I love the mad sound of these cars... god, it sure does move for a 1.4T. So glad someone brought in such a well sorted example for you to play with. Stacey did a great job.
Bought my Abarth yesterday and noticed there was no one-takes for it, so i got excited to start my build. Woke up to this and it's already got me planning everything out!
I love my Abarth. I'm retired now, but I put 35k on it commuting to work over two years. Now I just drive on errands. I use about 7 gallons of gas a month. It's just plain fun.
Different clutch feel would be related to your change in brake fluid. There is only one master cylinder on the 500 Abarth, so your brake fluid is your clutch fluid as well.
+MBLphotography !! This makes sense!! Thank you!! I just got a Wilwood 6-piston big brake kit and switched to DOT4. My clutch is stiffer, and I like it more just like this guy says.
Thanks Matt! Been wanting to see an Abarth on a One Take for a very long time now lol. Perfect road for the Abarth. I took mine down the Tail of the Dragon in TN and it was crazy fun. The bigger faster cars just couldn't keep up with me. Modifications make this car 10x better because it has a few weak points from the factory. Great honest review! Very nice Abarth as well.
Dude the drive by closer is a really nice touch. I know it technically works against the one take premise and does add a little extra work, but nearly every car you do has aftermarket exhaust and let's face it, we're all car guys who love hearing small explosions inside a steel pipe.
I love the Abarth in modified form. Mine is about like this one with some extra punch using the Eurocompulsion tune and coil overs. These cars are so much fun on back roads and the sound! Personally I love the TomTom GPS design as it matches the quirky nature of the car and is great on back roads. These cars are not for everyone though, if you want cookie cutter cars check out the Fiesta ST, if you want quirky fun, the Abarth is for you. Here in East Tennessee we do an event called FIAT on the Dragon and we tackle roads like this and tighter. I had a Mustang GT prior to the Abarth and I love my Abarth even more, it is so much fun to drive.
No mods to the steering other tightening up the subframe with braces. It makes the steering feel tighter. I have always enjoyed how the Abarth handles with basic mods. This car has so much personality, it makes up for the shortcomings if it has any. I still love my Abarth almost 5 years later.
I got one of the non-turbo 500 "pop" models for a commuter car when they first came out to take down Angeles Crest every day on my commute from Palmdale to Sunland. I was able to achieve ridiculous speeds in that car, it was scary fast in the corners and had just enough power to blast through everything. So this must be an absolute monster.
umm....using google hits for proof? all those hits could say "does the Abarth drone? No." There are over 27 Million hits for "president Obama is in Alien" that doesn't make it true... I own an Abarth, it doesn't drone. Read those google hits, it doesn't drone. Not sure why you want it to drone...
0 exhaust drone. The sound only gets annoying in traffic when I'm having to constantly poke the throttle to go from a standstill. Then people look at me like I'm a ricer trying to get attention lol. Seriously though.. zero exhaust drone. I can cruise on the interstate turning 3500rpm and the sound is not bad. My dad's Ram 1500 with the Hemi is 10x worse than my car. That's the kind of drone I just can not tolerate.
Nicely done. I liked the Abarth more than Fiesta ST because it was a car that didn't take itself so seriously! The FiestaST is a better car in every way, that is why I bought an Abarth ;). You can see Matt zone out and just get to "driving" a few times hahaha
+Brodey Dover Fiesta ST is a much better car, handles better and makes more power but The Abarth has character. I own both. Abarth resale stinks which isn't fun for the people who bought them new in 2012 when they were in high demand... You can easily find a base model for 17-19k OTD these days brand new
+Brodey Dover I drove the Abarth and thought it was a blast, but it doesn't seem like something I'd want to live with everyday, especially if you do a lot of freeway driving. Great car though, totally worth getting if you buy one used as they can be had with low miles for $15k or less. New, they are too expensive for what they offer IMO. I ended up with the FIST and have no regrets. Still wish my FIST would sound like the Abarth though...:P
+Brodey Dover I have an Injen catback and it sounds really good, Abarth has a better tone IMO though. Straight-piping the FIST sounds great as well, similar to the Abarth.
The drive by was sweet. You guys should do that at the end of every video. It allows us to really see the speeds that these cars can carry through corners!
