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Is there an avid car whose pulse does not quicken when he or she hears the brrrap brap from the exhaust when the north American spec Fiat Abarth ignites? The TTAC the editor Derek Kreindler is correct, the Abarth seems indeed faster than it actually is, but it seems always glorious. Do not tell me that a four-cylinder may not seem as exciting as a V8 or even V12. Say eight or twelve "sounds better" than four is like saying a big band sounds better than a trio, as if you can not enjoy both Duke Ellington and cream.
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Not only that good when you ring the run, I suspect that the ECU engine of 1.4 liter turbocharged and twin-intercooler Abarth can even be deliberately dumping some unburned fuel in the exhaust manifold on the throttle overruns. You start looking for tunnels and concrete walls just to hear the sound ringing. Of course, while the Fiat Abarth playing Rice Krispies Symphony can bring a smile on the face of almost all car enthusiasts, for Gaia worshipers, I fear that the small Italian car through Auburn Hills and Mexico like death rattles of a million baby polar bears. Well, as they say, the music of a person is the turn of another person that shit down. The exhaust gases are not the only thing about the small car that will make you smile.
In addition to exhaust that will never ever let you sneak out of the house unnoticed the night, the Abarth would never be described as discreet. Rosso red paint worthy of an Italian car, and a large scorpion logos and Abarth in the joint (it is difficult to find a Fiat logo on the Abarth), added to the large wheels, wide tires and aggressive stance will surely make you note.
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for a car with two names of Italian brand, it might come as some surprise that fact alluded to above, the US market Fiat Abarth was developed by the Chrysler team in the Detroit area and assembled in Mexico. While this may seem ironic for a car sold with Italian brio , I think global context of the car is the story of Carlo Abarth well. Karl Abarth Born into a Jewish family in Austria, he made a name for himself and tuning racing motorcycles. Injuries caused by a racing accident and the Nazi Anschluss in Austria stopped his career and life races in Austria. He spent the duration of World War II in Yugoslavia. After the war, he moved to Italy, where he had ties dating back to the early 1930s he had excellent connections. Abarth personally knew the great racer Tazio Nuvolari and was friends with Ferry Porsche, son of Ferdinand Porsche. In fact, Abarth married the brother-in-law of the secretary of Ferry Porsche Anton Piëch. In Italy, he was one of the founders of the influential company Cisitalia. When dissolved company he started Abarth & C. SpA in 1949. In 1952, the Abarth Company began a relationship with Fiat, tuning and racing their cars and sales of performance accessories, which resulted in the acquisition of Abarth company automaker in 1971.
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Although Carlo has not much to see with the development of the car that bears his name, the team Auburn Hills has produced a car that is fun to drive in most real-world driving situations. Although I have a penchant for big American sedans of my youth, I always loved small cars. One of the first car I drove was '63 Mini Cooper of my brother. In many ways the Fiat Abarth is a spiritual descendant of this car, a car that has taken the inherent goodness of econobox FWD and did even better. When I arrived the Fiat 500 base as a rental car, I enjoyed my week with it, even though it was obviously a cheap car. Throwing around a corner, even get the back end to move a little, you could say the base Fiat wanted to handle. The iteration of the Abarth 500 fulfills that promise.
The Abarth version is up the wick on how the 500 sticks. He has all the grip you need for any type of enthusiastic driving on the street. Much of that can be attributed to the 205 / 40R17 Pirelli PZero "three-season" tires, but there was also some attention to suspension tuning. The Abarth feels at once more cushioning and more flexible than the base car. In addition, since Fiat has a very short wheelbase, the Abarth had a better ride than the Dodge Dart GT I drove last week. Since the Dart GT and the US market Fiat Abarth was developed by the Chrysler team in Auburn Hills from Italian platforms, it is somewhat surprising that based Dart largest Alfa Romeo has a bone conduct shaking the Abarth.
