abarth 500 alternatives?

[gib1970]

ok, so ive had my a500 since last march...and yeah its ok now, nothing more.

fancy a change, what else is good for around £15-£17k new as im seriously considering trading it in!

just not enough power to live up to the 'look at me' that the car screams out. also the steering lacks feedback and the gearchange is a let-down.

dont get me wrong i really enjoyed the car for the first few months or more - and even now it is gorgeous to look at - but i fancy a bit more of a drivers cars now.

 

[DraigFlag87]

ok, so ive had my a500 since last march...and yeah its ok now, nothing more.

fancy a change, what else is good for around £15-£17k new as im seriously considering trading it in!

just not enough power to live up to the 'look at me' that the car screams out. also the steering lacks feedback and the gearchange is a let-down.

dont get me wrong i really enjoyed the car for the first few months or more - and even now it is gorgeous to look at - but i fancy a bit more of a drivers cars now.

A guy on the Abarth forum has just traded in a Megane R26 for an A500 at the Manchester branch. As it's an Abarth dealer, you may be able to get a better deal. Just a thought, the Megane is famously a good drive.

Shame about your A500, I've seen many for sale with just a few thousand miles on, they don't even let the car become run in (which happens at around 8000 miles) It's one of those cars that gets better every drive in my opinion, my gearbox is very slick now at 22,500 miles! I certainly won't be selling mine any time soon!

As for power, have you considered a TMC tuning box? for around the £300 mark, you can up the power to 170 BHP with a 0-60 time of 6.5 to 7 secs, and the same torque as an SS. I've got one, really improves the power

 

[maddogmorg]

A drivers car, so RWD?

Jaguar XK8
Triumph TR4/5/6/8
MGRV8
Lotus of some sort
1966 Ford Mustang, can't really be called a drivers car, but pretty cool.

A quick look shows all can be had in your budget of upto 17k though running costs may be slightly higher.....

You need to be slightly more precise with what you want, i'd imagine you probably want something newer but I'm just throwing some ideas out there. You may be able to get an mx5 brand new for that budget...

 

[gib1970]

i considered the tuning route..but its not just that, its the whole driving experience is a little flawed..from the handling, the lifeless steering, gearbox, crappy number of dealers etc - the car is just a bit...meh

trying too hard to be something its not imo, and keen to get rid of it while there is still plenty of value in it as a trade-in. if i wanted a car to be looked at in, then no doubt i would keep it...although even this is falling off a bit now as people are more familiar with the 500 shape owing to so many flooding onto the market this past year.

thanks for the suggestions maddog, maybe a lotus elise could be the answer even tho obviously not new.

i dont regret buying the a500 its a very individual car in its own way, but the fact ive grown bored of it so quickly means its time to dump and move on

 

[DraigFlag87]

i considered the tuning route..but its not just that, its the whole driving experience is a little flawed..from the handling, the lifeless steering, gearbox, crappy number of dealers etc - the car is just a bit...meh

trying too hard to be something its not imo, and keen to get rid of it while there is still plenty of value in it as a trade-in. if i wanted a car to be looked at in, then no doubt i would keep it...although even this is falling off a bit now as people are more familiar with the 500 shape owing to so many flooding onto the market this past year.

thanks for the suggestions maddog, maybe a lotus elise could be the answer even tho obviously not new.

i dont regret buying the a500 its a very individual car in its own way, but the fact ive grown bored of it so quickly means its time to dump and move on

You have to be the only person i know who has had an A500 and not loved it, i can only guess that you've not done enough miles in 6 months for the car to be run in? The steering, gearbox and performance all change the more miles you've done. What mileage has she done?

I too usually tire of my cars after around a year, and are always looking to change, but the A500 has just kept me amused for the past 18 months, and I'm still loving it!

On the other hand, what about going down the VAG route? New Polo GTI has a 1.4 litre supercharged/turbocharged engine with 180 BHP and a 7 speed DSG gearbox (which is also in the new Fabia VRS, another choice?)

 

[Bob in disguise]

New Polo GTi
Renault sport Clio
New Fabia vRS
Mini Cooper S or a nearly new JCW
Golf GTi (nearly new)
Scirocco TSi (year or so old)

If you want to go RWD maybe a Honda S2000, Mazda RX8 or BMW 1 series coupe.. . Not brand new obviously

Theyre all pretty awesome cars!

 

[Stuart J]

Sorry you dont like it but as always its a personal thing.

As for choices, if you are serious about a Lotus try Westover Sports cars in Poole, they have a Lotus & Abarth Dealership in the same building covered by the same salesman so you might get a good deal, If you can talk to Chris Amey, he was excellent when we bought the Abarth.

The New Fabia VRS is aparently a great drive but IMO looses out on looks, the same chassis is used by The Seat Ibiza & the Polo & both are IMO better lookers although a little more expensive.

 

[J333EVO]

I find it a little reassuring someone has concluded similar to me on the 500 Abarth driving experience.

The steering is devoid of feeling & feedback & feels like your driving with bungee cords attached to the admittedly nicely made steering wheel to rack.

And the gearchange has too long a throw plus the articulation feels wrong to me, like you have to reach over the top to select 1-3-5 gears.

The seats offer little support and are set too high.

The engine is real standout feature, full of charecter being equally strong, purposeful & eager to please, especially low down though running out of steam at the higher end. Plus strong positive brakes are good.

If new, the RS Clio is the clear choice if you read any driver orientated magazine like EVO or Car where driver feedback & fun to drive are the top priorites. Maybe in the a car is to get from AtoB and is not about fun but how much residual value they will hold or if the door shuts with the precision of a Driade kitchen drawermagazine others may get close over even top it, but cars are always emotional to the individual & subjective in terms of what we look for.

Good luck with what ever route you take.