In-depth reviews

Abarth 500 owner reviews

"The Abarth 500 is one of the most stylish small cars on the road and thanks to sharp handling and an eager engine, it offers driving thrills to match."

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by Richard Ingram

12 Sep 2019

.polaris__post-meta--date { display: none; } .polaris__post-meta--date.no-script { display: block; padding-left: 45px } 12 Sep 2019

Carbuyer Rating

2.7 out of 5

Owners Rating

4.5 out of 5

Reviews

Owner Reviews

5 out of 5
4 out of 5
3 out of 5
2 out of 5
1 out of 5

84%of people would recommend this car to a friend

Common Problems

Other (3 cases)
Electrics, Other (1 case)
Brakes, Electrics, Engine, Gearbox / clutch, Suspension (1 case)
Gearbox / clutch (2 cases)
Brakes, Engine (1 case)

Review 1 of 25

Tell us what you think about your car?

Over the years I've driven close to 50 cars, BMW 5, Bmw 1 , Audi A4/A3 quattro, Golf GTI, Volvo V40, Ford Probe... Ahem... My point is that none of these cars comes close to the absolute joy of driving my wife's little legends blue Abarth 500. It's not big inside, ride is about as harsh as my old BMW 1 series. But it makes up for all its faults with a charm that I've never come across before in a car. It genuinely does bring a smile to your face each time you drive it - holds it's value very well too... £14k well spent.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Fantastic car, brilliant engine, great to drive and admired by passers by. Its my baby lamborghini!

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

I absolutely love it! We have bought two of them now and think they are completely underrated. As for any problems, it's an abarth - they add character!

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

A brilliant performance small saloon, that's a lot of fun in addition to being nicely economical. For 2 people the fold down seats provide adequate luggage space

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Brilliant car - great performance, looks, quality and a burbling exhaust to die for.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

It is fantastic. Nothing more to say.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Great little car.... shamed a lot of drivers in supposedly quicker cars. (Polo GTI, Mini S, Renault Clio RS) It is surprisingly quick, reliable, has an amazing sound (especially after about 7000 miles, when the exhaust is "burned out") and at least as much racing pedigree as its rivals. Karl "Carlos" Abarth is as historic and eccentric as it gets and even worked with Porsche (Porsche Abarth 356B Carrera GTL). The Abarth 500 doesnt feel like it is build by a bunch of marketing experts who want to please everybody. It feels like something you would build yourself, a raw little racer, that sounds like you had drilled a hole in your exhaust and goes like hell. After 3 years of owning one, I can tell you that there is absolutely nothing wrong with this car. I use it every day and love to drive it fast (even take it to track days). As for the engine there is one thing to remember. It is a TURBO!! Since it has a very small engine and has a turbo that produces a considerable amounts of boost. You have to treat it like a TURBO. - Don't go over 3500/4000 rpm before the engine is fully warmed up - Change the oil every ~10000km/~6200 mi - Start your car without gear or clutch engaged - Treat it with some premium fuel as often as you can ( It s not a secret that a high octane number will give somewhat of a increased performance, this is especially true for Turbo engines) - Don't turn the engine off immediately after you driven!!!!!!! I actually cant stress this one enough. A turbo engine needs a few seconds ( 40 -60) to "breath out". This is especially true after long motorway journeys and/or more ambitious/sporty ones. So DCSTD :D i guess (I know there is STD in it ....... ) I had mine for 3.5 years now and I am as happy as on the first day. About 35000 miles on it and not a single serious issue with it (break pads and disks, tail plate lights, blue and me issues, but nothing extraordinary) Treated it over the years with the Koni FSD kit, Sabelt seats, and the allmighty G-Tech RS-S Evo kit.... And what can I say.... I love it more then ever... For all off you enthusiast I cant say this often enough: Go check out their website... They are a fairly small company in Germany who specialised in tuning Abarth cars. They are to Abarth what Abarth is to Fiat. They will tune up your car to perfection... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS4edo3gWF4 I hope you find this helpful. Cheers from Vienna

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Great to drive, very rare, nothing wrong in 9 months

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

Brilliant

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Excellent. Most fun driving experience in an every day car.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

It was billed as a fun little sports car and it ticks all the boxes.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Stylish, retro looks and performs well

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Totally brilliant

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

It's a top junior supercar for those with a compact parking space.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

A friend of ours, living in South Wales, has owned several Fiat 500s, and she has nothing but praise for their reliability, and cost of ownership. My Abarth, has been very reliable in its first year of ownership, nothing has gone wrong with it and its fuel economy is decent, considering its increased performance over a standard 500. I was fortunate enough to obtain my car at a very healthy discount as it had been preregistered, so I can only call it excellent value for money. If this is a reflection on the Fiat brand as a whole then I can whole-heartedly recommend the Fiat 500 to any potential purchaser. A great little car that has provided very reliable motoring, and a great amount of fun.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Great fun car, nothing else like it on the road, surprises some well known Sports cars! Very poor reliability, has cost me thousands since the warranty expired, don't make the same mistake as I did, sell the car before the warranty expires, as most things will fail as the car approaches 60,000 miles.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

Absolutely brilliant

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Superb small car with the power and performance to shame much bigger cars. It makes me smile everytime i see it and makes me grin whenever i turn the key!

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

A brilliant fun car to drive that always leave's a smile on your face.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

bla

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

A fun cool little car, but fiat's reliability issues live on and i've had problems with the gearbox - reverse gear still judders after 2 'fixes' and the climate control system decided to dump several litres of water into the footwells as the drainage system was never installed correctly from the factory. It's nice not having a hugely common car, but i think there are better rivals out there and next time i'll upgrade to something a bit more premium.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Suprisingly well built and reliable little italian pocket rocket - in other words absolutely perfect

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

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