I have done 8000 miles in mine, it's such a good fast little car that turns just as many heads as any supercar (i know because i've followed supercars around town, guess which one people look at the most!)
I was gonna get VW Scirocco GT 197 BHP but it was 2 expensive and was in 2 high an insurance group. So after looking around I decided to get the Abarth 500. Best decision I could have made. I live in London and it's teeny size makes parking a dream, it can fit in the tinest gaps, it handles brilliantly and it really does think its a fire breathing dragon, so much fun to drive! Plus it looks brilliant too, both guys and girls love it. My friends always ask if they can drive it AND it is so cheap!
The end of end of last month Fiat said they will be using the newly acquired Chrysler dealerships to sellf the 500 in the US. Also YES the Abarth will be in the line up. So look for it in about a year.
The car looks too high. The driver position seems to be wrong, look at the clip from 1:43 to 2:00. U can see how high hes sitting and how he rolls off on the turns from to the side.
I dont like the mini at all, i think its for girls, but in that u sit low down like in a sports car so atleast the driving position is good and the wheels r pushed out to the sides and its lower.
but is way more interesting imho than a Lamborghini or Ferrari....And unlike those 2 companies. Whatever performance tech Alfa has in the 8c... it'll trickle down to the less exotic (Affordable) models.
Thats a pretty bold statement. The thing is though, this new Fiat 500 Abarth is a classic the day it was made. Where as the Lotus Elise is just a rather unreliable "also ran" which will be forgotten rather sooner.
The Elise won't be a car that will form the stuff of legends in the future, the 500 is already there.
The Elise did it's lap "wet"; the top gear people consider that to add 4 seconds to the laptime so the Elise spanks the SS; the Elise that the SS 'beat' only has 120HP as well.
However, the Abarth SS might be cheaper than the Elise ... no prices have been laid out for the SS yet (claimed prices are "base", the "as tested" is probably a LOT more).
I would like either car; the Abarth is probably a more of a "daily driver" ... a Lotus is more of a racecar, so there's no real comparison.
the Abarth is way better, it'll be a better day car, its a better drivers car, it has better status and its a bit quicker, and its half the price.
Lotus = Loads of Trouble usually serious, a well earned title, the elise will spend more of its life in the garage on recalls or repairs, or on the back of a tow truck.
You're beating down on Lotus pretty hard saying it's crap because of the Elise, but don't forget the beatiful Esprit and the new Evora. Don't get me wrong, I love the 500 Abarth, hell, it has an almost certain chance of being my first car!
Personal experience of the Esprit and the Elan are what did it for me... NEVER again...
A car can be fast and beauftiful as you like, but above all else, it has to be reliable, and spend more time on the road than at the dealers or on a tow truck.
It's lunacy to say that the Fiat is a better driver's car. You talk about legends and the Elise already is a legend!! Don't get me wrong the Fiat 500 Abarth is a wonderful car, but not a better driver's car than the Elise. Lotus is british so it's expected to have famed british unreliability but the british have also made a name for themselves with sports cars.
Lotus is just mutton dressed as lamb, it will never be a drivers car like the Abarth range, never in a million years. The best thing Lotus can do is realy go bust, its a shame the Elise is made of fibreglass otherwise we could at least look forward to it rusting away and disappearing for good.
The Abarth 500 shown here will be remember for all the right reasons long after the Elise is dead and buried.
The new fiat 500 Abarth is a classic the day it landed, the Elise is just an also ran from a manufacturer with a well deserved poor reliability and build quality record.
Lotus's just don't do it for me, that coupled with the utterly crap build quality and reliability is the best reason in the world to avoid them: they are rubbish, albeit sometimes fast rubbish when they aren't at the garage being repaired.
Don't forget, Lotus are owned by Malaysian company Proton and all the new cars are powered by Toyota. What were you saying about heritage? The Abarth is a legend, pure Italian blood and the soul and spirit every Italian car should have! I raced a Type R on Saturday, kept up no sweat.
