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Grande Punto Another new Abarth

Introduction

Picked my 'barth up late yesterday afternoon, but didn't have a chance to take any pics until this morning's lucky break in the weather.

So, how is it? Seems peppier with Sport Boost on than I remember from the test drive, but also a little more lethargic with it turned off than I remember, too. Brembos much stronger than I remembered - why you'd need the brake upgrade if you're not into track days I've no idea.

Problems? Passenger seat creaks a bit, but I'll worry about that later.

Otherwise, game on! (y)









Nice one.

I hope you have as much enjoyment from it as I am getting from mine.

1300 miles and it is bedding in nicely.

The dealer told me today that the ecu frees up the power at 2000 miles. Some kind of built-in running in procedure apparently. Should get better gas mileage too.

Apart from the red demonstrator at the dealer and a white demonstrator down at the Gaydon Auto Italia day, I haven't seen another one.

Has anyone actually bought a black one?
 
I brought a Black one this morning, should be here in about 4-6 weeks as its still in factory build. Does that make me the first Black abarth owner ?! :D

And to answer an earlier question, the 'girlie' button has now finally been removed. The set up of buttons from left to right is now, small hazard button, boot open button, lock doors button, big sports boost button and to the right of it is still the asr off button. Hope that helps.

Chris
 
I brought a Black one this morning, should be here in about 4-6 weeks as its still in factory build. Does that make me the first Black abarth owner ?! :D


Chris

I forgot to ask what spec you've ordered.

When I was in the dealers this morning, another customer asked me what I thought of the car. I think I managed to sell him one.:) I should get some commission for that.
 
it looks ace, really jealous.... If you get climate control does it also include heated front screen?
 
it looks ace, really jealous.... If you get climate control does it also include heated front screen?

Unfortunately, no - heated front screens are great. There's a button on the dash that looks like it, but it's just a max defrost/demist setting to clear the screen quickly.
 
The dealer told me today that the ecu frees up the power at 2000 miles. Some kind of built-in running in procedure apparently. Should get better gas mileage too.

Kinda surprised there's no mention in the manual that I can find about running-in at all. Just one small paragraph that says something like "try not to use maximum performance when the car's new." Gotta love the Italians and their "drive it like you stole it" attitude.

Every other car I've bought new has had a somewhat arsey disclaimer about not exceeding so many revs until such-and-such miles.

So maybe you're right, mole - the ECU stops you going to mad to start with.

Oh, and the pooter says I'm on 33.6mpg at the mo. And I've not been babying it, either.
 
Standard Abarth spec with metallic black paint and climate control. £14,125 in total, absolute bargain! Got a good trade in price for my Sporting too. Not too sure if ill pay the £4000 for the esse esse kit though because i assume a company like red dot or gsr will be able to get 180 horses out of the existing turbo at a fraction of the price!

Chris
 
And what you said about selling it to another customer, i done the same after my test drive whilst waiting for the paperwork to be done. Ill have to have a sneaky word with the dealer and see what commision i can sort out! :)

I also asked him about running the car in and he said the usual about a factory run in and that the minute i pick the car up i can give it a bit of oomph but obviously be sensible and check the oil and water levels every week or so for the first 2000 miles. No mention of the ECU managing the power though.

Chris
 
Its a nice looking car!

Standard Abarth spec with metallic black paint and climate control. £14,125 in total, absolute bargain!

But you can get a standard sporting for under £10k...which makes the Abarth look very expensive. When are the dealers going to start offering the discounts for these cars? It's going to plummet in value like every Fiat car so I personally wouldn't want to be paying list of it!
 
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I have a Sporting at the moment though and trust me, this is a totally different car! Obviously it will depreciate as does any car but i imagine it will hold its value a little bit more that the Fiats do. Personally though i am not worried about the depreciation at all. I just want to get in a car that i know im going to enjoy everytime i drive it and smile everytime i pass another one on the road. Also spoke to the dealer about discount and he said unfortunately he couldnt move from list price but he gave me a good price for my car to counter this. Obviously it will eventually be offered with discount because thats the world we live in!

Chris
 
But you can get a standard sporting for under £10k...which makes the Abarth look very expensive.

You can get a brand new Ford Ka for about £5k, should I buy that instead?

Personally, I think the Abarth is an incredible bargain. In fact, I'd say the opposite of your argument is true - the Abarth makes the Sporting look expensive.

The Abarth is only £1k more than the Sporting's list price, and still only £3.5k more than a heavily discounted one. That £3.5k gets you a hell of a lot, in terms of power, handling, braking, looks, equipment and just sheer fun and character, which can really only be created by very talented engineers working with huge R&D budgets.

But, if you don't think the Abarth is worth £3.5k more than the Sporting, just don't buy one.

(Have you driven one?)
 
You can get a brand new Ford Ka for about £5k, should I buy that instead?

Personally, I think the Abarth is an incredible bargain. In fact, I'd say the opposite of your argument is true - the Abarth makes the Sporting look expensive.

The Abarth is only £1k more than the Sporting's list price, and still only £3.5k more than a heavily discounted one. That £3.5k gets you a hell of a lot, in terms of power, handling, braking, looks, equipment and just sheer fun and character, which can really only be created by very talented engineers working with huge R&D budgets.

But, if you don't think the Abarth is worth £3.5k more than the Sporting, just don't buy one.

(Have you driven one?)

My cousin and I test drove an Abarth within an inch of it's life last week....and after much deliberation we came to the conclusion that it's....well eerrm, it's..it's a...

....Grande Punto! that's it. It's a great car mind (especially the seats) and there is a notable difference in how it goes round corners. It's certainly not as quick as my sporting and doesn't look as classy but it still maintains a very attractive subtle look for a hot hatch.

I think the price difference is definitely worth it if it's what you want. Residual value however will be a big problem as the price of them, after the imminent discounts, will go down as quick as a tarts nick-nacks!! whereas diesel sportings will be sought after on the second hand market for a while.

Lets not go down the road of Abarth owners thinking they have a 'much' better car than other GP owners cos take it from me it aint....The Grande Punto (apart from the niggles) is a bl**dy good car in whatever spec you go for(y)
 
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Lets not go down the road of Abarth owners thinking they have a 'much' better car than other GP owners...

I don't think any of the Abarth owners who've posted on this forum think that.

Obviously I don't agree with 90% of your post, but as you took the trouble to drive the car before drawing your own conclusions, as far as I'm concerned, your opinion deserves to be respected.

As far as residual values go, if I was that worried, I wouldn't have bought countless new cars over the years.
 
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