I had one for 2 years. Loved it for the first 2 months and slowly started to regret my purchase because i had the fully loaded one with the leather and sunroof and tom tom and was driving almost exclusively on the highway. I paid $26,000. This car is actually way better in base trim with no sunroof and cloth seats, plus now you can get them for $21,000 and they have upgraded gauge clusters. I would still recommend it to someone looking for a fun cheap brand new car but nobody 6 feet tall. Oh and a $600 boost controller puts it at over 200 hp.
+Joe Kerry Manual boost controllers don't work on these, the ECU is too smart for that. There are piggybacks which simply fool the engine sensors, but they have to use some tricky electronics to do it in a way that doesn't trip the ECU into limp mode. Then there are Unichips, which are a step up, and can alter more parameters besides boost. There was a lot of promise there, but the main company tuning Abarths abandoned the Unichip platform suddenly without warning, and no further development was done on those tunes outside of Unichip themselves, who only offer a basic tune. Still better than the piggybacks. Then for 12 and 13 models, there are true ECU OBD tunes, which offer the most flexibility. This is why they cost $600-$1000 for any kind of tune that adjusts boost. Some people have tried manual boost controllers, but you get very little power from them before tripping the ECU.
Haha loved those last clips at the end. That thing looked like so much fun to zip around those corners in! Screw what anyone thinks of it or about you. You're having fun of you're behind the wheel or passenger and that's pretty much what matters right.
Suspension/chassis mods are coming soon in my Abarth. I love being able to check out the WheelWell profile parts list to help me pick stuff like that. That kind of flat cornering is what I'm after (the stock setup is exactly like Matt says: it sticks, but it rolls so much it's hard to have confidence).
Hey Matt, I sent you a comment question on your website, I don't know if you will see it but I was hoping you could review a 1997 to 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX AWD Turbo and compare it to an Evo since it has the same engine and awd, and compare it to other awd cars, W would love to know what you think about a modded 2nd generation dsm/eclipse gsx, Thanks, big fan of your show
Can you do a one take with a 300c srt8 1st generation, 2006 to 2009, i'm planning to buy one and I would like your opinion on how they drive and if it's a good buy.
I love my Abarth. with the piggyback computer the car is an absolute ball. spins the tires at will in 2 gears. No need for an upgraded exhaust the stock one is heaven and not too loud
I reviewed a standard 500 Abarth with a blow off valve. I was surprised at the power, handling and sound. I wonder how much louder and harsher this one would be.
Test drove one of these the other day w/ me, my buddy, and the salesman. the back seat isn't ideal. It felt clown car like with us packed in there. But even on that short drive I could tell this car is something special. A potentially very fun daily driver.
Matt - Would be cool to see you try the 595 Competizione & 695 Biposto versions now. See how they compare. I think they get about 50bhp more + chassis tuning, weight reduction etc I can't wait to try an Arbath myself. They sound like (and indeed have a similar all round spec as) my old Toyota Starlet GT Turbo (EP82).
Can we get the external drive-by for all one-takes from now on? It sounds completely different from the outside, it's a good addition just like the external walk-around at the start so we can get an exact feel of what every car looks and sounds like.
The Abarth sounds awesome! Can you get a 500E cabrio, or sunroof on it? How reliable has the car been? The Dart and Renegade sound almost as good. Same engine but with a muffler.
Westlake/Decker Canyon is great, I live/work around it so I drive down it once a week or so, but it's frustrating when I have $200 worth of pizza or pasta in my car for a pizza delivery and have to take turns slow so the food doesn't get thrown around on all the hairpin turns lol. My brakes get all smelly on me, but it's fun to push more G's on the drive back with my VW Golf. 8:14 is a fun straightaway, especially in my old E46 330i
Love these one takes. And I have to say, you seem to have access to some absolutely awesome roads to drive. Sadly we have nothing even close where I come from.
You should do a drive by with all the cars, because sound from inside the cabin doesn't do the cars justice. This car sounded so damn mean from outside!!!
Check the 695 Biposto Abarth selling for 67,000 euros, dog gear box... and many other mods. Cannot cancel driver assist though. A bit rich but apparently fabulous to drive.
I owned the Abarth modded now I have the ST Fist modded. I've always thought that comparing both was like apples to oranges. The ST is in a different class altogether but the Abarth is champion in its compact size.
Perfect car to take on Westlake, I had a chance to take an Abarth on it this past summer, so much fun. My M235i isn't too bad on it either, but anything larger SUCKS.