Lamborghini is owned by VW, Jaguar by Tata Motors, Ferrari by Fiat etc.
But a Lamborghinis are no VWs, are they?
The 500 Abarth is a great car. (I would happily trade my MINI Coooper for one) But a Lotus is a Lotus.
Jeremy Clarkson once put it like this: "I know that they have nothing whatsoever to do with the grand prix team anymore and they have just been bought by Bugatti, but when u get home at night and say "shall we go out in the Lotus tonight" it has a certain ring to it."
I'm not sure what your point is here. I like Lotus too, i considered one before i got the Abarth. They're pretty hardcore and of course they're fast too. I guarantee though the Abarth gets just as much, if not more attention! It's the big names in the motor industries that are struggling now, those that borrow millions in loans they can't afford to pay back. Fiat are doing well with Ferrari and now Chrysler, they're good cars, not what they used to be. The new Panda in 2003 turned Fiat around.
Better take your mobile phone so you can ring someone when it breaks down.
I couldn't disagree more: Lotus produced friday cars everyday of the week. And yes the 15K fiat is much better than the 23K Elise, and its more exclusive, and it has more heritage.
Lotus made rubbish with a reputation for serious reliability and build quality problems.
Lotus made nice engines and good suspension designs, but complete cars??? Forget it...leave that to anyone else
I'm trying to decide the same thing! 15k is a lot for the general size of it but...If it's as good as 1.4sport I have, but faster, it'll be a hoot.
Not sure the EsseEsse is the way to go, have been told it's a bit too hard for the road, you can't buy it as an EsseEsse anyhow, it's an upgrade package, sounds great, but if you want power Abarth did an Assetto version with 200bhp (?think?) Wowzers!
Mines just arrived! Launch edition in white, red leather, 17" wheels, red mirrors and decals looks amazing and drives even better! So much fun, keep on eye on my channel, i'll be making some vids soon!
I have done 8000 miles in mine, it's such a good fast little car that turns just as many heads as any supercar (i know because i've followed supercars around town, guess which one people look at the most!)
D41H4T5U 2 years ago
they only look at your fiat because your following a super car, and when your not beacuse its pooooo
peeman112 2 years ago
How wrong you are. How is it "pooooo" anyway? What do you drive?
D41H4T5U 2 years ago
:) i love it!!
ooMATTiAoo 2 years ago
I was gonna get VW Scirocco GT 197 BHP but it was 2 expensive and was in 2 high an insurance group. So after looking around I decided to get the Abarth 500. Best decision I could have made. I live in London and it's teeny size makes parking a dream, it can fit in the tinest gaps, it handles brilliantly and it really does think its a fire breathing dragon, so much fun to drive! Plus it looks brilliant too, both guys and girls love it. My friends always ask if they can drive it AND it is so cheap!
SeraphicKnightX 2 years ago
why don't they sell cars like this in america...looks so fun..
phuse99 2 years ago 3
They are! :)
The end of end of last month Fiat said they will be using the newly acquired Chrysler dealerships to sellf the 500 in the US. Also YES the Abarth will be in the line up. So look for it in about a year.
phikes 2 years ago
1:35.5 is 10 secs faster than the reasonably priced lassetti
ErniePi 2 years ago
I LOVE it when car companies take their smallest 1 or 2 liter economy car and boost it. It's so fun driving a lightweight power house.
MOPARfulSRT4 2 years ago
I remember reading that Trulli drives a 500 also. I'm thinking it reminds them of their karting days.
John27346 2 years ago
This is michael schumacher's personal car.
happyguy82 2 years ago 3
lol yep i just seen that on top gear, and a fiat croma!!! surely he gets them free from Fiat
larebz 2 years ago
yeah I think his FXX can't fit his family lol.
happyguy82 2 years ago
if i win the lottery tonight im buying one of these!
