AllCarCentral.com's Test Drive
Fiat of Concord
Concord, California, June 2012
Fiat Sport vs Abarth vs Porsche
Fiat USA sent All Car Central an invitation to do a test drive of their new 2012, 500 Series. So my co-test driver Clar and I hopped over to the San Francisco East Bay Area's dealership, "Fiat of Concord" to see what this new Italian invader was all about.
We were met by our enthusiastic host Roberto Sanchez and guided to a nice Rosso Brillante Fiat 500 Sport. Our Sport had a 1.4 L, inline 4, driving the front wheels through a 5 speed manual transaxle with 101 Hp and 98 ft, lb of torque. The rear hatch opens up to a fairly large space which can be increased by laying down the seat backs for larger or longer loads. The over all fit and finish was excellent with a solid feel to the car. The seat base seemed to be a bit short for me though and I am only about 5' 8". Many of the econo-cars seem to present an interior that is functional but nothing outstanding. The 500 Sport went beyond functional and presented a nice look and feel above that of many of its contemporary's on the market. Roberto slipped into the rear sear and Clar and I took the front with myself taking the first bit off the lot.
I found the Sport to have 3 personalities. 1. Acceleration. 2. Highway Cruising and Maneuvering. 3. City Streets.
The Sport on the streets behaved really nice, ride firm and with its shortness, easy to handle in traffic. The high position of the seat gave good outward view. The drivers-side outside rearview mirror had a nice touch with a built-in 'blind-spot' mirror.
At highway Cruising and Maneuvering. The 500 was a bit of a surprise once I had made it up the on-ramp and into traffic. Moving at freeway speeds the 500 was at ease and could move around in the traffic. The car was composed, quiet and felt solid.
Acceleration. This car has only a 1.4 liter engine and with the manual transmission redline came up fast as I move up the inclined on ramp trying to match speeds of the freeway traffic. I caught myself thinking that this car was going to be way underpowered and 'buzzy', but as I have noted above that is not the case. An automatic shifting car may not have given this initial impression as during the rest of the drive, everything felt balanced.
A City car? Yes, with a bit of Italian class. A long distance driver? I did not spend that much time behind the wheel but the 500 certainly sould not be any worse than any other short wheel base commuter car that I have driven, and maybe better.
Clar took over the city street part of the test, and felt right at home behind the wheel of the small car, easily working through traffic. The tinted glass top was a nice touch although we did not open it, it made the interior more light.
As we were getting ready to leave, Keith, a very enthusiastic Fiat of Concord client came to us and said he had purchased the first Abarth to come off the ship in California and I had to go for a ride with him. He said I would be very surprised.
The Abarth has a modified 1.4 liter engine and the manual transmission, but it is Turbocharged and puts out 160 HP @ 5500 and Torque of 170 ft. lb. Ok I thought, that is better than the Sport's 101 hp and 98 ft, lb, but!
Keith told me to listen to the startup sound of the exhaust, and true to the famous Abarth exhaust systems the sound was spot-on.
Keith jammed the peddle to the floor and we hit the maximum for the road with a head rush that was totally unexpected. The braking was quick and composed. The Abarth has a Sport button which also changes the suspension setting to more firm. Keith pressed the button and at about 40 to 50 mph, literally whipped the steering wheel left and right, sending the short car from edge to edge of the lane in instant, no lean, no drama what -so-ever-lateral movement. Something like a formula car. But this in a car that is 4'11" high against 6'11" wide. Way more than 2 times as high as a Formula car. Very impressive.
Back at the dealer I suggested we do a comparison run in my 911/997 Porsche Carrera S.
We both agreed that the Carrera S gave the same head rush and impressed Keith, as he had not been in a 911, but the acceleration was not noticeably more significant than the Abarth. Even with the Carrera's Sport switch on the side to side suspension reaction was much greater (softer) than the Abarth. I prefer the overall ride of the Porsche over the Fiat's however.
We could not do a side by side acceleration test, due to the impromptu nature of our meeting, however we could not come out and say "that car was much faster" about either. But think about this. The Abarth has a power to weight ratio of 15.8 lb/hp and the Carrera S has a power to weight ratio of 8.8 lb/hp. Even if the Porsche ended way out in front of the Abarth in a race, the reputation of Abarth being a superb "tuner" is very much intact.
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Fiat 500 Abarth 2012
Test Drive
Fiat of Concord
Concord, California, June 2012
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Fiat 500 Sport sn-3C3CFFBRXCT500379 2012
Test Drive
Fiat of Concord
Concord, California, June 2012
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Fiat 500 Sport sn-3C3CFFBRXCT500379 2012
Test Drive
Fiat of Concord
Concord, California, June 2012
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Fiat 500 Sport sn-3C3CFFBRXCT500379 2012
Test Drive
Fiat of Concord
Concord, California, June 2012
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Fiat 500 Sport sn-3C3CFFBRXCT500379 2012
Test Drive
Fiat of Concord
Concord, California, June 2012
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Fiat 500 Sport sn-3C3CFFBRXCT500379 2012
Test Drive
Fiat of Concord
Concord, California, June 2012
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Fiat 500 Sport sn-3C3CFFBRXCT500379 2012
Test Drive
Fiat of Concord
Concord, California, June 2012
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Fiat 500 Lounge Gucci sn-3C3CFFER8CT316229 2012
Fiat of Concord
Concord, California, June 2012
Descriptive Poster For This Car - JPG file
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Fiat 500 Lounge Gucci sn-3C3CFFER8CT316229 2012
Fiat of Concord
Concord, California, June 2012
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Fiat 500 Lounge Gucci sn-3C3CFFER8CT316229 2012
Fiat of Concord
Concord, California, June 2012
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