Matt where is this road? is it on the west side near malibu? or somewhere near glendale? the only other westlake I know is near downtown by alvarado, and the roads there suck, cept the reservoir lol (i drive a piece of crap with no power so these roads would be great)
I once watched a brand new Evo X stuff it into a wall on that crazy stretch of road that he uses in this video. It's a riot in a small car, though. I had a modded Mazda2 for a while and it loved that section. I still haven't taken my Fiesta ST up there, I'll have to give it a shot one of these days. Speaking of the ST and the ongoing argument between it and the Abarth in the comments, there were a few factors that pushed me toward the Ford. The most obvious one is that it's simply the more practical car. The other big thing, though, is that it's practically invisible on the road, and the vast majority of other drivers, even enthusiasts, don't realize that it's anything but a bland economy hatchback. That's not really the case with the Abarth thanks to Fiat's much more prominent advertising.
That sounded really nice on the drive by at the end. What is the final drive ratio on this? It sounds like it's kind of long or the ratios aren't too close in between gears.
The 2015's have a much better gauge cluster. Its a single LCD in the newer ones. The earlier ones were one of the reasons we waiting for the '15. I'd suggest looking it up at least to see if that "fixes" your issue with it.
I'm 6ft 6in and i fit in my fiat 500 with a sunroof just fine, I would probably swap out seats if you were hardcore sunroof, I also recommend taking out back seats for the added space
A cool fun build. It sounds great too. By the way, those drive-by's at the end, I wouldn't mind seeing a couple of those at the end of each video for each car, but that's if you feel like doing the extra work. Good work nevertheless.
I am a little confused on the intake setup .......... I see the filter and intake pipe going into the turbo ( 0:36) , but what is the other pipe that dead ends at the filter ? Is that just to bring cold air from outside up to the air filter ? Where is the engine's intake on this model ? I am just lost on this one ............
Damn, the Fiat sounds pretty damn good. Those roads they're driving are typical southern W.Virginia secondary roads. This state is definitely has some of the very, very best driving roads in the country, or the world, for that matter. Way, way better pavement, tight n' technical, with extreme elevation changes. I wonder if anybody's ever got red, or copped an attitude with Matt for ragging on their ride?
Def. looks like a fun car. Assuming they put a pad in there or similar to help with the foot angle, like the FRS, and assuming you don't need GPS - what would stop you from owning this car as a fun dd/ canyon car.
+TheSmokingTire I am daily driving one right now, fun on the weekends or ripping down a twisty road, but getting into it in business clothes to go visit a client on Monday - not so much, probably getting rid of it in the spring.
+Malicious SRT Ahahahhaha, that's similar to the problem I'm having with my SRT4 (and in terms of a formula, I don't see that much of a difference between that and the Abarth). A lot of fun in autoX, it's actually nationally competitive in stock classing - so you don't even need any mods - just driver to become the best GS competitor in the US (racing against Focus ST's, Abarths, and a few other odds and ends). That being said, I had to go out to lunch with a few colleagues and I drove it and people are trying to talk in the car, and it's burbbling and popping (it, like the Abarth, also has no mufflers from the factory), and the seat bolsters stick out a lot and hold people tightly into the seat - yeah - not something for a work atmosphere... ..and it's not just that, I can get away with it if it was just that, but it's taxing on me to drive, on the highway the lack of a muffler gets droney, the seats are bolstered so much that they hurt after awhile, and the clutch in there (that's my fault, it holds 500hp) is so stiff that my leg feels like it's going to fall off. Needless to say, I need to change 1 sensor on the Dodge & then it's up for sale. I have other cars to make fun weekend cars and still more cars to dd I guess.
I hear you, I work in auto so lots of people want rides in it, which is fun, but it just isn't a good every day car. My Charger SRT on the other hand, was perfect and I miss it dearly! Comfy, great infotainment, good looks, FAST and fun. Thing even got good mileage on the highway when totting along in 4cyl mode.
Come to Scotland... that's the only type of roads we have! I often feel sorry for my American cousins that have missed out on lots of great, small European Hot Hatchbacks. You do have roads where they make sense. We don't have roads that make sense for muscle cars so I don't feel like we've missed out too much (although I'd love one) but I'd love to have Matt or Mr. Regular come over here and try out things like the Peugeot 205 GTi, the Fiat Uno Turbo, the Citroen Saxo VTS/Peugeot 106 GTi, Alfa Romeo Alfasud/33 Cloverleaf, Escort RS Turbo and Cosworth, Astra GTE, Ibiza Cupra... the list goes on and on and on...