PenisBoat 2 years ago 2
There unbelievably cheap why would you need to win the lottery? Just get it on finance for a few hundred quid a month if you dont have much money
miike12345 2 years ago
i would need to win the lottery to insure it im 17
i only earn 600 pounds a month :( rent alone is 300 a month then the bills and all
life is hard im waiting on that lottery win
PenisBoat 2 years ago
unless your an MP then you can put it on expenses along with you moat clearing, duck house and 19th home...
peterfarrow 2 years ago
LoL!
SeraphicKnightX 2 years ago
The car looks too high. The driver position seems to be wrong, look at the clip from 1:43 to 2:00. U can see how high hes sitting and how he rolls off on the turns from to the side.
I dont like the mini at all, i think its for girls, but in that u sit low down like in a sports car so atleast the driving position is good and the wheels r pushed out to the sides and its lower.
friendlyuser1 2 years ago
Jeremy Clarkson is 6ft 5inches tall (196cm), he sits high in every car.
peterfarrow 2 years ago
I'm looking foward to seeing the Brera and 8c here aswell
defdeelr 2 years ago
You want see an 8c here at all its going to be super rare
PATTYZ102 2 years ago
True,
but is way more interesting imho than a Lamborghini or Ferrari....And unlike those 2 companies. Whatever performance tech Alfa has in the 8c... it'll trickle down to the less exotic (Affordable) models.
defdeelr 2 years ago
This car is reason enough that Chrysler and Fiat need to get together and bring the 500 to the U.S.
defdeelr 2 years ago 2
I agree! I can't wait! The Alfa Romeo MiTo will be awesome too!
krudmuphinstudioz 2 years ago
Yeah, for serious, you can forget beating an Elise on a track unless the driver is completely inept.
ninjagod1337 2 years ago
So are you saying the stig is inept?
Thats a pretty bold statement. The thing is though, this new Fiat 500 Abarth is a classic the day it was made. Where as the Lotus Elise is just a rather unreliable "also ran" which will be forgotten rather sooner.
The Elise won't be a car that will form the stuff of legends in the future, the 500 is already there.
peterfarrow 2 years ago
Comment removed
ettorebc 2 years ago
Comment removed
ettorebc 2 years ago
The Elise did it's lap "wet"; the top gear people consider that to add 4 seconds to the laptime so the Elise spanks the SS; the Elise that the SS 'beat' only has 120HP as well.
However, the Abarth SS might be cheaper than the Elise ... no prices have been laid out for the SS yet (claimed prices are "base", the "as tested" is probably a LOT more).
I would like either car; the Abarth is probably a more of a "daily driver" ... a Lotus is more of a racecar, so there's no real comparison.
ettorebc 2 years ago
I have to disagree here
the Abarth is way better, it'll be a better day car, its a better drivers car, it has better status and its a bit quicker, and its half the price.
Lotus = Loads of Trouble usually serious, a well earned title, the elise will spend more of its life in the garage on recalls or repairs, or on the back of a tow truck.
The fiat may rust, but it will keep going...
peterfarrow 2 years ago
If you have ever had the misfortune of owning a Lotus, you will know exactly where I am coming from - Never again once is enough!!!
peterfarrow 2 years ago
You're beating down on Lotus pretty hard saying it's crap because of the Elise, but don't forget the beatiful Esprit and the new Evora. Don't get me wrong, I love the 500 Abarth, hell, it has an almost certain chance of being my first car!
Stealthgato 2 years ago
Yeah i know, but...
Personal experience of the Esprit and the Elan are what did it for me... NEVER again...
A car can be fast and beauftiful as you like, but above all else, it has to be reliable, and spend more time on the road than at the dealers or on a tow truck.
peterfarrow 2 years ago
The Esprit? Don't you mean Elise?
Stealthgato 2 years ago
No, you mention the Esprit....
