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Abarth models, news & reviews
4
Handling
3
Performance
Usability
Feelgood factor
Readers' rating
3.5
By Tim Pollard
First Drives
01 August 2008 10:29
We've just driven Fiat's new Grande Punto Abarth pocket rocket on UK soil – and back to back with the Mini Cooper S – for CAR's definitive verdict. Has Fiat given the Abarth badge enough credibilitly to woo hot-hatch buyers? Or is the new Grande Punto Abarth just a hollow marketing exercise designed to open our wallets, but not our hearts? Read on for CAR's full first drive Abarth review. Fiat Grande Punto Abarth: a quick recapYou're reading CAR Online, so you'll already know about famed Austrian engineer Carlo Abarth. He founded the eponymous racing and tuning company in 1949, which was later subsumed within the sprawling Fiat empire in 1971. Cue some great small cars – and the occaisonal duffer. Even the marketing bods at Abarth admit now that the recent Stilo Abarth was the nadir of a sparkling brand.All that's history now, though. The newly confident Fiat group is relaunching the Abarth brand with a pair of tearaway tots: the Grande Punto Abarth tested here, and its smaller cousin, the achingly cool 500 Abarth (click here for our review and video of the hot Cinquecento).We've already driven the Grande Punto Abarth in Italy, but only on Fiat's closed test track. Which is rather like trying out clothes in front of a flattering mirror. Time, then, to see how the Abarth fares on a mixed batch of real UK roads – from spaghetti twisties across the Yorkshire Moors to the A1 motorway.Click 'Next' to read the rest of our Fiat Grande Punto Abarth review
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Fiat Grande Punto Abarth Esseesse (2008) CAR review
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ema02 says
RE: Fiat Grande Punto Abarth Esseesse CAR review
it got me thinking what's new with the air filter that makes it more able to compete with the mini. But the usability and the performance of the car is already quite impressive.
16 December 2009 02:18
hruschka says
Were you driving competitively at Harewood? How slow did it go? It looks like it will be hard to choose between one of these and a MiTo. I think the 'Bath looks better from the front but I do not like the steeply angled and very thick screen pillars. What happened to the double-bubble roof?
08 August 2008 13:02
JohnnyBimmer says
I'm not sure the car sells itself as well as the badge itself which must rank as the funkiest around!
04 August 2008 18:28
car4mh says
So it's arguably better looking than an Alfa Mito, has more practical space, runs the same (ok, very similar) drivetrain and chassis, has an equally enthusiast-credible brand and sells for similar money. It'd be very interesting to see a comparison between those two cars. On paper and in pictures it looks like a win for the Abarth.
03 August 2008 21:11
PT100 says
Its a clever way to get the maximum amount of profits from the car. You often find good discounts for the car, but this is drastically reduced to none for performance enhancements. I am sure others will follow if it works.
03 August 2008 16:09
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