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Although Abarth steering, this is not a car for a hand around from the city. Make the change and put your right hand on the wheel. Steering feel through the steering wheel was uniformly chunky heavy. Speaking of chunky steering wheels, if I may be permitted a slight digression, just because a car is for driving a sporty way does not mean it needs a wheel whose rim is two inches in diameter. Ok, so this is an exaggeration, but with the proliferation of steering wheels with a flat bottom, we saw the handles on the steering wheels become bigger and bigger, so that someone like me, who has relatively small hands sometimes find a few of them, like the Fiat Abarth, a little too large to comfortably manage, somehow what I feel about a 9mm Glock.
you better have a good grip on this chunky steering wheel because, as mentioned, the Fiat Abarth is not a car to drive through a light hand on the wheel. The steering is weighted quite heavily, although it sheds some light on the road. In fact, on highways Abarth is relatively comfortable for a short wheelbase car that is bound to be pitching up and down. Another reason to keep a firm hand on the wheel is that, as with other cars based front-wheel drive from Europe, the Fiat Abarth tends to follow linear road irregularities. He danced a little on the grooved floor and it tracks the asphalt that was brought in wide grooves. This phenomenon is exaggerated with sudden braking or if you manage to get some torque steer when accelerating.
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For most, however, torque was not particularly notable. I also do not notice much turbo lag as some have reported. It is there if you are the type who Redlines much but it really was not a problem in normal driving around town. I like small cars and I am an enthusiastic supporter of the front wheel drive since I was driving that '63 Mini. Combine small, good maneuverability and enough power and you have a perfect tool for the cut and thrust of urban and suburban driving. If the hole in traffic is large enough for the Abarth 1.4 turbo you get there.
Although this is not the fastest car on the street, not so fast, say, like the Ford Fiesta ST, my personal feeling is that it is fast enough for just about any type in enthusiastic driving off the track. You end up preferring the Abarth, Fist, or the Toyota / Scion / Subaru sports coupe is a matter of taste and driving styles. Whatever you choose, however, you would have fun with Abarth.
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is very good in the city and on the highway, you can browse all day almost any speed that is safe, even reckless speeds as well. The maximum speed is specified as a governed 129 mph and while I have not had the Abarth that high on the speedometer 0 mph, the indicated number 117 I arrived at the secret factory High Speed Test Schreiber me to believe that the specifications are correct. The engine was losing some steam as it rolled into the gear on top of the improved gearbox 5, but it should always be able to see 129 if the line is long. I should note, however, that after the sprint, I noticed odd smells of something warm under the hood.
For the most part, I really liked the Fiat Abarth, so the week it was ending and I used the free gas tank it came with (see below for observed Mpgs), I ate super fuel purchase costs for it, rather than using my daily driver, which takes 87 octane. It is a puppy wanting a car that is quite easy to love.
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There were some things, however, that I did not like. Most of them had to do with the fact that it is based on a cheap economy car that gets a little long in the tooth. The modern 500 was introduced in Europe in 07, there are two product cycles. I do not like how the concentric instrument panel is finished, and while it is nice to have the auxiliary boost gauge that lets you know that the Sport mode button on the center console practice really makes a Unlike how the engine is mapped, ie seeing the shift does not seem to follow a logic that I have learned in over 40 years to drive a stick shift.
Furthermore, armrests front seats are located so that when the two of them down, you can not reach the parking brake, an argument in a car with a box speed manual transmission. I do not know if it is a design or feature fault, but the driver side arm rest was down slightly on the two Fiat 500 I drove, which adds to the impression that the Abarth based on a cheap car.
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Speaking of manual transmissions, dashboard mounted 5-speed shifter on the Abarth a fairly short throws, but shifter low mileage press car was not ideal. Try to demote from 5th to 3rd was a doubtful proposition and I even struggled to find a third upshift or two. On the other hand, the clutch was very smooth and easy to use. So easy that I used to start teaching my daughter how to drive a stick (note the indefinite article "drive stick" gets you a demerit language arts) and was able to get the small car driving in the parking lot without stalling on the third try.
Can I say that the low of Beats by Dr. Dre audio system sounded like he was some coloring?
As stickered on the Monroney sheet, the test car was a tick over $ 30K, $ 30,004, including destination charge $ 800. The Abarth base is $ 22,095 and in my opinion much more than $ 8,000 in options is not well, at least if I buy the car. The $ 1.0 leather "performance" trimmed bucket seats with high backrest is best left unchecked on the options list. They do not give you enough capacity aside for the car's handling capabilities. They were less effective in this regard that the seats of the Dodge Dart GT. Save money and buy the driver's seat of the performance of the secondary market instead. The audio system is $ 700 and comes with the Beats brand. After the VW agreement to label the Panasonic stereo systems with the Fender brand, I am not naive enough to think that Dr. Dre had something to do with this sound system beyond getting paid to put the Beats brand on it. Both Beats audio systems in the Fiat Chrysler cars I tested were poor and did not please you call me a racist if I say that there was more than a little low staining (d Besides, I think Dr. Dre sold this company to Sony for really big money). $ 0 tacked on TomTom nav system Blue & Me also did not seem to be a prudent purchase in light of what you have already on your phone. It also was not easy for me to use. On the positive side, my reliable Android phone hooked to the car for the phone and music.
