Abarth 500 - In action, driving shots and backfires!

[Alpacajon]

Those roads look SWEEEEEEETTTT

[PantstofryPWNZ]

by the way, that scorpion emblem is one of the coolest logos I've seen.

[D41H4T5U]

@PantstofryPWNZ Yes i agree! It just screams attitude doesn't it! It's because the chap who made the original Fiat 500 Abarth back in the 1950's was a Scorpio, and also he said the cars were "small and wicked" like a scorpion, and as they were rear engined rear wheel drive, they also had a sting in their tail! :)

[PantstofryPWNZ]

@D41H4T5U Interesting story behind it as well I see!

[Spitty123]

Very nice car, but sorry, why did You make the movie in slowmotion??

[D41H4T5U]

@Spitty123 I don't understand?

[X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X]

@D41H4T5U

I think he is one of the guys thinking "faster, faster, faster, oh no, there´s a tree..."...

Very nice car !

[PantstofryPWNZ]

How much hp does this have stock? I'm American, but I heard the Abarth has 135? And there's an SS model with 160?

If this is the 135, I'm gonna die. I drive a 2004 Nissan Sentra 1.8 with 130hp and I would kill to have that Fiat's sound in my engine

[D41H4T5U]

@PantstofryPWNZ Hello again! :)

Over here it's 135 standard and 160 for the SS. The "Super Sport" kit (SS) costs £3000 (UK) and gives, lowering springs, bigger brakes which are drilled/grooved, ECU re-map, different 17" wheels in either white of grey and a BMC air filter.

The car in the video was when mine was new, with 135 HP. She sounds much better now with lots of miles on her! :)

[PantstofryPWNZ]

@D41H4T5U Man, such a great car. The only concern for me is safety somewhat, although I know in the U.S. the Fiat is expected to get 5 stars all around... but also space. I love that it is small, but I'm wondering if that will be practical for me. I know backseat passengers won't be comfortable, but do they fit? Thanks for answering all my questions, by the way.

(I found a stick version of the other car I was looking at, finally)

[D41H4T5U]

@PantstofryPWNZ They beefed up the body/chassis somewhat which has added weight for the US market to cope with the larger vehicles. Yes it scores 5 stars in Europe, it's about as safe as small cars get, safer than a motorbike hey? ;)

Rear leg room isn't great for tall people tbh, especialy in the Abarth as it has larger bucket seats.

[PantstofryPWNZ]

@D41H4T5U I saw a review from saabkyle04 (he's a kid who reviews any kind of car, all the time. you can check him out, he does in-depth reviews of everything except actual driving... although he's in the U.S. so im not sure how relevant he would be for you) of the Fiat 500 and the interior is very nice. The backseat really won't be much of a problem, but I'm not sure the Abarth will come out in time, I'm planning on buying in the next few months. Maybe in a few years... :(

[turdburdy]

nice car:)

[stivnico]

se sbagli sei finito...

[lupo0144]

If you drove one you would understand it's not gimmicky! They are a genuine fast small well balanced car! I've had a test drive and it's a good car.... all the toys of a bigger car. Looks like it could be my next car! Think i would remove all the stickers and lower it, just a bit!

Mr Clarkson loves em!!!

[karkass4]

O they all exclusively produced in Poland, Tychy. Backfires? LSDiffer gimmicks? All the artificial stuff incuding small turbo engine. No thanks, definitely

[D41H4T5U]

It's not LSD but it works like one, and it works well too. Small turbo engine is superb and good for 360 HP, what's wrong with that?!

[miike12345]

Nice video, I'm test driving one next week. Is the 500 abarth very reliable? I want one but I'm a bit put off by how badly the Fiat dealers are rated

[D41H4T5U]

I've had a few issues with reliability, but others i know have had no issues. I guess it's just as reliable as any other European car these days. But the feedback you get from Fiat/Abarth dealers is poor in general. Don't let it put you off though, it's a cracking car! Let me know how you get on :)

[miike12345]

I'm guessing any problems you get are relatively cheap to fix considering the base 500 starts at 9k? I don't understand how working for Fiat suddenly makes you an awful dealer, last time I was in a Fiat dealership a woman turned up with a number plate that was something like '1H' so she was clearly very wealthy but she was just stood in the middle of the dealership waiting for someone to come help her but they just ignored her! Will do, I'm just looking for a car thats a laugh to drive

[D41H4T5U]

Well the 3 year warranty sorts any teething problems out so everything that goes wrong on the car is fixed for free for at least 3 years or 60,000 miles. But the Abarth 500 starts at £14,000 ish due to VAT increase. The basic Fiat 500 starts at around 9000 to 10,000 pounds now. The Abarth is by far the best looking and the fastest obviously!

