I have a really hard time imagining anyone trading a 911 for an Abarth. Unless it was really old, and falling apart, there are a lot of cars I would spend my money on before the Abarth. The new Mk7 Gti is going to be an awesome little hatch. If I don't get the F56 hatch down the road, I'll most likely go for the new Gti. It's a great mix of frugality, quality, practicality, comfort, and performance. It slaughtered the Focus ST which many claimed was the new benchmark in hot hatchdom. MINI must have made drastic changes between the 07 and 2011 models besides the revised engine, interior, and anti-torque steer programming that I don't know about, because even the guy at the local Fiat dealership said he wouldn't consider the 500 lineup to be a serious MINI competitor. Since I drive very "spiritedly" on a daily basis, the top heavy, narrow Fiat just couldn't cut it. I also don't like the interior layout, or the overall material quality at all.

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"Indeed, if  you keep your Abarth in the city for brief, highly entertaining trips, you may never find its weaknesses. They include the basic ergonomic oddness of the 500, which carries over unalloyed. This is a car that fits only those whose arms and legs are the same length. The buckets sit high off the floor like bar stools, so you step down onto the pedals at ankle-twisting angles. Most drivers must straight-arm the wheel and shifter, while their legs splay outward. This car needs a telescoping column like soup needs a spoon.

A certain featherlight, tin-can feel conspires with tufts of bunched seat fabric and exposed glue to raise doubts about build quality. The Abarth returned better fuel economy (25 mpg), but a 10.6-gallon tank means you’re still stopping often."

- Car and Driver

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Actually, Bob's the second 911 owner I've heard of that dumped one for an Abarth.

i guess your imagination is weak. You may need to get out more.

 

Only person that would sell a 911 for a 500, just cares about getting people to look at it, since the Average American woman thinks the 500's are so cute. But that's the only reason anyone in their right mind would get rid of one of the best drivers cars ever made, to get a cheaply constructed, and way less fun car. Maybe your friends that had 911's didn't drive their cars like 911 owners should drive, and only had them to brag about saying they had a 911 to their buddies.

 

Another company makes Juice BOx for motorcycles, they use the same name hence the confusion.

 

Theres a guy on the Abarth forum who traded in his SLK for one too.

 

SLK isn't a top performer. The guy at my local Fiat dealership said they are having a hard time selling the Abarth's and I know it's true because the first time I drove one was almost a year ago; and their lot still has some of the cars they got at the beginning of 2013.

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I'd own an Abarth since it's small but I'd change the seats out. But it wouldn't be my first choice over MINI.

 

I could never own a Fiat. I just think they are similar looking to a Smart Car and those are the dumbest looking cars in the world. Every time I see a Smart Car or Fiat I expect a bunch of clowns to come piling out of the car. (Some people say that about the Coupe, but that's ok.)

Nothing personal against you Fiat owners. I'm sure your some really nice folks and I probably would not mind living next door to you. But you know how it is there are just some cars you cannot like? Well the Fiat is one of those for me. I think the early commercials soured me. They were so lame and used blatant sexual innuendo to try and sell their cars. They just bugged me to death.

And I feel fairly confident that I can run circles around any Fiat currently offered for sale with my JCW Coupe. It is pretty darn quick and with the summer tread it sticks like glue. Pretty fun car to drive. I traded up from a 2009 S which was fun. But this one is beyond fun. Still nothing compared to stop light to stop light HP as my 2006 GTO. But that car was not a fair comparison.

If you can afford to buy the JCW Coupe you probably would not regret it. Though I'm sure some of those will suffer with the Mini issues that we have all come to know and love. NOT. Luckily my Coupe has not thus far.
It was expensive for what it is though.

 

I'm right there with you about the FIAT. I was more turned off by the way it drove than the way it looked, but the looks were part of it too. The interior looks extremely outdated (because it is) and the awkward seating position just killed drove the nail In the coffin, among other things. I don't know why they would make it so tall, and narrow. Maybe the next gen will be a better fit for us enthusiasts.

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I can answer that. "A" class cars are very short yet 2 door 4 seater cars. This means their tight packaging requires all passengers to be more upright including lower legs vertical, not splayed. This vertical seating results in the barstool effect you (and I) dislike. My '72 BMW 2002, and my first car, a '76 VW Rabbit, also suffered from tall seat cushions meant to get you off the floor and help with packaging. I've corrected the problem on my 2002 with a pair of Corbeau A4 seat mounted on fabricated, lowered mounts, and I'm very happy with the improvement.

i noticed that MINI now includes awesome looking Recaros as a factory option. What's the verdict on them? Good bolstering is missing in most all factory seats, as companies fear alienating big bottomed test drivers whose butts won't fit. I think we're all in agreement that low seating, placing you closer to, or sometimes below, the car's roll center has a dramatic effect on you seat of the pants sensory of adhesion limits, as well as feeling of control. But remember, this difference is more perception than a true difference in cornering abilities. They're not unlike a smaller steering wheel or harnesses, giving you better feel, which helps you pilot the car better.

 

Great post, thanks for the explanation!

 

The advancement in automobiles are amazing, today cars like a well equipped MCSm totally out performs my first 911 and M3 in terms of hat trick performance, safety and durability.

For us middle-aged guys who has been there done that with the expensive sports cars, owning a 150+ mph performer really doesn't mean anything anymore because on real roads the fun happens way below triple digit speeds.

I swooped SLK AMG Renntech for a MCS and had ten times the fun changing things up with something different, so if a guy dumped a 911 and picked up an abarth I get it because it not like marking a lifetime commitment.

 

Jay Leno test drove the ABarth on his website. He said the old saying "Its better to drive a slow car fast then a fast car fast....

 

I think the saying is, "it's better to drive a slow car fast, than a fast car slow". The faults of the FIAT, are way past it's 0-60 time, 1/4 mile time, etc... It's largest faults are it's twist beam rear suspension, narrow track, tall seating position, 5 speed manual vs 6 speed, and lack of torsional rigidity. The MINI Cooper S is no lightening bolt, but it has a slight advantage in straight line speed, and it slaughters the FIAT in high speed sweepers, auto cross like tracks, and high speed stability. It doesn't hurt too that the MINI looks better while doing it, gets better gas milage, and feels like it's made of metal, whereas the FIAT feels like a plastic replica.

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I get switching from an SLK to MCS, but not from a 911 to an Abarth. I can't even see why anyone would go from a Justa to an Abarth. The MCS feels like it's firmly planted, has enough grunt to pull itself out of the hole, and looks pretty darn mean doing it. The Fiat, well it can't really do any of the above.

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The optional Recaros are great around town, but boy do they get uncomfortable over long journeys.

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Are they hard?