Half a century of progress minicar high performance. The Abarth 17 " wheels are about as big around as tires original 1963 Mini Cooper , and the brake rotor and caliper would never adapt to inside 10 of the Mini "wheels.
I would also like to not pop the sunroof $ 1300, but I concede that if you drive a car that is supposed to represent the Italian spirit, you might want some al fresco driving. For Abarth experience in the air almost completely open, the model is available in cabriolet (convertible Fiat 500 retains the roof side rails). The wheels "black hyper" 17 by 7 inch forged aluminum are easier call. They cost as much as the sunroof did, but they probably contribute to handling the Abarth fine, so they are probably worth the price. Just smile, I dug the spare tire on the trunk of the Mini Cooper (my brother stores here). In half a century, the wheel size of a small car from 10 "to 17". The rims on the Abarth as large as or larger than then original wheel Mini Cooper all and tire together.
The Abarth has such a good and substantial pedal which is very convenient to prepare you for the enthusiastic handling of the Fiat. complete gallery here
The result is that 25,000 to less than $ (A / C is standard) you can get a Fiat decently equipped Abarth which is likely to put a smile on your face. It may be based on a cheap car, but the Abarth is not an economy car. I am a fairly consistent at 24.7 miles per gallon of premium gasoline. Very good for a performance car, but far from what the base 500 can get. As an aside, why did they sell cars that require 91 octane while all gas stations here sell 93? Well, then fill half and half with 89 and 93 gets the right R + M / 2 stars, but it is the hassle dong calculation and pumping two or paying more for fuel than you really have to pay . In addition to requiring premium fuel, the Fiat Abarth requires the use of a synthetic engine lubricating oil.
You can carry your small around the back seat, but they will not much legroom. complete gallery here
As the Dodge Dart, Fiat Abarth does not come with a spare tire, but rather an electric pump with its own puncture box in the stored case under driver's seat, taking a little room off already not very generous passenger in the back seat.
an electric air pump and "fix a flat seal replaces the spare tire and is stored under the driver's seat. complete gallery here.
In conclusion, the Abarth is just one of a number of very desirable car enthusiasts that cost less than $ 30,000. Spontaneously, there is the aforementioned Fiesta ST, its big brother the Focus ST, the GT-86 Toyobaru siblings / FR-S / BRZ, and I'm sure you can suggest some more. While they may not be the car muscle fast the line, they all have enough pep to be fun to drive on the street and they all competent chassis systems, steering and braking that make them fun to drive. They are not perfect, you can find any fault with all of them. They are, after all, built to price points. However, they are all very fun to drive and you can not find one you could live with and enjoy, whether you have become accustomed to much more expensive cars, or you are not much a car enthusiast. In fact, as some of the highest praise for the current generation of sports car entry came from people who are exposed to a lot of very expensive cars very high performance, as some of my colleagues in the car biz writing I D say that the price does not matter. There are a lot of cars that are fun to drive, including the Fiat Abarth, and it is a good time to be a car enthusiast.
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model that I tested was the model year 2014. Since then, FCA has made the Fiat Abarth available with automatic transmission
FCA provided the car, insurance and premium gas
Disclosure: .. It is the policy of the Truth About cars is to reveal to our readers the damage we are doing to press cars. Our former acting editor has even published an editorial on the subject. I do not know if he tempted fate with this editorial, but I am sad to say that I damaged one of the 17 "wheel of the Fiat Abarth. I would at least be able to say that I went a stuffy corner and cut the apex, but the truth is that I am lazy and distracted in a street on which I drove thousands of times before and managed to scrape a sidewalk. the damage was probably just aesthetic, but anyway I reported it to our editors and the car company, and now you. you can never be too sure of yourself and you can always learn something that will improve your driving.
Ronnie Schreiber edits cars in Depth , a realistic perspective on cars and car culture and the original site of the 3D car. If you found this article interesting, you can get a view parallax Cars in Depth. If the 3D thing freaks you, do not worry, all the photo and video players used on the site have mono options. Thank you for reading - RJS
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