You can't get a flat pack wardrobe in a Fiat 500 and do 0-60 in under 7 secs!

On the contrary - the 500 Abarth EsseEsse does 0-60 in 6.5 seconds, and if you get one with a sunroof you can easily transport flat pack furniture with it poking out the top.

The Abarth 500C with Autobox.

It is often a good idea to not only transport flat pack furniture but get it to its intended destination!

(for an easy life)

Good buy, I must admit I have a soft spot for 500, if ever I need a car that small it'll be a tie between Citigo and a 500.

But one thing I always was curious about regarding the Fiat 500, why on earth did they feel the need to make such a small car weigh a TON?

Years ago I had a Civic ESI, a much larger car, and it was under 800kg I think. A fully specced 2012 Roomster which is much, much larger car than the 500 is still under 1250kg. Is the floor of the 500 made of lead ?

Abarth 500 Kerb Weight 1035 kg, 135 bhp & Properly built & will last for years.

Fiat 500 Twinair 0.9 Kerb Weight 930 kg

Citigo Kerb Weight 929 kg

& lets see how they are wearing in just a few years, not the best built quality sadly.

Toyota iQ 3,

1.3 cc, 4 cylinder VVT-1 Multidrive 98 bhp kerb weight 930 kg

1.0 VVT-i 3 cylinder manual, kerb weight 845 kg

(1992 Honda Civic ESi Kerb Weight 986 kg,

no Cats, Air Bags etc but 125bhp which was nice.)

?How much will a Up! GT/Sport/Cross etc or a Citigo vRS with around 105 bhp weigh?

george

EDIT,

Up! GT, 109 bhp, estimated kerb weight 960kg

http://www.autocar.c...s/volkswagen-gt

* Fabia 1.2 TSi 105ps DSG Kerb weight 1,089kg*

What about Suzuki Sport Swift? I've seen around a few times and it got a "second look" from me.

Yes, the Civic was 985kg not 800, still it was a much bigger car than the 500.

The thing is newer cars seem to shed weight, Octy 3 is 1250kg, standing next to a 1035kg Fiat 500 you really wonder where the extra weight has gone.

Anyway, enjoy the new toy

I do like the Abarth, great little hatch and loads of fun to drive. Much more entertaining than the vRS.

Wouldnt worry about reliability, it'll have to be a shocker of an engine if its worse than the 1.4TSI lol.

@ Sharkrider, not to worry that you cant loose DSG, the new Clio RS is a turbo charged 1600 with dual clutch iirc. Perfect lol.

Would love a 500 Abarth but they are rather pricey!

Abarth 500 Kerb Weight 1035 kg, 135 bhp & Properly built & will last for years.

Fiat 500 Twinair 0.9 Kerb Weight 930 kg

Citigo Kerb Weight 929 kg

& lets see how they are wearing in just a few years, not the best built quality sadly.

Toyota iQ 3,

1.3 cc, 4 cylinder VVT-1 Multidrive 98 bhp kerb weight 930 kg

1.0 VVT-i 3 cylinder manual, kerb weight 845 kg

(1992 Honda Civic ESi Kerb Weight 986 kg,

no Cats, Air Bags etc but 125bhp which was nice.)

?How much will a Up! GT/Sport/Cross etc or a Citigo vRS with around 105 bhp weigh?

george

EDIT,

Up! GT, 109 bhp, estimated kerb weight 960kg

http://www.autocar.c...s/volkswagen-gt

* Fabia 1.2 TSi 105ps DSG Kerb weight 1,089kg*

is the weight for the fabia really correct?

My papers tells me that my 1.2 tsi manual the weight with fluids and 75kg driver is 1116kg

Skickat från min GT-I9100 via Tapatalk 2

No idea if the weights are correct,

they are what the Manufacturers give, 'Kerb Weight' or 'Unladen Weight',

*Fabia weight taken from the Skoda brochure*

They fix them anyway,

New car Driven off a Production line, or a car Fueled & with a 75kg driver,

who knows if that is spare wheel & jack, in or not.?

(i weigh 115kg)

The official MPG & Emissions given on the Tests they do are done at the 'Unladen Weight.'

