Fr-s VS. Fiat 500 Abarth
 

Like the title says. Both line of cars have a history and almost the same price!

history?
500 abarth is just a piece of crap, it has the chassis from a panda and the whole "abarth" rebirth is just marketing

The Abarth is very neat, and gets pretty nice reviews. However it does have the disadvantage of being FWD.

After seeing a few on the roads, I'm not so sure I like the styling.
I would also give the BRZ/FRS the victory.:w00t:

The Abarth weighs 2500 lbs and makes 160hp, while the BRZ has a slightly higher curb weight and makes 200hp. Combine this with similar mpg and more interior room. The Abarth is slightly less expensive, but you are giving up a lot compared to the BRZ.

I don't diss other cars much, (or at least i hope not), but the Abarth really has nothing to offer. I wonder how much they had to pay Charlie Sheen just to sit in one

Has anyone actually driven an Abarth that has posted so far? I can't say I have. Personally, I wouldn't get one simply based on the looks--the car just isn't for me. But numerous professional reviews I have seen rank the Abarth pretty highly in its segment, and enjoy driving it.

I was thinking about the Abarth just because it's unique and seems pretty fun to drive. The thing that caught me in reviews was that the car had a fair amount of body roll due too being so tall. That turned me off to the idea, plus it gets expensive quickly when you start checking option boxes.

I still want to test drive an Abarth at some point, but I'm having too much fun driving my BRZ to care.

It's cute and probably fun to drive. Not a true enthusiast's car, however. It's something someone buys because they want to look cool and feel sporty, which is totally fine, however keep in mind it's front-wheel-drive, and the seating position is very un-performance-like. The FR-S is a focused performance vehicle which is civilized enough to be driven daily.

I sat in one at the Chicago auto show and felt like it was greatly overpriced for what you get. Also, the seating/shifting position don't feel race like at all.

Its definetly a enthusiasts car its a hot hatch with lots of features and options with decent handling and good torque....and the best exhaust note under 30k...i love this car!

Drive each and buy the one you enjoy more.... You're the one driving it everyday...

I would really only think of an Abarth if that Italian woman came with it as a factory upgrade.

Every time I see that commercial I think to myself "she can slap me anytime":D

She is actually Romanian I believe.

Yep, Catrinel Menghia (that's her name) is Romanian.
Does that means the Abarth would randomly slap you in the face? And that is very expensive to maintain? It could even run off with some footballer if getting bored? Then, I'd rather have a more tame Japanese ;)

If I lived in a crowded city, I'd have looked at that car more seriously. But out in the burbs, the practicality of the BRZ makes a lot more sense.

saw an abarth the other day for the 1st time on the street. i like how it looks noticeably sportier than the regular 500. i still wouldnt get one, but i like how they differenciated the abarth from the"base 500" more so than mini did with from their Cooper S and the base Cooper.

Japanese women aren't tame. They just seem so.

Ultimately, this was my choice as well.
I was unable to test drive an actual Abarth, only a normal 500 sport. Did sit in an Abarth, and the seats were considerably better than normal.

I was excited about the Abarth, was seriously considering ordering one.. but felt like i had to do due dilligence on other sport/sporty cars in the price range, including Genesis 2.0T coupe, etc.

Once i was able to actually test drive a FR-S... what Abarth? Nothing else mattered except how long it would take to get one set up as I wanted to get in.

That's true; if i lived in the City, an Abarth would be a more appealing choice. Not that the BRZ/FR-S is a bad city car. I'd probably just pick up a stock MK1 MR2 for two grand and drive that in the city, though. That way I wouldn't cry when it got beaten up from city life. 2350lbs, 112hp, available t-tops or sunroof. Plentiful and cheap!

Really?

One thing that folks should check out if they get the chance is the Abarth's exhaust note. Sounds so sweet. Fiat is actually working with Dodge's SRT group to make aftermarket goodies for the car. I also agree that it would be a better city car. Parking would never be an issue, and thin city streets would be easy to negotiate.

But I like the FRS more for the money. You're not really sacrificing much interior space, may even have more boot space, and while both are fun, the FRS has the advantage of RWD.

So, while I think FWD is a more practical drivetrain than RWD, the practicality basically evens out with these two, in my mind, and I'd rather have the fun of the FRS.

Just peeked inside a base model 500 that parked at my dealership. Quirky, cool and fun, but the driving position is minivan-like and there's very little cabin space. It's very Mini-esque in that it has that "cute" feel. I love how small it is, though! America needs more cars like this - just don't expect me to buy one.

