2012 Fiat 500 Abarth first drive | Consumer Reports

[SoFloLuca]

Ive had my Abarth for a few months and its flawless to me! And the sales are picking up every month! Mini is old

[Baasicstuff]

25-27 grand FULLY Loaded not bad Cooper S is a GREAT Car but your not gona get a fully loaded nothing for 27. I also like the looks of this little car and coppers are everywhere

[currysteph]

I own one and you can bring this car up to and surpass that of the Cooper S. My car has 217HP now...which is probably the upper limit without doing major engine moddifications...but the car was never designed to be the fastest car on the street ( I like to say its very quick and very nimble)...and its damn respectable and sounds like a beast.

[McMullenCharlie]

Like this video and the host is concise and smart - the 500 my favorite car right now.

[stevo]

its just a hot little car to have fun in

[Dankcatvacs]

its cool but is it fast and whats the gas mileage iis it bad ?

[WesleyButtercup]

This was never meant to be a sports car. Its built on the Ford Ka platform which Fiat licensed, which is a purpose built micro-economy car chassis and suspension. That is why it has a very simple front suspension and a inexpensive torsion beam rear. It also has an open differential, so it won't be able to put down power well if you crank up the boost.

[SquiggleSquared]

they do, this is not a review though, its a first drive, the review is with a car they buy themselves and live with for about a week or so

[MrSpeakyourmind]

Vespa + Ferrari = Fiat 500 Abarth, LOL!!!!

[andybroer]

It is quicker than my 1984 Ferrari 308 GTS QV! SO rethink your review 🙂

[ruedaricardo]

You guys borrowed a 500? I thought CR BOUGHT the cars they reviewed!

[Saytheodd]

I love fiat's I'm planning on getting one myself here in a bit. But, What I don't like is the price of the Abarth, if you wanted a sun roof or leather seats is like 25k. A 2012 Civic Si comes at 23k and it's faster.

[JakeRoot]

You obviously don't live in Seattle. I see the 500 EVERYWHERE!! I suppose you can blame that on our "granola" population of skiers and coffee drinkers who drive like mad and just have to park in the smallest spot at the shopping center, but hey, I can't blame them.

[jimlascola]

Mini Fanboi?

Fiat – 4003 sales, up 128 percent

The Fiat brand may only have one model, but it’s still attracting plenty of sales growth. Last month sales climbed 128 percent year-over-year to 4003 units, representing a new record for the year. May also marked the first full month of sales for the high-performance 500 Abarth, which helped bolster this month’s numbers. That brings the total number of Fiat 500 models (including the Abarth) sold in the U.S. to 36, 471 since the start of 2011.

[noneofyourbuisness]

Its sooo cute, I just want to put it in my pocket and take it home!

[markpoofy]

what real enthusiatwill choose this over jcw

[wmansir]

Overall it looks good, but those large rear wheels with the tiny brake setup look truly comical. Maybe it's because they remind me of guys who spend so much on wheels the only upgrade left in their budget for the brakes is a can of red spray paint.

From what I've read the small number of 2012 vehicles made for the US market is sold out. If you want a new one you'll have to get on the wait list for the '13 model this fall.

[BMan]

you sit ON the seats, not IN them. thats what I found.

[supercooled]

Do you know if anyone has brought up the power in the Turbo 500? I don't see how FIAT can justify charging almost $30k CND for a Abarth. That's a lot of money for a very little car, pun intended. For $30K CND, you are offered a bevy of choices like the Genesis Coupe 2.0T, Ford Focus ST, Mazda Speed 3, etc.

From all accounts, with its diminutive size/weight, 160HP seems very adequate; I can't imagine what 217HP would do.. probably peel the eye lids off your face.