+Jono Nicholls from the Forza 6 page "Automotive journalist, video producer and host of The Smoking Tire, Matt Farah chimes in for various sports car and American Muscle car shootouts to round out the game voice-over cast."
I wonder if Stacey's mom has got it goin on
You win. Nice job.
+Raymond Korang cheers
Lmfao
I love the mad sound of these cars... god, it sure does move for a 1.4T. So glad someone brought in such a well sorted example for you to play with. Stacey did a great job.
You should end every One take with a couple of drive by clips. Love hearing those exhausts
As Everyday Driver put it - "That is Exhaust-Porn!!" LOL
I've developed a soft spot for these...
How could you not?
***** Any suspension modifications that are cool? Are there Abarth upgrades you can get (695, etc)? Or is it too fun to even worry about fucking with?
Burn FPV they sound sick
Bought my Abarth yesterday and noticed there was no one-takes for it, so i got excited to start my build. Woke up to this and it's already got me planning everything out!
I love my Abarth. I'm retired now, but I put 35k on it commuting to work over two years. Now I just drive on errands. I use about 7 gallons of gas a month. It's just plain fun.
Surely this is the best sounding 1.4L production engine ever made. Sweet ride.
I think the drive-by should be included in all of the videos going forward. Great idea.
Different clutch feel would be related to your change in brake fluid. There is only one master cylinder on the 500 Abarth, so your brake fluid is your clutch fluid as well.
Correct!
+MBLphotography !! This makes sense!! Thank you!! I just got a Wilwood 6-piston big brake kit and switched to DOT4. My clutch is stiffer, and I like it more just like this guy says.
Really should change the title of the video to "Two big ass dudes in a tiny ass car."
HAHA, #1 thing that popped in my head at the beginning of the video!
Leave it to the Italians to make a great sounding 4 cylinder.
well yah fiat only owns ferarri lol
and maserati, alfa romeo, lancia, iveco trucks
Radeonr9280x muffler delete on the naturally aspirated fiat 500 1.4 l multiair also sounds similar to this. The multiair engine gives it the tone
DODGE DART
Alex Cheetah its the Neon SRT-4's little brother😂
Thing sounded pretty good at the end.
+Toolband42O They should do it more often
+Sidewallow I agree
+Toolband42O I thought it kind of sounded like a sport bike, and not in a bad way.
+Sidewallow yesssssssss matt end them all like that!!!!!!! :)
+WikdSeafood
Reminded me of a rally car slightly.
Two big guys and a tiny car. poor little car.
ikr
e o
the way more then the car it self
Mr Patato Dude, is your awful grammar intentional?
those brakes have probably never worked harder
Stacey's parents wanted him to have a bad time in school :D
+Jason W. Morningwood
Yeah, but Stacey seems like he was larger than kids 5 years older than him ahhahah
+Jason W. Morningwood Yeah, but Stacey's mom wasn't all that bad.
+Jason W. Morningwood Stacy's mom has got it going on
+Jason W. Morningwood Stacy can't you see, you're just not the girl for me
+Jason W. Morningwood I know it might be wrong, but I'm in love with Stacy's mom
Thanks Matt! Been wanting to see an Abarth on a One Take for a very long time now lol.
Perfect road for the Abarth. I took mine down the Tail of the Dragon in TN and it was crazy fun. The bigger faster cars just couldn't keep up with me.
Modifications make this car 10x better because it has a few weak points from the factory.
Great honest review! Very nice Abarth as well.
+Chance Dobbins FIAT on the Dragon! Yeah!
facebook.com/FiatOnTheDragon
+Chance Dobbins As said in the video.. having been in both the Top and Base model, found the Base one to be nicer.
+Chance Dobbins Abarth brother! I did the dragon not to long ago as well!
+Chance Dobbins Hitting the dragon in mine in a few weeks, cant wait to get away from these flat Florida roads.
Like the fly bys at the end. it would be nice to have them in all the one takes.
Dude the drive by closer is a really nice touch. I know it technically works against the one take premise and does add a little extra work, but nearly every car you do has aftermarket exhaust and let's face it, we're all car guys who love hearing small explosions inside a steel pipe.
The Abarth Fiat sounds like a beast. They are loudd from factory, always loved them. Can't imagine how his sounds in person. ;o
Sounds like a WRC car without the anti lag!
Better video than MT best driver's car competition with a broken Z06.
Not a big Abarth fan, but damn in the drive by at the end it sounded great!
