having 5 cars until every single one of them breaks in some way inside of a week. I feel like I'm digging out of a pit and I bet Lisa would love this car.
The Abarth has an amazing exhaust note, I agree.
Not sure how it would match with your build thread, but Fiat was/is offering a lifetime warranty for something like $900. Don't know if it's offered on the Abarth or not.
As tiny as the rear seat looks, it actually works a lot better than you'd think. It's not that hard to get back there, and once your seated, while everything is close and cozy, it's not cramped and you aren't actually scrunched up.
foxtrapper wrote: The Abarth has an amazing exhaust note, I agree. Not sure how it would match with your build thread, but Fiat was/is offering a lifetime warranty for something like $900. Don't know if it's offered on the Abarth or not. As tiny as the rear seat looks, it actually works a lot better than you'd think. It's not that hard to get back there, and once your seated, while everything is close and cozy, it's not cramped and you aren't actually scrunched up.
Noone offered me a lifetime warranty for $900 or I'd have been all over that knowing the kind of miles I'm going to put on it.
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