[merxhobenz]

how are the breakes in this fast little thing :-) !!?

[D41H4T5U]

Just as good as the acceleration! Brakes on the SS are better, but only on track can the difference be seen

[merxhobenz]

thnx !!!

[D41H4T5U]

Go drive one! You'll love it!

[merxhobenz]

after two weeks my grandpa gets one!! i cant wait !!!!!

[D41H4T5U]

Nice! What colour etc? You must steal when he is not looking!

[merxhobenz]

i heard it`s grey but just he told me its an ABARTH 500 but i`m not so sure is or isnt ss !! btw i hope i dont need to steal it !!!xD lol

[D41H4T5U]

Ha awesome! Post a video when it arrives :)

[merxhobenz]

I will :] !!! i love these fast freaky little things .

[csihardfan111]

Woah, you're filming AND driving? Cool car anyways Paul (Hope you dont mind me using your first name, even thou I oni noe u online) Love too see more of it!!!

[D41H4T5U]

@csihardfan111 No my mate was filming! Use what ever name you like :) More vids on the way hopefully!

[csihardfan111]

@D41H4T5U Haha, thank godness!!! And yays for meeee!!!

[TrefyJot]

Nice sound and run. psst! NORTH Wales not mid... but beautiful all the same :)

[D41H4T5U]

@TrefyJot Well it's mid north if you ask me! North is like Llandudno, Conway, Rhyl etc.

[hs01jowe]

Man, you've got some really nice small roads for this car

[D41H4T5U]

Yes we have, many more better ones than this too!

[sspope]

What happened to the gearbox?

[D41H4T5U]

Not sure think it was faulty?!

Not many people i know with this car like the gearbox, it's from an Alfa 147 i think.

[sspope]

But what exactly was faulty on it? What wasn't working properly?

[D41H4T5U]

It's hard to say now, not even sure there was anything wrong with it! I've driven 3 now and they all make the same whine in reverse so i think it's just a character. In reverse, engine will not rev beyond 2500 RPM. It's fine now, i love it!

[sspope]

So, basically the dealer told you there was something wrong with your tranny and you didn't even know about it?

[D41H4T5U]

No i heard the strange noise in reverse and they confirmed there was a fault. It's no big deal, it's sorted now.

[alejadroyos]

Mad Funky little Car!!!!!

[Paulmanorbier]

Wow! Excellent film

[danbobnix]

Your videos may have just sold me this car!

Looks like so much fun to drive and sounds good for a little car.

what rpm does the turbo kick in?

Man i want one!

[D41H4T5U]

The turbo kicks in at low revs 1500 rpm but it really kicks in from 2500 to 3500, you barely have to try to get this thing moving, it's such a rev happy little beast! Go test one, you'll love it!

[froback]

hi im thinking about getting one of these i have a few questions for you how reliable is it? does it drink petrol like its going out of fashion an is it gona get stolen an is it alot to insure?

[D41H4T5U]

Hi, should be reliable as most of the car is based on the Panda which is reliable (however mines having a new gearbox fitted at 5500 miles so not a good start!) Petrol consumption all depends how it's driven of course, 51 MPG is my best, 17 MPG is my worst but expect 30 to 35 average when driving fast/slow mix. Insurance was cheap for me I'm 22 with 2 years NCB and one crash, only £600. Love the car, turns more head than a Porsche, i know because i followed one through town! Sounds awesome too!

[froback]

ha ha sorry dude i like to get as much info as i can before i buy somthing the thing is my passion is motorbikes i dont drive fast on the road anymore just go to work an tootal about but i do loads of trackdays on my track bike an i was gona fit a toe bar to a 500 to get it there the thing is i dont think i will be able to get one to fit a abarth would be good thow then i can youse that to do some trackdays aswell best of both worlds

[MarinerMercury]

must be a reason why schumacher drives this every day.

looks like a fun and fast little car!