The Elise isn't beaufiful, its like an Airfix kit of something from Thunderbirds... you mentioned the Esprit, I told what owning one is like....
peterfarrow 2 years ago
LOTUS: Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious...
myconpics 2 years ago
It's lunacy to say that the Fiat is a better driver's car. You talk about legends and the Elise already is a legend!! Don't get me wrong the Fiat 500 Abarth is a wonderful car, but not a better driver's car than the Elise. Lotus is british so it's expected to have famed british unreliability but the british have also made a name for themselves with sports cars.
Hoeboe2k 2 years ago
The Abarth range are legends.
Lotus is just mutton dressed as lamb, it will never be a drivers car like the Abarth range, never in a million years. The best thing Lotus can do is realy go bust, its a shame the Elise is made of fibreglass otherwise we could at least look forward to it rusting away and disappearing for good.
The Abarth 500 shown here will be remember for all the right reasons long after the Elise is dead and buried.
peterfarrow 2 years ago
and Canada!!!
myronx19 2 years ago
i want that little car. i love it!
topgearnut1989 2 years ago
mind u
089312756 2 years ago
Can anyone tell me, what Jeremy says at 0:22 ? I can't understand those words ( it's like my due, or mine due ??). Thanks a lot.
Karxas 2 years ago
he says "mind you, we are talking about,...."
"mind you......" :
An English phrase is used mainly in conversation when you are about to introduce a topic that you find a little unusual or surprising....
peterfarrow 2 years ago
Thanks a lot mate.
Karxas 2 years ago
No problem, English is a bizarre language and hard enough even if its your first language!
peterfarrow 2 years ago
sell it in the US!!!!
skimaniac05 2 years ago
got one and i love it!
D41H4T5U 2 years ago
This Car Is one of my Favirote Cars At The Moment ....
bloozeman101 2 years ago
The Elise did a lap in wet conditions. They just forgot to put the "(W)" on the board.
Molo9000 2 years ago
Aston Martin Vanquish, Civic type R, Alfa Brera, Maserati 3200, all wet too?
D41H4T5U 2 years ago
- the brera was the 2.2l 184hp version (and the brera is very heavy)
- the aston was in very wet conditions
- same with the maserati
- the civic weights 1200kg and has a worse power/weight ratio than the little fiat
The fiat is a very fast car, but it can't perform miracles.
Molo9000 2 years ago
The new fiat 500 Abarth is a classic the day it landed, the Elise is just an also ran from a manufacturer with a well deserved poor reliability and build quality record.
Lotus's just don't do it for me, that coupled with the utterly crap build quality and reliability is the best reason in the world to avoid them: they are rubbish, albeit sometimes fast rubbish when they aren't at the garage being repaired.
peterfarrow 2 years ago
fiat isn't exactly known for building the most reliable cars either.
But true. lotusses(?) aren't exactly mercedeces or hondas, but they are fast, sexy, exotic and true to the heritage of lotus.
lightweights like the elise will be the future of sports cars. the elise SC does 0-60mph in 4.4s and 202g/km CO2, 33mpg.
Now why are we talking about a 23k+ pound sterling serious sportscar when this is actually about a great 15k hot hatchback?
Molo9000 2 years ago
Don't forget, Lotus are owned by Malaysian company Proton and all the new cars are powered by Toyota. What were you saying about heritage? The Abarth is a legend, pure Italian blood and the soul and spirit every Italian car should have! I raced a Type R on Saturday, kept up no sweat.
D41H4T5U 2 years ago 2
Lamborghini is owned by VW, Jaguar by Tata Motors, Ferrari by Fiat etc.
But a Lamborghinis are no VWs, are they?
The 500 Abarth is a great car. (I would happily trade my MINI Coooper for one) But a Lotus is a Lotus.
Jeremy Clarkson once put it like this: "I know that they have nothing whatsoever to do with the grand prix team anymore and they have just been bought by Bugatti, but when u get home at night and say "shall we go out in the Lotus tonight" it has a certain ring to it."