First post here, I have neither a Abarth 500 or a FRS/BRZ but have a post-it on my monitor that has the base prices for each, destination charges, lb/hp and potential options to get from the dealership for both. I own a Fiat X1/9, a 2nd gen MR2 Turbo and a Mazda3. I've driven a 500 sport extensively (over 1,000 miles on a tour), test driven a Abarth 500 and only sat in an FRS. I grew up with Fiats so for what it is worth I'm a little biased.

I've test driven an Abarth at a journalist meetup on city streets and it is a fun car to drive in the 20 minutes I had it. The exhaust note out of the box is amazing and has a lot of pull compared to the 500 sport. There is a simulated differential (brakes?) that helps keep the power down but you have to push the sport button all the time to unlock the extra fun. The main appeal of the car is its appearance, extra kick over the 500 sport and the brand loyalty (for me). The seating position is very high compared to the FRS/BRZ and again, is front-wheel drive. The optional sunroof lowers the head clearance quite a bit so check with a helmet if you are seriously considering it. I had the pleasure of sitting in one at a track with an experienced driver and discussed the importance of left-foot braking in a FWD car, but to me it still felt weird.

The FRS/BRZ seems, from the forums, to be more of a serious business car. The engine bay looks to have tons of room for modifications and the whole car sits lower than the Abarth. Have you looked into the interior of the Abarth 500 engine bay? Pretty tight all up in there. Also, if tuning is your thing I have a feeling a lot more aftermarket parts will be available for the FRS/BRZ than the 500. I like to learn and drive the cars unmodified so that wouldn't be a consideration for me.

It will be awhile before I can make a financial decision for either but those are my 2 cents.

I've driven both. I'm an engineer for the company that makes the Abarth, and I own a whiteout fR-S. So I think my opinions on these cars is pretty valid.. Maybe.

Both cars are incredibly fun to drive. Those who bash on the Abarth don't know a thing about it.

The reason I chose the fR-S:
-RWD handling
-I liked the styling better.
-Lower seating position
-More tuning market.

The Abarth:
-Better stock exhaust note
-Functional backseats.. although still uncomfortable...
-more novice friendly when the weather starts to get colder (snow?)
-slightly cheaper to own in terms of insurance, gas, and purchase. I don't know a thing about their maintenance costs!
-park where ever the heck you want, almost. (mr.bean style parking.. lol)

Both good cars.. depending on what you are looking for. I'll be honest though.. Like everyone else, I'd take the frs/brz over the abarth anyday.

I haven't driven an Abarth but did rent the 500 for a few days. My only quip was the short wheelbase makes the whole car jerk or undulate over almost any road imperfection. Probably excellent for autocross but too straining for everyday driving. The FR-S is more GT-like in the sense of it having a longer, more comfortable wheelbase to live with.

Other than that, I appreciate the 500 for what it is and the Abarth trim is icing on the cake.

Saw my first Abarth on the highway the other day - white/white with a red scorpion decal on the back. It looks absolutely fantastic! I wish I could afford both cars, honestly. I'm so happy to see the return of affordable Italian cars. Now if I could just find an original example...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...hite_v_TCE.jpg

Their engineer drives an frs, Nuff said.

Ive gone head to head w one at the auto x & yea. Theyre... Ok. Of coarse I beat it but surprisingly not by alot. Stayed pretty close :)

My little brother owns an Abarth and had a 500 sport prior to that. The Twins and the Fiats are two very different cars even though the pricing is similar.

The BRZ/FRS definitely have a more "serious" feel about the handling and seating position. The Abarth just screams with italian flair and stupidity (essentially no exhaust, loud colors etc...). If I had one gripe about the Abarth is that after spending seat time in a 500 sport you realize that the Abarth gives you more power, but really doesn't fix any of the problems the standard car has. The shifter is vague (combination of lousy linkage and a stupid shift knob), steering is overboosted at low speeds, and the seating position is hilarious(ly bad). Also, the car has two VERY italian qualities; the nav unit clearly looks like someone was assigned to find a way to attach it to the car, decided to take the day off instead, and came up with something 20 minutes before the morning meeting. And how they ended up with a giant blind spot in a car the size of a shoe I will never know.

I'm not really sure where I am going with this haha. I guess you could say if you love the Fiat you will love the Abarth haha and if you don't get it, you'll never get it.

