General Swapping 500 Abarth for Twinair

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General Swapping 500 Abarth for Twinair

Porcine

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hi all

the power of my abarth 500 ss is boring me, the novelty of the look at me looks has worn off but i still like the 500 model. im strongly considering buying one of the new twinairs after a test drive yesterday which was surprisingly enjoyable.

is this be a crazy decision, or a canny switch to a different type of car? :)
 
It appears abit mad to start with, but i guess it depends what you want out of a car. If outright pace is what youre after then you should keep the Abarth. However, if you want something that's a good all-rounder & still fun, then the TwinAir would fit the bill.

Not everyone requires a blisteringly quick car in order to have a fun drive, so if the TwinAir appeals & you can get a sensible deal, give it a go (y)
 
after a while the pace of the abarth loses its thrill, even in ss form its not that fast anyway. you soon get used to it and it ends up just feeling nippy.

the twinair was a lot more fun to drive than i expected. its different and sounds great.

have been offered 12k trade-in which aint bad. probably those of you without an abarth think it sounds silly but after nearly two years with one it becomes nothing better or worse than any other 500 - to me, anyway. just comes down to whether i would actually miss it after swapping if i go ahead!

appreciate your comments, i hope to decide soon!
 
I'm just looking forward to the "handbags at 20 paces" fight that your posting should trigger between certain members of the forum who have clearly defined views on the subject of 500 Abaths....
 
Really simple, did you prefer driving it to your current car? If the answer is yes and you have no finance worries then go for it, if the answer was no then don't. Never quite got why people ask 'the internet' if they should or shouldn't do something though, you know your own mind.
 
I'm just looking forward to the "handbags at 20 paces" fight that your posting should trigger between certain members of the forum who have clearly defined views on the subject of 500 Abaths....

oh i hope not thats not my intention at all. and ive always just seen the abarth as another fiat 500 model with a turbo?

olopboy yes no finance i bought the abarth outright. i guess ill have a ponder on it then.
 
Really simple, did you prefer driving it to your current car? If the answer is yes and you have no finance worries then go for it, if the answer was no then don't. Never quite got why people ask 'the internet' if they should or shouldn't do something though, you know your own mind.

Agreed. I really can see what the OP means. IMHO (never having driven the Abarth mind you) the Abarth is not properly quick and it's also expensive to run whereas the twinair is slow but it's economical.
 
after a while the pace of the abarth loses its thrill, even in ss form its not that fast anyway. you soon get used to it and it ends up just feeling nippy.

If you think the Abarth only feels nippy, then with over a 3rd less power the Twinair will feel slow, which may be fine for a while, but once the novelty value wears off you may end up bored again much sooner. I've never found it works to downgrade in the same model range.
And Maxi you really should test the 500 Abarth, for although you may think it is slow, you will find it is light years away from your 1.2.
 
If you think the Abarth only feels nippy, then with over a 3rd less power the Twinair will feel slow, which may be fine for a while, but once the novelty value wears off you may end up bored again much sooner. I've never found it works to downgrade in the same model range.
And Maxi you really should test the 500 Abarth, for although you may think it is slow, you will find it is light years away from your 1.2.

i have driven the abarth- going that quickly in something THAT small feels VERY fast indeed...

but as with everything- familiarity breeds contempt-

if i was the OP, after having absolute top of range perhaps consider a different brand/car completely...
 
I went from a £30,000 155mph car to my 1.2 fiat 500 and its been great.
I have not missed the speed or the fuel and insurance costs.
 
I'm just looking forward to the "handbags at 20 paces" fight that your posting should trigger between certain members of the forum who have clearly defined views on the subject of 500 Abaths....

does this help ?
girlfight.gif


While they are scrapping I'm going to nick the new accessory for the new red and white 500 :devil:
 
hi all

the power of my abarth 500 ss is boring me, the novelty of the look at me looks has worn off but i still like the 500 model. im strongly considering buying one of the new twinairs after a test drive yesterday which was surprisingly enjoyable.

is this be a crazy decision, or a canny switch to a different type of car? :)

Sell the abarth, buy the twinair and invest a little in a used performance car for the weekends. Two of my other cars are insured on dirt-cheap classic insuance policies, one is only taxed during the summer, and both can be maintained at home without fearing warranty issues, so the additional cost is negligible
 
If you think the Abarth only feels nippy, then with over a 3rd less power the Twinair will feel slow, which may be fine for a while, but once the novelty value wears off you may end up bored again much sooner. I've never found it works to downgrade in the same model range.
And Maxi you really should test the 500 Abarth, for although you may think it is slow, you will find it is light years away from your 1.2.

I'm going to do what a 12 year old would do and simply quote the 0-60 time and state that it hardly sets my hair on fire and *drum roll* the wifes Subaru which is worth less than a grand and is almost 17 years old is faster to 60.

If we were talking SS speed + a little more at the standard Abarth price then we're talking. Don't get me wrong it's a quick little car, but is it quick enough to justify the purchase and running costs? Not really IMHO.

As I said, I can understand why the OP is ditching an Abarth for a twinair. Sure it's a step down in power but it'll still be nippy but a helluva lot cheaper to run.
 
Sell the abarth, buy the twinair and invest a little in a used performance car for the weekends. Two of my other cars are insured on dirt-cheap classic insuance policies, one is only taxed during the summer, and both can be maintained at home without fearing warranty issues, so the additional cost is negligible

EXACTLY! You can get so many quick cars for so little these days. Cars which are indeed quicker than the 500 Abarth.
 
I'm going to do what a 12 year old would do and simply quote the 0-60 time and state that it hardly sets my hair on fire and *drum roll* the wifes Subaru which is worth less than a grand and is almost 17 years old is faster to 60.

If we were talking SS speed + a little more at the standard Abarth price then we're talking. Don't get me wrong it's a quick little car, but is it quick enough to justify the purchase and running costs? Not really IMHO.

It depends what turns you on , something new, safe and fairly quick, or some old and quick well used banger - maybe a Renault 5GT. Tax and ins may be higher on a 500 Abarth, but the price difference compared to an equally specced 500 is negligible. Spec up a POP1.2C ( really useful in the UK) and it'll be roughly the same.
 
It depends what turns you on , something new, safe and fairly quick, or some old and quick well used banger - maybe a Renault 5GT. Tax and ins may be higher on a 500 Abarth, but the price difference compared to an equally specced 500 is negligible. Spec up a POP1.2C ( really useful in the UK) and it'll be roughly the same.

You don't necessarily need to buy a banger though. Elises can be had for less than a new 1.2 pop.
 
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