I love the Abarth in modified form. Mine is about like this one with some extra punch using the Eurocompulsion tune and coil overs. These cars are so much fun on back roads and the sound! Personally I love the TomTom GPS design as it matches the quirky nature of the car and is great on back roads. These cars are not for everyone though, if you want cookie cutter cars check out the Fiesta ST, if you want quirky fun, the Abarth is for you. Here in East Tennessee we do an event called FIAT on the Dragon and we tackle roads like this and tighter.
I had a Mustang GT prior to the Abarth and I love my Abarth even more, it is so much fun to drive.
No mods to the steering other tightening up the subframe with braces. It makes the steering feel tighter. I have always enjoyed how the Abarth handles with basic mods. This car has so much personality, it makes up for the shortcomings if it has any. I still love my Abarth almost 5 years later.
I got one of the non-turbo 500 "pop" models for a commuter car when they first came out to take down Angeles Crest every day on my commute from Palmdale to Sunland. I was able to achieve ridiculous speeds in that car, it was scary fast in the corners and had just enough power to blast through everything. So this must be an absolute monster.
hahaha that drive by was great you should do more of those, it really showed how quick that little thing can go
ua-cam.com/video/COuSvpGm8TI/v-deo.html
It goes even quicker with a lone, smaller occupant...possibly as much as 300 lbs worth of power-to-weight quicker ;o)
Yes! A drive by! This should be a thing on every One Take from now on.
That fly-by at the end was just awesome.
Really love the sound of the Abarth's
+Fozee Black Mine does not, and I've never heard and other abarth owner say that. It doesn't drone like other loud exhaust.
+Fozee Black Never heard that from any Abarth owner.
Fiat 500 started in the 50s. So don't use words like 500. Oh, touché!
umm....using google hits for proof? all those hits could say "does the Abarth drone? No." There are over 27 Million hits for "president Obama is in Alien" that doesn't make it true...
I own an Abarth, it doesn't drone. Read those google hits, it doesn't drone. Not sure why you want it to drone...
0 exhaust drone. The sound only gets annoying in traffic when I'm having to constantly poke the throttle to go from a standstill. Then people look at me like I'm a ricer trying to get attention lol.
Seriously though.. zero exhaust drone. I can cruise on the interstate turning 3500rpm and the sound is not bad. My dad's Ram 1500 with the Hemi is 10x worse than my car. That's the kind of drone I just can not tolerate.
Made it all the way to 11:30 before mentioning the FiST, impressive!
Nicely done. I liked the Abarth more than Fiesta ST because it was a car that didn't take itself so seriously! The FiestaST is a better car in every way, that is why I bought an Abarth ;).
You can see Matt zone out and just get to "driving" a few times hahaha
+Brodey Dover Fiesta ST is a much better car, handles better and makes more power but The Abarth has character. I own both. Abarth resale stinks which isn't fun for the people who bought them new in 2012 when they were in high demand... You can easily find a base model for 17-19k OTD these days brand new
Sarah Dell see folks? Sarah gets it! I love the ST and Abarth in their own totally small car, too much power-ways.
+Brodey Dover
I drove the Abarth and thought it was a blast, but it doesn't seem like something I'd want to live with everyday, especially if you do a lot of freeway driving. Great car though, totally worth getting if you buy one used as they can be had with low miles for $15k or less. New, they are too expensive for what they offer IMO.
I ended up with the FIST and have no regrets. Still wish my FIST would sound like the Abarth though...:P
+Connor Smith Cobb full exhaust sounds good ;-).
+Brodey Dover
I have an Injen catback and it sounds really good, Abarth has a better tone IMO though. Straight-piping the FIST sounds great as well, similar to the Abarth.
This car seems like bucket loads of fun! lots and lots of tiny little awesome fun buckets!
That exhaust is ridiculous! I love it!
Nice solution at the end, that was dope to see a fly-by. Keep up the good work TST team.
The drive by was sweet. You guys should do that at the end of every video. It allows us to really see the speeds that these cars can carry through corners!
I had one for 2 years. Loved it for the first 2 months and slowly started to regret my purchase because i had the fully loaded one with the leather and sunroof and tom tom and was driving almost exclusively on the highway. I paid $26,000. This car is actually way better in base trim with no sunroof and cloth seats, plus now you can get them for $21,000 and they have upgraded gauge clusters. I would still recommend it to someone looking for a fun cheap brand new car but nobody 6 feet tall. Oh and a $600 boost controller puts it at over 200 hp.