Molo9000 2 years ago
I'm not sure what your point is here. I like Lotus too, i considered one before i got the Abarth. They're pretty hardcore and of course they're fast too. I guarantee though the Abarth gets just as much, if not more attention! It's the big names in the motor industries that are struggling now, those that borrow millions in loans they can't afford to pay back. Fiat are doing well with Ferrari and now Chrysler, they're good cars, not what they used to be. The new Panda in 2003 turned Fiat around.
D41H4T5U 2 years ago
"shall we go out in the Lotus tonight?"
Better take your mobile phone so you can ring someone when it breaks down.
I couldn't disagree more: Lotus produced friday cars everyday of the week. And yes the 15K fiat is much better than the 23K Elise, and its more exclusive, and it has more heritage.
Lotus made rubbish with a reputation for serious reliability and build quality problems.
Lotus made nice engines and good suspension designs, but complete cars??? Forget it...leave that to anyone else
peterfarrow 2 years ago
Serious sportscar, exotic, sexy?
Come on, surely you're not serious using those words in the same sentence as Lotus.
And then to follow it up with the discrete putdown of "great hot hatch".
You are right to separate the Lotus from the fiat by category, because the Fiat is way way better in every sense.
peterfarrow 2 years ago
really nice car!! im going to buy it!! time to change my old fiat bravo gt..
ooMATTiAoo 3 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
got one, you won't regret it!
D41H4T5U 2 years ago
They don't import the Abarth version to Finland. Life is not fair.
default1976 3 years ago
Emigrate!
But then again you great snow for winter sports such as snowkiting....
Thats really not fair...
peterfarrow 3 years ago
Loads of trouble usually serious or (LOTUS)
peterfarrow 3 years ago
It actually beat the Elise I think...
Never ever liked any lotus cars, nice engines, crap cars.... The Elise goes the same way for me, don't like it at all......
peterfarrow 3 years ago
great car, and luckilly it isn't built in italy, so it shouldn't fall apart after two weeks
kaczyyy 3 years ago
or rust away...
peterfarrow 3 years ago
don't pick on fiat
those times are gone
amdnovello 2 years ago
I love the fiat.
peterfarrow 2 years ago
I'm thinking of getting one, finding it hard to justify £15,000 for such a small car though, what do ya reckon? buy or not?
D41H4T5U 3 years ago
I fancy one, but it would have to be the SS edition.
However £15000 would buy you a VERY nice Impreza WR1 second hand which will always be worth more, and be faster and more practical...
peterfarrow 3 years ago
I'm trying to decide the same thing! 15k is a lot for the general size of it but...If it's as good as 1.4sport I have, but faster, it'll be a hoot.
Not sure the EsseEsse is the way to go, have been told it's a bit too hard for the road, you can't buy it as an EsseEsse anyhow, it's an upgrade package, sounds great, but if you want power Abarth did an Assetto version with 200bhp (?think?) Wowzers!
wilk1983 3 years ago
Mines just arrived! Launch edition in white, red leather, 17" wheels, red mirrors and decals looks amazing and drives even better! So much fun, keep on eye on my channel, i'll be making some vids soon!
D41H4T5U 3 years ago
Excellent, post some videos, where abouts do you live??
I would love to go out in one of these...
peterfarrow 3 years ago
I live in North Wales, county Gwynedd. I'm loving the car, turns more heads than a Ferrari! So fast and 30.5 MPG so far
D41H4T5U 3 years ago
Cool!!!
peterfarrow 3 years ago
I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!and it's the best car of the sector!FIAT made a great job with this litte rocket!
Kiiki88 3 years ago
What a great little car....who needs a lamborghini anyway?
titan57nl 3 years ago
this is why i like top gear good test, wi a bit of history and humor, not this driving trucks shit
cronicx22 3 years ago
lol gotta be one of the funniest top gear episodes!
quadturborx8 3 years ago
if u like a new retrolooking small fast car for those money I fink it's the best you can get
Sar2009fu 3 years ago
Id buy it..
kasaikun619 3 years ago 4