smart examiner
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Did you see the Abarth 500 on Top Gear,with the Citroen DS and Renault Clio?
It was not a test as such,just the usual clowning around from the boys.
It was not a test as such,just the usual clowning around from the boys.
General Top Gear and more.
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General Top Gear and more.
Yeah! it was great seeing them go round Monaco GP circuit. Glad the hamster had the new A500c with the manual gearbox option as I think he would have been caught by Captain Slow otherwise. 
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2:20, 2:16, 2:15 ? for the DS3, 500c SS & the Clio. In the right hands the Clio cup could have beaten the A500c so it was a consolation coming 2nd. I wonder if the 695 would have given the DS3 racing (it has 200bhp) a run for its money with an extra 20 horses . At least we will have the Multi-air with 170 in 'standard' tune towards the end of 2012 - well that would be 'wishful thinking'.
It was nice hearing RH said that he wouldn't change anything in the A500c as he was shifting the gears. I did cringe for the Abarth enthusiasts when FIAT got mentioned more than once and it was referred to as having a 'roof'. At least our excuse is that we were in a 'convertible'.
Still I enjoyed it and it was great getting the exposure.
with an extra 20 horses . At least we will have the Multi-air with 170 in 'standard' tune towards the end of 2012 - well that would be 'wishful thinking'. It was nice hearing RH said that he wouldn't change anything in the A500c as he was shifting the gears. I did cringe for the Abarth enthusiasts when FIAT got mentioned more than once and it was referred to as having a 'roof'. At least our excuse is that we were in a 'convertible'.
Still I enjoyed it and it was great getting the exposure.
What do you mean could have? It would have
Lets not forget that Top Gear do tend to change numbers to make for close races and so on
To be honest the car is just a mildly tuned Fiat at the end of the day and I don't think that many owners would see it any differently, certainly not me.
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To be honest the car is just a mildly tuned Fiat at the end of the day and I don't think that many owners would see it any differently, certainly not me.
Let's be honest, some people do see it as not being a Fiat, but thankfull you're not one of those delusional people
Maybe it's something to do with my age. Been there, done that, got the straitjacket.
Or you don't have the strange need to feel all superiorMaybe it's something to do with my age. Been there, done that, got the straitjacket.
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Abarth is a fiat in fancy dress
All I know is it says Abarth Grande Punto on the V5 and not fiat, like saying Fiat 599 instead of ferrari! (obv a bit OTT comparison!)Abarth is a fiat in fancy dress
I will admit its mostly fiat, but the difference between the sporting and the Abarth does make it rather special!
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Abarth is a fiat in fancy dress
You could say that the 500 is a panda in fancy dress (I know that isn't really true). I'm not to sure where you go after that ?
When I was 'trading' in my Fiat 500 Sport 1.4 against a A500 last November a 'trade-up' price of €6,500 was being negotiated with my own but then 'things' went pear shaped when I mentioned that I would need to see a copy of the service history for the deal to be completed
. What 'came out' next was - yours is just a FIAT with 38K miles and it's a wexford registration (country reg) so my Abarth......(I switched off)After a drive in a A500SS last week (in a different garage a 100 miles away
) - it is a totally different animal to the 1.4 Lounge. It doesn't make you feel superior - it just turns you into a hooligan. But going back to the 'comparison' - a Citroen DS3 Racing - it's in a different price bracket at £23K+ - full disengageable ESP, Brembos, 204bhp. By using the c model they justified the comparison. It would need to be a tintop with the Abarth Punto running gear.
Reading the review below is good for facts and figures but didn't coincide with Jeremy's criticism in stating that he couldn't 'feel' the steering wheel / feedback whatever. That may not work too well with the fully disengageable ESP - maybe the brembos might help
. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/car-manufacturers/citroen/8191619/Citron-DS3-Racing-review.html
Anyway it doesn't look cutesy.
P.S. I did like Jeremy's analogy about 'wearing the T-shirt'. Because it's a Hot hatchback test (O- sorry A500cSS failed that !) you can do whatever you want in the style department.
so if it said BMW on the v5?
I have to admit to being very disappointed with last nights episode.
There was supposed to be a Maclaren review which going on how it's been received by the motoring press including 5th Gear who happened to broadcast their review which was filmed at Dunsfold Top Gears home last week makes me think it was pulled.
They then inserted a dubious review on Aston Martin having poor ride comfort & then stuck James May who did the AM review in a Cup packed Clio which runs lower & stiffer than a normal RS Clio, yet make no reference to ride.
& Ross Noble got way more air time than normal guests at an attempt to fill in.
The challenge then did the normal thing of putting captin slow in the obvious driver orientated potentially fastest car, especially on a track that it's been focused towards. Jeremy must win & gets the shouty car to reflect his personality & Hammond gets the small feisty model.
It's all becoming a little trite now & really could do with a refresh.
OK they referenced 23k for the DS3 Racing but failed to mention it has a multitude of real carbon fibre including wheel arches, dash etc in a lovely mat finish, Brembo 4pots & a chassis tweaked by Citroën Sport who have won multiply WRC championships. Incidentally a 2L TDI Ford Focus is 23k now!
