@Morg

True nobody's paying MSRP for Fiesta's, but at the same time nobody's paying MSRP for Fiats either. I'd expect to pay $1500 under sticker for a 500 Turbo. That after mods, would still be cheaper and faster than an stock ST. It sounds like you simply don't like Fiats, which is fine, but don't let that cloud or color your thoughts.

I think it all comes down to wants and needs.

Fiat 500 Abarth/Modded Turbo:
For twisty canyon roads where the short wheelbase is fun
For city driving and parking
For style
For the exhaust note
For feeling good about yourself

Fiesta ST:
For torque
For the utility of 4 doors

Focus ST:
Because you compromise on everything
Because you want Twin drivers to laugh at you
"Despite my back pain, this seat is Recaro, so it's awesome."
Because you have small kids who cannot buckle themselves.
Because you cannot afford a BMW sedan.

BMW Sedan:
Because you love performance
Because you have money
Because you need to buckle the kids in the backseat

Twins:
Probably the safest in a crash of the small cars
For ultimate performance
For ultimate handling
For ultimate styling
For ultimate canyon driving
For ultimate fun
For still being able to throw the kids in the back
For RWD
FTW :)

If I had to do it all over again, I'd still take the FR-S or BRZ. No question. None at all. But then, I live on a canyon road and commute in 95% canyon driving. My kids can climb in the back. Well, one in front and one in back, and one sitting crisscross behind me in a pinch. If I had to do a bunch of big city driving and parking, I'd probably have gone for the Fiat. Short cars are so much easier to live with in that situation. If I had smaller kids, I'd go with a BMW. I went with a BMW when I had smaller kids, twice. The E60 sedan is a wonderful car when equipped with a V8 and sport suspension, a serious jumbo jet. You can get from one place to another in no time, what with all the grip and torque. I was passing most cars at Thunderhill in the novice run group, including WRXs.

So just get the FR-S or BRZ. :)

Local Toyota/Scion dealership was open on a Sunday, so I dropped by with two intentions.
1. See how the car seat fits in the FRS.
2. Test drive while the Abarth is fresh on my mind.

They looked dead, and I said up front I'd love to buy today, buy I just wasn't ready quite yet.. few more months, hopefully. I've driven one but it was a long while back, and I didn't have my family with me. My wife remarked that she loved the seats, and to be honest it was easier to get the car seat into the FRS than it was the Abarth. Imagine that. They both have about the same rear leg room though, which is little to none.

About two minutes into the test drive though, my mind was made up. FRS all the way. I prefer the seating position and the overall feel of the car. Like I said, perfect scenario I'd love to have both. But the Twins definitely take the cake for me now.

Soon you will have to change your user profile.

I got 2 of Abarth on recent past. Be aware that US version has Multiair Engine not the standard stock T-jet of European build, very noise to tune. If you want to tune contact SerialTuning in Italy, is the man who developed tons of tune for Racing on Multiair platform. Latest build from Serial reach almost 230 HP with no wide operations in engine with some features of JDM tune such as autoblip and so on.
500 Abarth Trophy runs on T-jet platform.
Enjoy! It's a boosted mini car. My suggest is to buy manual not AT, the AT is a poor gear with electric actuator pump, very slow. In Italy and Japan isn't so lovely as setup.

My latest

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/922/rSINss.jpg
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http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/924/Is4gIt.jpg

It's pretty easy to negotiate several thousand dollars below MSRP for an Abarth, just keep the pressure on, get some quotes from truecar, etc. The car's a dumb-fun daily driver.