If you met my brother and I you would instantly understand who has the BRZ and who has the Abarth.

well i'm a previous gencoupe owner .. now rolling in a brz ... i went for a test drive with the 500 abarth last week and found it to be a fun little car .. it feels nice in the twisties and has no torque steer which is pretty nice for a little car with that much torque ..
torque comes in at really low rpm's and i miss that feeling i had with the genesis ..
the seating position is too high in the car and makes you feel like you're in a minivan and i hope fiat will correct this ..
the shifter is ugly and feeling isn't great .. i remember my 1996 accent had a more precise feel...
dashboard is ugly .. i thought that the brz's dash not so good coming from a genesis but was really happy to get in my brz after testing the abarth lol

the abarth is a nice little car but they should correct these problems because right now i think it's overpriced for what it is .. they sell it for the price of my fully equipped brz here (29000$) .. while i think it should be more like 22-24k

I was also shopping for either a Abarth or BRZ. I chose the BRZ after driving both. The main reason was that the Abarth handed and felt like crap compared to the BRZ. The Abarth has lots of body roll (feel like I may roll it in a hard corner), the steering is vague, and the steering wheel doesn't telescope. It's not a drivers car, it's just a faster 500 flashy econobox. Yes the Abarth is cool, the exhaust sounds good, and yes I wouldn't mind it if someone bought one for me but I'd never spend money on one after driving both multiple times. Thus why I bought the BRZ.

So to bring a thread back from the dead. I was actually googling for a Chris Harris Abarth video and found this.

So I actually just recently purchased an Abarth. But was specifically looking at the BRZ prior to even considering the Fiat. Mainly I wanted to sell my C55 and buy a track car. Something that would be reliable, new, and I could simply just drive it to the track and then drive home.

The BRZ is what I test drove.. Love the car. Handles like a dream, planted. Very reminiscent of a 93 R1 Rx7 I used to have. Same blind spots too. =)

Except for one HUGE issue I had with the car. All of the power was at the top. And unless you really gave it the beans you really weren't going anywhere. And the lack of torque was really killed it for me.

Now I test drove the Abarth honestly by accident... walked up to the dealership which was next to the Ford dealership (looking at mustangs) and asked to test one out. I flat out said.. "I'm not going to buy one of these" to the sales guy. Told him I was just curious.. looked meaner then I thought they would IRL. He laughed at me and said "everyone says that, but then ends up buying one."

So first thing to note when you start an Abarth and the engine and exhaust is cold. It is soooooooo LOUD.. it just screams "I'm upset right now". Give it a little gas at that point and it back fires and grumbles. All at the same time... puts a big $#!T eating grin on your face.

So in the end I got this for my track car. Mainly because after a little bit of research I found that with just a few bolt on's you can get some really fun power out of it. At the wheels 196 HP and 233ft lb torque. Couple that with a KW coil over suspension and some good sticky tires you can really make this thing scoot.

Granted the seating position is all wrong.. and the car is FWD. But for the money you really can't beat it. To start its cheap 22k.. Tires aren't all that expensive. The KW v3's cost the same if you are a BRZ or a Fiat... To get the HP up to the numbers I posted costs $700. And even comes with a remote so you can on the fly choose between 3 settings (Off, sport, and race).

And being that this was going to be a track car I was going to cage it anyways and so the resale value wasn't really going to be there. Plus in all honesty the car I really wanted for a track car isn't here yet.

Till then this is what I went with. However... when the STI version of the BRZ is released. That will be track car number 2. That is all the BRZ really needed to be perfect. More torque.. and I'm hoping that with a lower compression engine and an added turbo this would complete the package for the BRZ.

those cars are just so damn ugly. omg i can't stand seeing them. the shape of the car remind me of the villains in the game pac-man. i can't believe anybody would spend $22k for a hunk of crap like that. that's crazy. i'd take a honda fit or a toyota yaris if compact, light, and good fuel mileage was what i was after.

http://www.armchairempire.com/images...man-ghosts.jpg

thanks for your honest opinion. The Black and red schemed one always caught my eye. never test drove one :)

Yea the exhaust on the abarth sounds very similar to the srt-4. The dodge dart with the 1.4 turbo has a nice sound to it also. You don't expect such a deep burble to come from such a small car and engine.

I don't know if I'd buy an abarth...but I was awfully tempted by the sale they had a while back for the base 500's, for 199/month.

Agree, the Fiat 500 Abarth is a waste. Smoked one last week.

Is there a reason to choose the Abarth over a Mini Cooper S other than the exhaust note? I test-drove a MCS a while back and liked it quite a bit.

I almost bought one over the brz when the dealer wasn't sure if he could get me one. The exhaust does sound amazing, the only
Thing I wasn't keen on was the twist beam rear suspension, under steer city

Er, price! Have you priced a comparable Mini? The Abarth is no bargain but it makes the Mini look like the rip off it is.

Both cars make the BRZ look like a bargain, overpriced though it is also.

Twist beam doesn't cause understeer. It's an integrated roll bar and axle. The VW Rabbit introduced this clever idea. Lots of cars have successfully used it since.

Understeer is inevitable with fwd. period.