So despite the fact that fiatusa.com's official list of dealers is missing any mention of a Seattle dealership, and the fact that fiatusaofseattle.com does not appear to be a working site, low and behold as I was driving by my local Chrysler dealership in North Seattle this morning what do I see but a Fiat 500 Sport parked out in front!
Now, I have been in contact with the Kirkland dealership to find out exactly when they'll be open and when there will be a 500 Sport to test drive, so I was pretty excited to see that the Seattle dealership had one mere blocks from my house, negating the need to drive across the lake. I'm really mostly interested in an Abarth, but I wanted to test drive a Sport to get a feel for the interior and handling just to see how seriously I want to keep considering this (and contemplating selling my 2007 Honda Civic Si).
First thing when I walked into the dealership and asked about the Fiat, they introduced me to "Super Mario" Michele, their real Italian salesman. He was friendly and didn't hesitate to take us out on a test drive, but was specific about the car not actually being for sale yet. They aren't taking deposits or anything yet. Apparently they inked the deal to be one of the official Fiat Studios really late, which explained why they weren't on the PDF list on fiatusa.com quite yet.
Driving impressions:
- the clutch is soft and engages late. the clutch on my Civic Si engages as soon as you lift your toe, and contributes to a really sporty expressive feel... so I was really missing that on the 500 Sport. The clutch felt a lot like the Fiat Punto I drove last summer. I really hope they have a more responsive clutch on the Abarth.
- the gas was a little unresponsive too, even in Sport mode. again, maybe ECU tuning room for improvement on the Abarth
- steering was nice and responsive, a lot of fun to corner
- stick shift was not bad. after reading some of the review I was worried it would not be great, but I didn't really notice any problems. a short shifter wouldn't hurt of course, I'm hoping there is an after market option to upgrade that
- brake response was normal, nothing special but not bad
- features were pretty nice - sunroof, mp3 jack, usb, decent stereo, etc.
- seats were really comfortable and the ride quality was great, very quiet even out on the freeway.
- there is a really bad blind spot over the driver's left shoulder... huge. they've compensated by putting a special fish eye mirror on the outer edge of the side view mirror. it was weird, the mirror actually provides much better blind spot coverage than looking over your shoulder, but it felt very odd to not be able to look over my shoulder, and the split view side mirrors were a little distracting. probably just takes getting used to.
So, all that said, I haven't been convinced quite yet to abandon the Civic for the 500, but I *really* want to drive an Abarth now!!
Now... rumors... so Michele told us a lot of info that ran counter to anything I've read online yet. This is *PURELY* speculative in my opinion, and so far I'm chalking it up to a dealer trying to keep my interest. I don't give much validity to this info, but I can't not share as it was part of the test drive experience:
- Abarth will be in the US this summer... not Q1/Q2 of 2012, this summer. (one can only hope)
- Abarth will have a 2.0 (TWO) liter 180HP version available! I've never read anything like this anywhere.
- Abarth will ONLY have paddle shifters, no stick on the manual version (this is disappointing if true).
- Abarth Ferrari 595 Tributo will be available in the US.
Like I said, I don't necessarily think much if any of that is true. Until the studio is actually set up and taking orders we'll just have to wait & see. Or maybe I should make the drive out to Kirkland and see if they corroborate any of that info.
Now, I have been in contact with the Kirkland dealership to find out exactly when they'll be open and when there will be a 500 Sport to test drive, so I was pretty excited to see that the Seattle dealership had one mere blocks from my house, negating the need to drive across the lake. I'm really mostly interested in an Abarth, but I wanted to test drive a Sport to get a feel for the interior and handling just to see how seriously I want to keep considering this (and contemplating selling my 2007 Honda Civic Si).
First thing when I walked into the dealership and asked about the Fiat, they introduced me to "Super Mario" Michele, their real Italian salesman. He was friendly and didn't hesitate to take us out on a test drive, but was specific about the car not actually being for sale yet. They aren't taking deposits or anything yet. Apparently they inked the deal to be one of the official Fiat Studios really late, which explained why they weren't on the PDF list on fiatusa.com quite yet.
Driving impressions:
- the clutch is soft and engages late. the clutch on my Civic Si engages as soon as you lift your toe, and contributes to a really sporty expressive feel... so I was really missing that on the 500 Sport. The clutch felt a lot like the Fiat Punto I drove last summer. I really hope they have a more responsive clutch on the Abarth.
- the gas was a little unresponsive too, even in Sport mode. again, maybe ECU tuning room for improvement on the Abarth
- steering was nice and responsive, a lot of fun to corner
- stick shift was not bad. after reading some of the review I was worried it would not be great, but I didn't really notice any problems. a short shifter wouldn't hurt of course, I'm hoping there is an after market option to upgrade that
- brake response was normal, nothing special but not bad
- features were pretty nice - sunroof, mp3 jack, usb, decent stereo, etc.
- seats were really comfortable and the ride quality was great, very quiet even out on the freeway.
- there is a really bad blind spot over the driver's left shoulder... huge. they've compensated by putting a special fish eye mirror on the outer edge of the side view mirror. it was weird, the mirror actually provides much better blind spot coverage than looking over your shoulder, but it felt very odd to not be able to look over my shoulder, and the split view side mirrors were a little distracting. probably just takes getting used to.
So, all that said, I haven't been convinced quite yet to abandon the Civic for the 500, but I *really* want to drive an Abarth now!!
Now... rumors... so Michele told us a lot of info that ran counter to anything I've read online yet. This is *PURELY* speculative in my opinion, and so far I'm chalking it up to a dealer trying to keep my interest. I don't give much validity to this info, but I can't not share as it was part of the test drive experience:
- Abarth will be in the US this summer... not Q1/Q2 of 2012, this summer. (one can only hope)
- Abarth will have a 2.0 (TWO) liter 180HP version available! I've never read anything like this anywhere.
- Abarth will ONLY have paddle shifters, no stick on the manual version (this is disappointing if true).
- Abarth Ferrari 595 Tributo will be available in the US.
Like I said, I don't necessarily think much if any of that is true. Until the studio is actually set up and taking orders we'll just have to wait & see. Or maybe I should make the drive out to Kirkland and see if they corroborate any of that info.
