The 500C's can be supplied with 'Semi Auto' gearboxes.... Cant say I've ever seen them referred as Dual Logic usually Semi Auto.
This post may make and A500 owner cringe and for that I apologise. I am reading a lot about the A500 and may possibly be looking to change to one in about 12 months time.
However I have been driving automatics for the past 20yrs and now have the TA with Dualogic. Hence my question about the A500, is Dualogic a spec. for the UK ? I have seen some advertised but it always seems to quote IMPORT model
When the A500c come out it - it only came with Dualogic and at the moment it is the only Abarth offered with Dualogic since it is not offered on the A500.
Manual option was released around the time of the Topgear Monaco trio test last year which I would guess is May 2011.
The Dualogic is a revamped Selespeed and IMHO would be preferable to the Automatic offered in the US F500 model since the torque converter loses power.
I looked at one sometime last year - it is pictured
here - it sold last December for €20K before the time I was looking at a 'tracked' esseese - doubt I would have paid that money for it since I would prefer the manual but it wasn't advertised and money changed hands for those in the know.
Below is a
review from AIB on the other forum that I thought was quite good since I haven't come across anyone who gave a good review of them. One tester complained that in Sport mode the gearbox changes were good but the steering got too heavy. Owners seem to change gear themselves to avoid the jerkness so the steering paddles which come standard prove useful.
New - the A500c dualogic costs an extra £1K over the manual. Very much doubt that it holds onto that premium so it might be a good secondhand buy if you want the dualogic.
Colour wise Electroclash seems to be the one to go for but I was impressed with the photographed bi-colour one in the flesh. Also the 'white' costs extra with the grey coming 'free' which is different to the BNW on the F500.
Allow me to post my personal review of the A500C. I am doing this particularly because I found it so hard to get a descriptive review on the auto box in the A500C and caused me to really buy the car hoping the gearbox would be decent enough to drive and not get stuck with a car I will hate. For anyone who is thinking about buying the A500C read the following:
After 2 weeks of weighing whether to buy a A500 I finally jumped the gun last week and received my scorpion. Got it Grey exterior with black interior leather seats. Put black Abarth decals on the sides and painted the mirrors matt black - Have to say it looks like a little trouble maker. I bought the convertible because I really need the auto gearbox in Beirut, the city I live in, as the traffic can be crazy sometimes. Would have went for a coupe with sunroof if they came with Auto gearboxes. The car only has 300 km on it till now so I'm still breaking in the motor, actually not really breaking in just not redlining the RPM, other than that I'm driving it like it stole it (read many reviews here on run in and came to the conclusion that I shouldn't red line until i hit approximately 1,000 KM ). Its a second car for me next to my 2005 Porsche Carrera S, needed a city car as i hate driving the porsche around in crummy traffic and having to park it in tight spots during the day. First off this cars got lots of character and you can easily fall in love with it even though it has quite a bit of annoying flaws. Seats are too high, steering wheel can't be adjusted (annoying for me as I'm 6'0 and used to driving the porsche which gives me a nice low snug seating position). The electric steering in the Abarth is kinda weird sometimes and you can feel it holding the steering wheel in position at low speeds, which just feels unnatural - at driving speeds you can't feel it though. But open up the throttle (140 bhp) and this little scorpion pulls, its not crazy speed but its lively which is quite fun in a car this size. Never put the car out of sport mode cause then the autobox becomes a huge slug, changes gears so slowly your head keeps slowly bobbling forward and back. In sport mode the gearbox is decent enough but in auto sport you just cant gauge when it will change gears (in auto you need to get off the glass for a split second for the gear changes to be smooth or else the changes are just too slow). Best thing to do is just drive it in manual mode and now that i got the hang of the auto in manual mode its tons of fun. Gear changes are fast enough, not Ferrari fast but good enough, they feel quite sporty. Every time i change at high rpm's the exhaust makes a big popping sound which i love, scares other cars around me. The autobox really feels a lot like a manual but with a clutch and in manual mode using the paddle shifters is great fun. The car does need some more power though so probably going to install the SS kit in a few months. All in all the auto box isn't as bad as a lot of the reviews you read out there make you think. In manual sport mode its actually fun to shift using the paddle shifters, down shifts and up shifts are smooths and fast enough. Plus its a great alternative to a manual gearbox in traffic. I'm very happy with my purchase and can't get enough of the car. Thankfully the gearbox didn't turn out to be a disaster, albeit I'm always driving it in manual mode and never put it in auto mode.
I apologize for the long post, I'm just very excited about the A500...