Many cars drive on roads at near Gross or Maximum weight,

Driver, passenger or passengers, luggage etc.

george

I have a 2009 500 1.4 Sport in metallic black - love it. An absolute hoot to drive, sounds rorty as hell and just loves to be revved. Looks great too IMO - i'm getting to be quite a fan of small cars and this one never fails to bring a smile to my face. Surprisingly practical even though its one of the smallest cars on today's roads. I'd have one over a mini any day even though the ubiquitous BMW is no doubt a sharp drive. I think Fiat came out with a great package with their reborn 500. With the little Fiat as my daily driver and the ever-reliable Fabia 1.9 Tdi estate as our torquey family load lugger I'm well pleased with my current vehicle situation.

The twinair was absolutely shocking on fuel compared to what it was meant to do. Official 68.9mpg.... I never averaged more than 41mpg over a tankful. Around town it was doing about 30mpg. Thought I might as well have the Abarth in that case!

What you getting out of the Abarth now that you've had it a few weeks Tom ?

I'm looking to change my vRS and the Abarth is on my shortlist. Yours is exactly the spec I'd be after too !

What you getting out of the Abarth now that you've had it a few weeks Tom ?

I'm looking to change my vRS and the Abarth is on my shortlist. Yours is exactly the spec I'd be after too !

It's averaging 40mpg over a tankful so far which I'm well happy with. Especially as its only got 2k on the clock so barely run in. I'm still enjoying the performance at every opportunity too so may well get better over time! Even if I spend all day booting it around town it still shows 35mpg on the trip comp. Not unusual to see mid 50s on a decent run when driven off-boost.

It's averaging 40mpg over a tankful so far which I'm well happy with. Especially as its only got 2k on the clock so barely run in. I'm still enjoying the performance at every opportunity too so may well get better over time! Even if I spend all day booting it around town it still shows 35mpg on the trip comp. Not unusual to see mid 50s on a decent run when driven off-boost.

Thanks, impressive numbers. Even better than what the dealer was telling me it'd do. I'm not going to choose my next car based on it's mpg but I do a fairly long commute so I have to keep it in mind. Anything above 30mpg would do and it sounds like the Abarth would hit that ok.

Edited 29 March, 201313 yr by mids

I came so so close to ordering a 595 Competizione with the Koni kit on it. Had Abarth not decided to shut their factory down for 5 months and not accept any new orders while my Passat was coughing and spluttering its way to an early grave I would have snapped their hand off for one, even at that price. Fabulous little car to drive, corners like a housefly! Excellent choice!

From what I've read the Fiat 500 is the result of a. Joint venture between Fiat and Ford....the Ford version being the Ka.

However,it seems that Ford spent more time on chassis development so the Ka 1.2 handles better than the 500 1.2.

Of course Ford doesn't make a hot version of the Ka so the Fiat Abarth version will have uprated suspension.

Fabulous little car to drive, corners like a housefly! Excellent choice!

Cheers. Corners like a housefly is spot on lol! Only downside is when I get back in and drive the vRS it feels like I'm trying to pilot a bloody shopping trolley across an ice rink.....

From what I've read the Fiat 500 is the result of a. Joint venture between Fiat and Ford....the Ford version being the Ka.

However,it seems that Ford spent more time on chassis development so the Ka 1.2 handles better than the 500 1.2.

Of course Ford doesn't make a hot version of the Ka so the Fiat Abarth version will have uprated suspension.

I think the main difference was that ford fitted a RARB to the ka whereas the 500 managed without one. Last year fiat cottoned on to this and installed the RARB to the 500 too. Meant they could soften the suspension a little so the ride/handling balanced improved to match that of the Ka. My old 500 twinair had this setup. Handling on the Abarth is just on another planet tho!

I think the main difference was that ford fitted a RARB to the ka whereas the 500 managed without one. Last year fiat cottoned on to this and installed the RARB to the 500 too. Meant they could soften the suspension a little so the ride/handling balanced improved to match that of the Ka. My old 500 twinair had this setup. Handling on the Abarth is just on another planet tho!

I think it was actually in 2010 that the rear anti-roll bar was added to the 500, at the same time the 500c was introduced. Better ride as a result. The ride on my '09 sport is quite harsh and a bit crashy at the rear but I forgive it because it's such a charmer in other departments. Thinking of getting some bilstein rear shocks - improve things quite a bit apparently.

Cheers. Corners like a housefly is spot on lol! Only downside is when I get back in and drive the vRS it feels like I'm trying to pilot a bloody shopping trolley across an ice rink.....

Haha! Cracked me up, great comparison lol