Review: Fiat 500 Abarth

by Michael Satterfield – 05/24/2012


Some of you might have read my review last year on the Fiat 500 Sport I drove around Dallas, Texas. Now that the Abarth Model is starting to spend some time sitting on the dealership lots, I figured I would go down and check one out. I had first seen the Abarth model on a trip to Indonesia in 2010. Having owned a number of classic Fiats, I was excited to see the new Abarth 500. But this was my first chance to kick the tires.

As I have found is standard with Fiat dealers in the US, the salesmen leave much to be desired, you would think if you worked at a retailer that sold only one product, and that is the product you talked about all day long you might know something about it. Sadly I have discovered that Fiat retailers are not staffed by enthusiasts but it seems Fiat North America has decided that from their ad campaigns to their sales staff, nothing they do should make you want to buy their car.

Having spent number of years in the auto industry and in the marketing side, you would expect that Fiat employees would be dressed in some nice chinos, a Fiat polo, and be as well groomed as the amazing studio space that they work in. But instead, you find that it is mostly men in bad-fitting shirts and suits who pulled the short straw from the Chrysler dealership across the street. From J-Lo driving and dancing around the projects to the guy who mispronounced Abarth at the dealership, I knew I was in for an interesting experience. But this is not a story about how I think Fiat should have introduced the product, who should be selling it, and why; this is a story about the 500 Abarth.

The first Abarth that I looked at was fully loaded and had been driven so hard that the leading edges of the tires were already bald, and the white wheels were grey with brake dust. I pointed this out to the salesman who assured me that it had not been driven hard at all and that it was “normal” for tires to be bald on the edges, after a slow drive around the block. I then saw the $4,000 dealer mark up… I asked about it and was told that all dealers are marking up the Abarth models $5,000-$6,000, so I should be happy to only pay $4,000 over the window.

The worst part about the one that had become the staff race car was it had the Tom Tom navigation package. A clumsy add on unit, that sticks out of the top of the dash. I asked if they had another Abarth, and he showed me the car on the showroom floor, a white model with black, & red interior, and no other options.

This is where I started to feel that the Italians let Chrysler get a little too involved. The dash on all 500’s is painted body color, so a white car has a white dash, a black car a black dash, and so on. But this car had the red leather interior package so the seats were black and red. The red seats work with a black or red car, but the white dash is not a good combo. Plus, someone forgot to tell the guys in the sewing department to match the back seat and quarter panels, which remained all black. It looked like something you would see in a 1992 Honda Civic fixed up by a high school student. The leather on the shifter, hand brake, and steering wheel felt cheap and unrefined, while the shifter itself felt sloppy and loose. Plus the emblems on the car were already suffering from peeling paint…on the showroom floor.

Paint peeling off the emblems on the showroom floor.

Now, I know you are thinking, “Mike, this is a $20,000 car; don’t be so hard on it,” but with the markup and all of them being fully loaded by the dealer with optional extras, the car is pushing $30,000. With an MPG of 28/34 and not a lot of refinement, the Abarth lands right in the cross-hairs of several much better cars. The 305 HP Ford Mustang V6 starts at $23,600 a GT can be had for around $30,000. With Mustang offering up to 30 MPG highway (remember these are all advertised numbers for MPG), the Abarth is looking a little overpriced.

So, how does it drive? Well, the Abarth, like the 500 Sport I drove last year, is miles of smiles. It is as much fun to drive as my Classic Mini Cooper; it handles like a first-generation VW Golf, and it draws looks and smiles from everyone who sees it. That being said with 133hp it is not mind blowing fast, it feels like it needs some suspension work still, however, the brakes are very good. In the land of the hot hatch, the Abarth is more about style than real performance.

So, would I buy a Fiat 500 Abarth? Well, if you are me, sure, I drive a 69 Mini Cooper, and I am building an old race car for the street that has no top and windshield. But if you are someone who has a commute, wants to be able to go shopping, go out with friends, or go on a road trip with more than one small duffel bag, I would have to say no. If you want a fun, cheap car that will make you smile all the time, then yes.

UPDATE:  Fiat did issue a recall on the Abarth for the paint peeling issue; at least they took care of it.

TSB 23-035-12 Abarth Liftgate Emblem Paint Peeling