+Devan Vandy a $600 boost controller?! It can't just be to control boost - $600??????
It piggybacks off the factory wiring harness to fool the sensors into allowing more boost from the turbo.
+Joe Kerry Manual boost controllers don't work on these, the ECU is too smart for that. There are piggybacks which simply fool the engine sensors, but they have to use some tricky electronics to do it in a way that doesn't trip the ECU into limp mode. Then there are Unichips, which are a step up, and can alter more parameters besides boost. There was a lot of promise there, but the main company tuning Abarths abandoned the Unichip platform suddenly without warning, and no further development was done on those tunes outside of Unichip themselves, who only offer a basic tune. Still better than the piggybacks. Then for 12 and 13 models, there are true ECU OBD tunes, which offer the most flexibility.
This is why they cost $600-$1000 for any kind of tune that adjusts boost. Some people have tried manual boost controllers, but you get very little power from them before tripping the ECU.
No piggyback has cracked 200whp on these cars. Only a full obd2 flash does so
+Devan Vandy I'm 6'3" and I can fit in mine. But just barely, and only because the wheel is small and has the flat bottom.
you should add a short drive by to all your videos
That's what I'm sayin
Uhhh... It's called "one take"
+That Ninja Guy no one likes POV footage of a road, we want to see and hear the car
I loved seeing the exterior shots of the car in action. Keep it up with the flyby shots
Sounds great! Love these One Takes Matt, look forward to them everyday.
Haha loved those last clips at the end. That thing looked like so much fun to zip around those corners in! Screw what anyone thinks of it or about you. You're having fun of you're behind the wheel or passenger and that's pretty much what matters right.
Holy shit that drive-by exhaust sounds amazing.
Suspension/chassis mods are coming soon in my Abarth. I love being able to check out the WheelWell profile parts list to help me pick stuff like that. That kind of flat cornering is what I'm after (the stock setup is exactly like Matt says: it sticks, but it rolls so much it's hard to have confidence).
Stacy's car has got it goin on!
Pretty sure this is second most fun Ive ever seen Matt have. The only thing that bested it was the homemade rally car.
Almost as many smiles per gallon as the Morgan three wheeler. Great stuff!
Hey Matt, I sent you a comment question on your website, I don't know if you will see it but I was hoping you could review a 1997 to 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX AWD Turbo and compare it to an Evo since it has the same engine and awd, and compare it to other awd cars, W would love to know what you think about a modded 2nd generation dsm/eclipse gsx,
Thanks, big fan of your show
+Selvedin Beganovic Do you have one?
had two and sold them,might get another clean one but I'm all the way in upstate NY
Or even a first gen. Do you have any other 4G63 or VR4 engines coming up in one takes?
+TheSmokingTire ^^
Can you do a one take with a 300c srt8 1st generation, 2006 to 2009, i'm planning to buy one and I would like your opinion on how they drive and if it's a good buy.
I love my Abarth. with the piggyback computer the car is an absolute ball. spins the tires at will in 2 gears. No need for an upgraded exhaust the stock one is heaven and not too loud
I love the noise of this car. I have the basic model (for now!) and it's a joy to listen to under heavy acceleration.
I reviewed a standard 500 Abarth with a blow off valve. I was surprised at the power, handling and sound. I wonder how much louder and harsher this one would be.
So the question for Matt is: which is more fun? This tuned up Abarth or your team's Stage 3 FiST?
+polarbear The Abarth if you're only driving for 15 minutes. The Fiesta if you have to drive it every day.
TheSmokingTire yeah but then there you are... Driving a Fiesta... Gimme the Abarth all day.
+Audfile then your driving fiat 500....
Silus Jackson way more class and style than the ford with a taco bell name.
+Audfile "Class"?? A Fiat 500? Class and style??
Always wanted an Abarth!!! Sweet little ride!!!
Test drove one of these the other day w/ me, my buddy, and the salesman. the back seat isn't ideal. It felt clown car like with us packed in there. But even on that short drive I could tell this car is something special. A potentially very fun daily driver.
You know guys, I could watch this vid every day as my personal pick-me-up. Fab little car and a wonderful section of roadway.
Matt - Would be cool to see you try the 595 Competizione & 695 Biposto versions now. See how they compare. I think they get about 50bhp more + chassis tuning, weight reduction etc
I can't wait to try an Arbath myself. They sound like (and indeed have a similar all round spec as) my old Toyota Starlet GT Turbo (EP82).
