Fiat 500 Abarth Deep Review with Test-Drive’s Performance

The origin of Fiat 500 Abarth is like a unique story. As we know that the 500 which was a tiny car evolved into super futuristic car with Abarth. So it comes the 500 Abarth with bad-ass and modern design. The automaker sets the 5-speed manual as the standard. Perhaps, it will increase the power slightly. Then, the 6-speed optional is also featured on this car. We can take a fresh air with its suspension because it makes the exhausted very yummy and comfort in any terrain. That is only a bit fresh updates from this car. Let us see the deep review below.

Overview

Before there is Fiat 500 Abarth, the domination of the Mini Cooper was very clear on the tiny car class. For your information, this class is not only tiny but also has a hatchback on the back. Then, Fiat has a good idea to combine the 500 and the Abarth into new tiny hatch car in order to make this class is more competitive than before. Coming with 1.4 L turbocharged engine, there are two packs which tune up the performance of Abarth 500. They are standard pack and Esseesse or SS pack. We can say that this car is the closest rivals with the Mini Cooper S so far. But, we will see which one will win on the power or ponies segment later.

Fiat 500 Abarth Designs

The exterior of Fiat 500 Abarth is very sophisticated and modern. As we can see on the side skirts, it has bigger parts now plus the bumpers. On its back, we found rear spoiler with fresh and tasteful to be tried. Consequently, this car is more aggressive and fresh rather than other competitor especially in 2016 model year. The front segment is designed to carry 1.4 L turbocharged engine. If we compare with the front bumper, the hood is going deeper. Speaking about the bumper, the rear one provides brakes cooling air. With two exhausts, this cooling air works functionally on the road. However, the mounted spoiler’s roof cannot reduce the dirt by the way. Although the automaker said that they have been trough long time to design the wind tunnel of this car. On the wheels, we caught 16- inch alloy wheels on the lower profile of 500 Abarth. Meanwhile, the Esseesse pack gives us 17 inches alloy wheels here plus another design of spring and damper. It implies that how bigger the power of Abarth 500 this time.

Fiat 500 Abarth Interior

Inside the cabin of Fiat 500 Abarth, we felt different sensation rather than normal or standard Fiat’s cars here. It is clearly the 500 interior designs by the way. But, we can also found Abarth’s features inside. Yeah, we have no idea how to explain both of them because they are in one form right now. Perhaps, the general features such as theme and materials belong to the 500 and the details belong to the 500. In other words, we got modern Abarth now. The theme dominantly is covered in the dark like black. The major materials are made of rubber for sure.Furthermore, we felt into sporty treatment while driving this car. It means that everything inside this car offers sporty design like the seats. The bucket seats remind us about the sixties Abarth with many adjustment which you can choose. So does the backrests. In order to make the passengers feel comfy, Fiat gives Fiat 500 Abarth a rotary dial for the backrests. Although the dimensions of the seats are quite short, this is not a big deal for small cars.

Driving Impressions

While driving the Fiat 500Abarth, we found many good impressions. For example, the natural pedals assisted us to get better decision such as braking. Meanwhile, the steering wheel is very easy to control. Thanks to the flat spot at the bottom of the driver’s position. Actually, not all features are flattened by the automaker. We still can see the round wheel on the steering wheel. It gives better hand grips for the driver. Moreover, the gearlever is covered by leather-finished. Overall, our driving impressions were very comfortable while driving this tiny car. Every feature especially on the driver’s is well-functioned as same as the safety features. The cabin is adequately giving space for the driver even though there are many buttons available on the dashboard.

Powertrains

As we stated earlier, the Fiat 500 Abarth will carry the 500’s turbocharged engine. The 1.4 L turbocharged engine which offers 133 brake-horsepower and 152 pound-feet of torque. Meanwhile, the highest trim or Esseesse pack offers higher ponies. Based on out test-drive, the SS pack pumps 157 brake-horsepower with 170 pound-feet of torque. Actually, there is no major change except the turbocharged one. But, it does not mean there is no change after all. We could call it as “not serious updates”, but still it makes this car special. For example, the new air filter will add more volume for the noise’s induction. Lastly, the ECU is remapped to give more versatile function.

Competitor

The Mini Cooper S is the main rival of Fiat 500 Abarth so far. What about the engine performance of this rival after we know the ponies of 500 Abarth? Of course, this car is still a few shorter below the Mini Cooper S at 5 horsepower. For your information, the S’s ponies reach 175 horsepower with its engine. At least, we have better Abarth with this 1.4 L turbocharged engine, right? When we researched why this engine cannot beat the S, we found that the low revs has dominant role there. It makes this car has slower speed in delivering the engine.

Performance

To end this deep review, we will talk deeper about the performance. The 170bhb engine reached 60mph for 7.6 sec. It was through standard traction by the way with default stability control. We could not switch it while driving. Overall, this small Fiat 500 Abarth is pretty impressive on the city’s road as the rival of the Mini Cooper S.