Abarth 500 is good news for hot-hatch fans

PREFACE

Hello dear readers!

As you've probably noticed it's been a bit quiet at thepetrolblogger lately, but not to worry. The brief vacation is over and we're back at it again!

We've been doing an almost serious road-test during our "time off". A three-day road-trip through the deep, dark forrests of the midlands in a car worth less than my socks. So all you cheapsters might want to listen up; some practical used car-advice in store. Be expecting my view on how the un-american American; late 90's Chrysler Neon held its ground through the adventure.


But now onto something else; we here at thepetrolblogger like ourselves some proper hot-hatches, especially if they're from Italy and have an Abarth-badge in front... So this is seriously good news for us.



THE NEWS

The Abarth 500 is an astonishing little tin of excitement, and according to a survey made by CAP, UK evaluation specialists, a tin of well-preserved excitement too. The survey measured depreciation during 30,000 miles or three years use, and the Abarth 500 ranked surprisingly high on that list.

The Abarth came in third, right after the Audi Q7 and the tireless workhorse Skoda Yeti, with an average resale value of 60 percent of the original list-price, making for a very sensible buy for those of us who are insensible enough to desire a bit of performance.

The head of Abarth's UK section, Ivan Gibson, commented:

"A sustainable cost of ownership is something we have always been able to offer Abarth drivers and, add to that the fact that the Abarth 500 is a timeless and highly attractive car, it's no wonder that it has done so well in this important research."

This survey confirmed what was already known: The relaunch of Abarth, a high-quality performance brand has been a success in the UK and all over the world. The brand is still growing and gaining markets, and in fact just stranded in Finland, so I'll be taking a test-drive in the Abarth very soon to see how a stylish italian manages on harsh Finnish roads. Be expecting that.

As a sidenote, the rest of Fiat's fleet, apart from the 500-branch, performed in a very orthodox Italian way, meaning they sunk in value as a man disposed of in the traditional Mafia "cement-shoes" method. A three-year old/30,000 mile Bravo, for example, is only worth 34,4 percent of its original list-price according to the survey, so a small new Fiat is not what you want to buy with your sensible-hat on.

But the Abarth is, and I suggest you have a look at these tech-specs, they are pretty close to the holy grail of hot-hatchery combining cheap running-costs with bucketloads of excitement in a body shaped vaguely like a racing-edition of guinea-pig.

Powered by a turbocharged 4-cylinder 1.4 litre 16-valve engine, the Abarth 500 holsters 135 horses at 5500rpm and a peak-torque of 206Nm at 3000rpm in 'Sport' mode, propelling it from 0-62mph in a tad over 7 seconds. Quite agreeable.

Abarth 500 prices in Finland start at 24,989€. Not so agreeable.

-HS



Source: MotorTradeNews.com, Evo.co.uk