Thanks for the drive by shots. That was cool. That exhaust sounds rad outside the car.
I was waiting for one of these to show up, I love these little things.
Can we get the external drive-by for all one-takes from now on? It sounds completely different from the outside, it's a good addition just like the external walk-around at the start so we can get an exact feel of what every car looks and sounds like.
That thing sound absolutely nuts. Great looking car!
OK WOW!! Pleaaase do a fly by for every car you dooo!! So we can hearrr iitt!!! That was amazing!!!!
The guys at Motore Centrale do a great job in the little Fiat. Engine in the right place, RWD and light weight seems veeery cool indeed.
where can I find a video of the 991 GT3? as you mentioned it with its rear-steering?
The Abarth sounds awesome! Can you get a 500E cabrio, or sunroof on it?
How reliable has the car been?
The Dart and Renegade sound almost as good. Same engine but with a muffler.
I've driven one of these, I think Matt nailed it on the head.. Gotta say, it sounds a lot better from the outside.
This new camera kicks ass, keep up the good work!
Never been one for the Abarth but man that sounds beast!
Westlake/Decker Canyon is great, I live/work around it so I drive down it once a week or so, but it's frustrating when I have $200 worth of pizza or pasta in my car for a pizza delivery and have to take turns slow so the food doesn't get thrown around on all the hairpin turns lol. My brakes get all smelly on me, but it's fun to push more G's on the drive back with my VW Golf. 8:14 is a fun straightaway, especially in my old E46 330i
Love these one takes. And I have to say, you seem to have access to some absolutely awesome roads to drive. Sadly we have nothing even close where I come from.
You should do a drive by with all the cars, because sound from inside the cabin doesn't do the cars justice. This car sounded so damn mean from outside!!!
those drive by shots sounded soo cool
Check the 695 Biposto Abarth selling for 67,000 euros, dog gear box...
and many other mods. Cannot cancel driver assist though. A bit rich but apparently fabulous to drive.
I owned the Abarth modded now I have the ST Fist modded.
I've always thought that comparing both was like apples to oranges.
The ST is in a different class altogether but the Abarth is champion in its compact size.
How can you not like an Abarth! I really want one now...
Perfect car to take on Westlake, I had a chance to take an Abarth on it this past summer, so much fun. My M235i isn't too bad on it either, but anything larger SUCKS.
THANK YOU FOR THE FLY BY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love Americans when they go crazy about roads with bends. Roads like that are ten a penny in the UK!
15:16 do this more often! Please :D
Matt where is this road? is it on the west side near malibu? or somewhere near glendale? the only other westlake I know is near downtown by alvarado, and the roads there suck, cept the reservoir lol (i drive a piece of crap with no power so these roads would be great)
+Gabzor The northern half of Decker Rd. is known as Westlake.
I like the Take off and drive by at the end. You should keep doing those.
I once watched a brand new Evo X stuff it into a wall on that crazy stretch of road that he uses in this video. It's a riot in a small car, though. I had a modded Mazda2 for a while and it loved that section. I still haven't taken my Fiesta ST up there, I'll have to give it a shot one of these days.
Speaking of the ST and the ongoing argument between it and the Abarth in the comments, there were a few factors that pushed me toward the Ford. The most obvious one is that it's simply the more practical car. The other big thing, though, is that it's practically invisible on the road, and the vast majority of other drivers, even enthusiasts, don't realize that it's anything but a bland economy hatchback. That's not really the case with the Abarth thanks to Fiat's much more prominent advertising.
A friend of mine had the 165hp Esseesse version which was pretty quick, 220hp must feel insane in this car!
That sounded really nice on the drive by at the end. What is the final drive ratio on this? It sounds like it's kind of long or the ratios aren't too close in between gears.
The 2015's have a much better gauge cluster. Its a single LCD in the newer ones. The earlier ones were one of the reasons we waiting for the '15. I'd suggest looking it up at least to see if that "fixes" your issue with it.
This is just amazing. I love the drive.
I didnt know it till now but i have been actually waiting for a modded abarth for some time!
I'm 6ft 6in and i fit in my fiat 500 with a sunroof just fine, I would probably swap out seats if you were hardcore sunroof, I also recommend taking out back seats for the added space
A cool fun build. It sounds great too. By the way, those drive-by's at the end, I wouldn't mind seeing a couple of those at the end of each video for each car, but that's if you feel like doing the extra work.
