Yahoo Autos 2012-2019 Fiat 500 Abarth | Used vehicle spotlight
The Fiat 500 is a funky little urban runabout. The Fiat 500 Abarth is a different car entirely. It’s still full of fun and funk, but it ups the ante with a punchy turbocharged four-cylinder engine, a soulful exhaust note, and a tossable demeanor.
The Fiat 500 Abarth debuted in America for the 2012 model year (along with a well-known Super Bowl commercial that we'll share below without further comment). It didn’t see many changes over the course of its seven-year run, and we were sad when it was pulled from the U.S. back in 2019. Thankfully, enough were sold that they are easy to find on the used market.
Why the Fiat 500 Abarth?
It’s a heck of a lot of fun to drive. It’s not super quick, but there’s enough power to put a smile on your face. After all, 160 horsepower and 170 pound-feet of torque (models with automatic transmissions offered up 157 hp and 183 lb-ft) feels solid with just over 2,500 pounds to haul around.
Perhaps the most notable part of the Abarth’s driving experience is its burbly exhaust note. Here’s how we described it back in 2019:
"The little turbo 1.4-liter four-cylinder has a gnarly burble at idle that wouldn’t seem out of place in a muscle car. It only gets better when you start cruising around. The burble becomes a raging howl, and shifting right at redline results in a whiplike crack. It’s intoxicating."
That was true then, and it’s still true today.
Plus, while we’ll get back to pricing later, it’s pretty cheap for a sporty little car.