[D41H4T5U]

Well he's employed by Ferrari so he has to drive something owned by the Fiat group, i guess the Abarth 500 is still fast whilst keeping a relatively low profile!

[Turismo87]

nice rev...

how fast did you get it up to

[D41H4T5U]

I'm not sure, can't go too fast on these roads as visibility is quite bad in places.

[Turismo87]

no matter what the speed of the car was...

it still has a really nice rev and looks fun to drive

i might just go test drive one this week

[balbo15]

mmm the car is beautiful and there are scenes very nice when you go fast, the only thing you could do better is the start, you could put also a start with a burn out..

scusmy for my english

[D41H4T5U]

Thanks, i will remember to burn out in my next video, allthough my first set of tyres only lasted 3500 miles!

[needsmust]

Stop driving like a fag. give it some welly.

Lots of love,

FF

[D41H4T5U]

Haha nice one! See you on the forum (not the miserable FF!)

[fiattrickbox]

awesome car awesome video thats what i have to say

[peterfarrow]

"Fix it again tomorrow" I thought...

Or for ford: "fix or repair daily" or my favourite "found on rubbish dump"

and not to mention Lotus : "loads of trouble usually serious"

[peterfarrow]

nice video, great car...

[D41H4T5U]

Thanks Peter, car going back today, clutch/gearbox trouble ...already!

[peterfarrow]

Oh dear, I was only joking, I am sure the dealer will sort it, Fiat's fix it again tomorrow reputation has long since gone.....

My wife had a Fiat Ducato based camper and it was very reliable!

Pete

[D41H4T5U]

Just driven 200 miles to the dealer and back. It needs fixing, got to take it back a week on Saturday, they said i could test dive the SS model they have in stock (but i know i'll want to keep it) so it's not all bad news!

[D41H4T5U]

Fair enough. I know the cars over the pond are completely different to those in Europe. Most Europeans hate US cars (i need not go into reasons why) and most Americans hate European cars but honestly, i think there's a lack of understanding on both half's. It's all to do with country size, shape/size of roads, emission regulations/carbon based taxes/fuel prices that are to blame for the differences in our two car markets. Interesting none the less :)

[D41H4T5U]

70's? C'mon, it's kind of old fashioned to think that Fiats are still unreliable. They own so many other brands like Ferrari, lancia, Alfa etc not to mention more recently Chrysler and maybe part of GM soon. They've always built cheap desirable cars that people want to buy, from fast sports cars, hot hatches, vans and super minis that do 80+ MPG! There's a car in their range for everyone imo.

[D41H4T5U]

Oooh never heard that one before....

Very reliable these days, and the Worlds greenest car manufacturer too. I raced an Aston Martin the other day, he kept up but he didn't overtake, the G's this thing pulls when you take a bend at 100 MPH, it's great fun!

[D41H4T5U]

No idea, bit small for there, they still haven't discovered that small = light, great for performance and economy! 50 MPG is my best so far, but i really bought this car for speed. Handling is superb too.

[hs01jowe]

Very nice roads

[CatalinaSafari73]

I like the engine growl heard from inside the car,most impressive! Just be careful not to hit any sheep,would hate to see you mess up the car. Is there much turbo lag with that engine?

[D41H4T5U]

I've already hit a deer at 40 MPH, escaped with no damage, deer ran off too! Not much lag really so long as you keep the revs high, you can still feel the turbo kick in though.

[CatalinaSafari73]

40 MPH and no damage?!? Seriously? If you hit one of our fat ass deer in the US at 40 MPH that car would be severely damaged. Deer over here weigh as much as 450 lbs.

[D41H4T5U]

Yeah it was just a fawn, i think it went straight under the wheel and missed the bodywork tbh. I've seen the myth busters episode where they drove a car into a fake moose at various speeds, not good!

[nidzio93]

Like 80's :P

[D41H4T5U]

what is?

[nidzio93]

It looks like an old TV chases from 1980's

[D41H4T5U]

Ah i see, never thought of that! lol

[yamahabanshee350]

nice