The 500C with SS is close on 20k with nothing special about it, to get the same level of attention from Fiat you need £40k for a Tributo which was last month rated in the top ten worst premium small cars of all time by CAR magazine.
The Clio was under £15k on the road in striped out Cup form.
I normally really enjoy TG, buy know it's all about fun, but it was just limp last night.
There was supposed to be a Maclaren review which going on how it's been received by the motoring press including 5th Gear who happened to broadcast their review which was filmed at Dunsfold Top Gears home last week makes me think it was pulled.
They then inserted a dubious review on Aston Martin having poor ride comfort & then stuck James May who did the AM review in a Cup packed Clio which runs lower & stiffer than a normal RS Clio, yet make no reference to ride.
& Ross Noble got way more air time than normal guests at an attempt to fill in.
The challenge then did the normal thing of putting captin slow in the obvious driver orientated potentially fastest car, especially on a track that it's been focused towards. Jeremy must win & gets the shouty car to reflect his personality & Hammond gets the small feisty model.
It's all becoming a little trite now & really could do with a refresh.
OK they referenced 23k for the DS3 Racing but failed to mention it has a multitude of real carbon fibre including wheel arches, dash etc in a lovely mat finish, Brembo 4pots & a chassis tweaked by Citroën Sport who have won multiply WRC championships. Incidentally a 2L TDI Ford Focus is 23k now!
The 500C with SS is close on 20k with nothing special about it, to get the same level of attention from Fiat you need £40k for a Tributo which was last month rated in the top ten worst premium small cars of all time by CAR magazine.
The Clio was under £15k on the road in striped out Cup form.
I normally really enjoy TG, buy know it's all about fun, but it was just limp last night.
Last week they had Kris Meeke who is the best British Rally driver at the moment and they fobbed him off to talk to the bob skeleton woman. To me that was rude and very out of touch with the whole car element of the show.....
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When I texted my brother that TG was featuring the Abarth I was all excited
. When it was covering the 'treasure hunt' stage - I thought - is this it So the Monaco stage lifted what for me was 'why did I bother texting Jim' and wasting his time watchng this.
Still the show has been watered down to suit the genders and is no longer a 'car show'.
I would have liked to have seen an all out race around monaco at full belt but they wouldn't have been PC.
Just got the chance to watch it tonight.
Would have been far more interesting if they'd grabbed a retired racing driver (Coulthard or Brundle?) to take the cars around the track as all we saw today was Clarkson's familiarity with the track and May's inability to give the Clio some revs. Glad draigflag isn't about as he'd be bleating on about how the 500c SS is better then the Clio and therefore the hatch is better than the Rennosport by like a million miles and how it could probably take on an F1 car around Monaco
Would have been far more interesting if they'd grabbed a retired racing driver (Coulthard or Brundle?) to take the cars around the track as all we saw today was Clarkson's familiarity with the track and May's inability to give the Clio some revs. Glad draigflag isn't about as he'd be bleating on about how the 500c SS is better then the Clio and therefore the hatch is better than the Rennosport by like a million miles and how it could probably take on an F1 car around Monaco
What once was a good laugh (with good info) has now become almost a comedy with presenters waiting to laugh and predictable jokes. I prefer to watch the repeats on 'Dave' from years ago. Shame really.
Agreed. I just didn't understand the whole bit inbetween them arriving in the little town with their cars and the end of the bit where they collected all the stuff. They just seem to try too hard these days.
smart examiner
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I agree the show has changed direction from what it was.Years ago it was a car show telling you about cars in detail.
Who remembers Wheelbase before Top Gear? That was a real car show about cars,showing you the engine,dash,boot etc.
Today,Top gear is a lads mag show.They pretend the chat between the boys is all off the cuff,when infact it is rehearsed over and over to the smallest detail. I think it is crazy the way no matter which car they have,it is screaming round the track sideways with tyres smoking.Even cars like the Jaguar XF.Will a business man who buys that type of car drive it like that on the road? Of course not.
Men and Motors on Sky had some good car shows,but it has been taken off. They do say Top Gear has far more viewers these days,but i think for us Petrol heads,we just laugh at the show.
Who remembers Wheelbase before Top Gear? That was a real car show about cars,showing you the engine,dash,boot etc.
Today,Top gear is a lads mag show.They pretend the chat between the boys is all off the cuff,when infact it is rehearsed over and over to the smallest detail. I think it is crazy the way no matter which car they have,it is screaming round the track sideways with tyres smoking.Even cars like the Jaguar XF.Will a business man who buys that type of car drive it like that on the road? Of course not.
Men and Motors on Sky had some good car shows,but it has been taken off. They do say Top Gear has far more viewers these days,but i think for us Petrol heads,we just laugh at the show.
Lost interest in top gear in the last year, only bit I find interesting now is the celebs going round the track.
Clio renaultsport is a great car if a little firm, I've had a shot in a 197 so imagine the 200 is very similar, very sharp chassis on them.
Clio renaultsport is a great car if a little firm, I've had a shot in a 197 so imagine the 200 is very similar, very sharp chassis on them.
