auto question: fiat 500 abarth

[Badonkadonk]

i am looking around for something cheap and with personality to go to the train station a few times a week and around town. i haven't driven one yet, but the boys at top gear seemed to dig it and i admit, it appeals. heard one on the street a couple of weeks ago and it really got my attention. i LOVE the exhaust note.

anyone have one / driven one? i will be moving from a german v8 luxo-cruiser so this is an idea i'm a little nervous about

[vertical_doug]

i am looking around for something cheap and with personality to go to the train station a few times a week and around town. i haven't driven one yet, but the boys at top gear seemed to dig it and i admit, it appeals. heard one on the street a couple of weeks ago and it really got my attention. i LOVE the exhaust note.

anyone have one / driven one? i will be moving from a german v8 luxo-cruiser so this is an idea i'm a little nervous about

Yes, in black and red. Just think of the Ad driving to the station will bring a smile to your face

[sk_tle]

it looks good but driving position is really bad. Feels like driving a utility vehicle.

It's just a panda with a retro looking body atmo, nothing to be excited about. I wouldn't call it cheap either, it cost a lot for car of its size.

[Matthew Strongin]

My experience is limited to a very short test drive, but it felt very cramped. Like nearly brushing shoulders with the passenger just sitting normally. I was driving a mini cooper s at the time. The mini felt roomy by comparison and felt more solidly built. It's not that much more money either. Certainly less unique, though.

[Badonkadonk]

Yes, in black and red. Just think of the Ad driving to the station will bring a smile to your face

that is brilliant and appeals to the general sense of emasculated beige that surrounds most of the lifestyle i enjoy at this point

evidently you can chip them to give it 200hp, which should be interesting.

[Badonkadonk]

it looks good but driving position is really bad. Feels like driving a utility vehicle.

It's just a panda with a retro looking body atmo, nothing to be excited about. I wouldn't call it cheap either, it cost a lot for car of its size.

oh man leave it to a european to de-mystify fiat for me. life was better when the separation of the ocean left a lot of mystery.

[soupless]

that is brilliant and appeals to the general sense of emasculated beige that surrounds most of the lifestyle i enjoy at this point

evidently you can chip them to give it 200hp, which should be interesting.

I think that the phrase "general sense of emasculated beige" will be with me for the rest of my days. Good turn of phrase.

[j44ke]

Have a wife? Have daughters? Get one. You'll never have to drive yourself anywhere ever again.

[david]

i see one on my commute now and then.
can always hear it coming.
sure sounds like fun.
drive one.
but i'd also check out a mini, gti and focus st.
more $, less italian 'tude, but maybe a little more substance.

[Badonkadonk]

less italian attitude and more substance is almost the opposite of what i'm looking for ;-)

time to go drive one

that is, if my legs still work after the "greenwich scramble"

weather looks good!

[Matthew J]

Fiat 500 is the Zip Car parked closest to my home. At just under 6' and around 155 #s, I find the driver seat plenty comfortable. The controls are intuitively placed. Visibility is good. The car has a very solid road feel given its small size. Definitely not fast.

Most in the U.S. equate size or speed with quality. This car has neither as it's designed for optimal use in places where size is a disadvantage and speed not possible.

I drive cars at most 6 times a year, so cannot really fathom buying one. If I ever did, a Fiat 500 would be right up there with a Golf TDI and compact Prius (by far the best of the Prius models IMO) among my candidates.

[jerk]

i am looking around for something cheap and with personality to go to the train station a few times a week and around town. i haven't driven one yet, but the boys at top gear seemed to dig it and i admit, it appeals. heard one on the street a couple of weeks ago and it really got my attention. i LOVE the exhaust note.

anyone have one / driven one? i will be moving from a german v8 luxo-cruiser so this is an idea i'm a little nervous about

marc-
get what i'm getting.....128i. same money- a little less ahmmm..... never mind.

craig

[jitahs]

Do it! It weighs like one 128 useless rear seat and comes with Catrinel Menghia. Unless mainemike is in the Tri-State area.

[Mat]

less italian attitude and more substance is almost the opposite of what i'm looking for ;-)

time to go drive one

that is, if my legs still work after the "greenwich scramble"

weather looks good!

I was going to say have a look at the new 2014 Fiesta ST. Less expensive than a Mini or VW. Not as powerful as a Focus ST that David mentioned, but still plenty strong for around town usage, quite practical, and a couple of grand cheaper. I'm also a fan of the Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S. But none of those cars, despite how good they are, have Italian attitude. The Fiat's a cool looking car and has a sense of style. But I'm enchanted by a Lancia Fulvia (Lancia Fulvia | Hemmings Motor News).

[Badonkadonk]

I was going to say have a look at the new 2014 Fiesta ST. Less expensive than a Mini or VW. Not as powerful as a Focus ST that David mentioned, but still plenty strong for around town usage, quite practical, and a couple of grand cheaper. I'm also a fan of the Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S. But none of those cars, despite how good they are, have Italian attitude. The Fiat's a cool looking car and has a sense of style. But I'm enchanted by a Lancia Fulvia (Lancia Fulvia | Hemmings Motor News).

that lancia is gorgeous!
i would love to go get one, if only to guarantee that 3/10 times home from the train the fucking thing won't start

[Badonkadonk]

marc-
get what i'm getting.....128i. same money- a little less ahmmm..... never mind.

craig

love the 128, but it's way more expensive... i originally was thinking about an m3 convertible. then it dawned on me that for the price of one of those, out the door, i could buy a shitty little growly italian hatchback that would take me the 1.3 miles to the train every day AND something else that is just stupid, but which i mean old, italian, unreliable, expensive to maintain, and 12 cylinder

[Mat]

love the 128, but it's way more expensive... i originally was thinking about an m3 convertible. then it dawned on me that for the price of one of those, out the door, i could buy a shitty little growly italian hatchback that would take me the 1.3 miles to the train every day AND something else that is just stupid, but which i mean old, italian, unreliable, expensive to maintain, and 12 cylinder

This checks off all the boxes, plus it's a 4-seater, thus the perfect family car: 1979 Ferrari 400ia - Used Car Washington DC | Classic Motors of Washington D.C.

[jerk]

that lancia is gorgeous!
i would love to go get one, if only to guarantee that 3/10 times home from the train the fucking thing won't start

I'm telling you dood, I did all the research on small, sporty nice cars under $34000. The 128i stripped with an mt and the m package kicks the shit out of any of these four banger turbo charged fwd junk.

[sk_tle]

love the 128, but it's way more expensive... i originally was thinking about an m3 convertible. then it dawned on me that for the price of one of those, out the door, i could buy a shitty little growly italian hatchback that would take me the 1.3 miles to the train every day AND something else that is just stupid, but which i mean old, italian, unreliable, expensive to maintain, and 12 cylinder

You need a car to do 1.3 miles ? The engine won't even have the time to reach a working temp.

[Badonkadonk]

I'm telling you dood, I did all the research on small, sporty nice cars under $34000. The 128i stripped with an mt and the m package kicks the shit out of any of these four banger turbo charged fwd junk.

ok, so what came in second? because when i price out the 128 with what i actually would want (bluetooth, a/c suspension package... ok, basically everything) i'm at 41k vs 28k for the super hot chick, i mean the abarth

plus, in greenwich i kind of like the image of having a shitty italian four banger turbo fwd because its literally a sea of bmw and porsche and mercedes all up in this bitch.