Good work nevertheless.
+enigmaPL Agreed!
Have you ran little syc since it was repaved? Pretty awesome going up and down
I am a little confused on the intake setup .......... I see the filter and intake pipe going into the turbo ( 0:36) , but what is the other pipe that dead ends at the filter ? Is that just to bring cold air from outside up to the air filter ? Where is the engine's intake on this model ? I am just lost on this one ............
Damn, the Fiat sounds pretty damn good. Those roads they're driving are typical southern W.Virginia secondary roads. This state is definitely has some of the very, very best driving roads in the country, or the world, for that matter. Way, way better pavement, tight n' technical, with extreme elevation changes.
I wonder if anybody's ever got red, or copped an attitude with Matt for ragging on their ride?
Hey Matt, if you think it's a lot of noise for a 1.4 you should hear a 0.8 :))
Abarth = fun as hell.
Seemed like a fun loud lil car
Def. looks like a fun car. Assuming they put a pad in there or similar to help with the foot angle, like the FRS, and assuming you don't need GPS - what would stop you from owning this car as a fun dd/ canyon car.
+MrSlowestD16 The materials are too cheap for me to deal with, and the back seat is worthless.
+TheSmokingTire Gotcha, thanks! Means they'll probably start creaking badly in a few years.
+TheSmokingTire I am daily driving one right now, fun on the weekends or ripping down a twisty road, but getting into it in business clothes to go visit a client on Monday - not so much, probably getting rid of it in the spring.
+Malicious SRT Ahahahhaha, that's similar to the problem I'm having with my SRT4 (and in terms of a formula, I don't see that much of a difference between that and the Abarth). A lot of fun in autoX, it's actually nationally competitive in stock classing - so you don't even need any mods - just driver to become the best GS competitor in the US (racing against Focus ST's, Abarths, and a few other odds and ends).
That being said, I had to go out to lunch with a few colleagues and I drove it and people are trying to talk in the car, and it's burbbling and popping (it, like the Abarth, also has no mufflers from the factory), and the seat bolsters stick out a lot and hold people tightly into the seat - yeah - not something for a work atmosphere... ..and it's not just that, I can get away with it if it was just that, but it's taxing on me to drive, on the highway the lack of a muffler gets droney, the seats are bolstered so much that they hurt after awhile, and the clutch in there (that's my fault, it holds 500hp) is so stiff that my leg feels like it's going to fall off.
Needless to say, I need to change 1 sensor on the Dodge & then it's up for sale. I have other cars to make fun weekend cars and still more cars to dd I guess.
I hear you, I work in auto so lots of people want rides in it, which is fun, but it just isn't a good every day car. My Charger SRT on the other hand, was perfect and I miss it dearly! Comfy, great infotainment, good looks, FAST and fun. Thing even got good mileage on the highway when totting along in 4cyl mode.
Love these cars but curious about how reliable it's been. Heard some less then great things about reliability
+Vern B It's Italian lol. That should be self explanatory.
+Vern B Going on 40k in my 2013. Plugs, oil changes, front pads and tires.
+Vern B got 49k in my '13. no problems.
These Abarths sound freaking Awsome!!!!
That drive by at the end was a nice addition
I saw that notch in the background ;) Gives me that feeling :)
thank you for the upload, great little car
Matt, you seemed to be having a good time in that car.
Stacey's mum has got it going on, awesome car btw
Come to Scotland... that's the only type of roads we have!
I often feel sorry for my American cousins that have missed out on lots of great, small European Hot Hatchbacks. You do have roads where they make sense. We don't have roads that make sense for muscle cars so I don't feel like we've missed out too much (although I'd love one) but I'd love to have Matt or Mr. Regular come over here and try out things like the Peugeot 205 GTi, the Fiat Uno Turbo, the Citroen Saxo VTS/Peugeot 106 GTi, Alfa Romeo Alfasud/33 Cloverleaf, Escort RS Turbo and Cosworth, Astra GTE, Ibiza Cupra... the list goes on and on and on...
Matt, did you do some of the voice over for Forza Motorsport 6?
Uh no lol it tells you right on the screen who's voice it is
+Jono Nicholls from the Forza 6 page "Automotive journalist, video producer and host of The Smoking Tire, Matt Farah chimes in for various sports car and American Muscle car shootouts to round out the game voice-over cast."