Building a Car That's Not About Being the Best at Everything

Building a car is not an all-or-nothing proposition where every component has to be the best in its class. In fact, having the best engine, transmission, looks, engineering, and quality can sometimes detract from what makes a fun-driving car. A well-rounded vehicle that excels in multiple areas can be just as enjoyable to drive as one that dominates in each category. The Abarth 500 is a prime example of this approach.

One reason why the Abarth stands out is its ability to balance performance with everyday usability. While it may not have all the bells and whistles, it's clear that the engineers at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) focused on creating a driving experience that's hard to resist. The result is a car that's both agile and responsive, making it a joy to drive on winding roads or in tight city streets.

Of course, no discussion of the Abarth would be complete without mentioning its interior. And here, the car falls short in some significant ways. The materials used throughout the cabin feel cheap and plastic-y, with a yellow-trimmed interior that's more akin to a budget-friendly compact than a premium small car. The door panels are particularly noteworthy for their lack of quality, with thin plastics and awkward stitching that make them look like an afterthought.

Despite these shortcomings, the Abarth's interior is still functional and easy to use. The ergonomics are generally good, with controls and switches arranged in a logical and intuitive manner. The HVAC system features physical buttons instead of touchscreen interfaces, which makes it easy to adjust the temperature without having to navigate a complex menu system. The turn signal and wiper switches are also conveniently located, making it easy to switch between these functions.

However, there are some quirks and compromises that make the interior feel less than perfect. One notable issue is the steering wheel, which feels oversized for the cabin. This can be a bit of a problem for smaller drivers, as it makes the wheel feel too large and unwieldy. Another issue is the trip button controller, which is located on the wiper stalk at the tip. While this isn't necessarily an ergonomic nightmare, it does require some navigation to activate the feature.

Another minor annoyance is the placement of window switches. With most cars, these are conveniently located next to each other, making it easy to roll down or up both windows with a single action. However, in the Abarth, they're placed far enough apart that you need to use two hands – or have very large fingers – to operate them simultaneously.

Storage is also an issue in the Abarth's cabin, particularly when it comes to cupholders and sunglass holders. The former are barely sufficient for holding small bottles, while the latter are nonexistent altogether. Sunglasses will inevitably fly around or get stuck in door pockets if you don't have a way to keep them secure.

Overall, while the Abarth's interior may not be the most refined or luxurious space, it's still functional and easy to use. The real key to its success lies in its sport seats, which are surprisingly comfortable despite their high bolsters and firm surfaces. And for those who crave additional warmth on chilly mornings, heated seats are a welcome feature.

But even with these advantages, the Abarth's interior still has some major flaws that can be frustrating for drivers. The adjustability of the seats is particularly problematic, as it takes some effort to get them just right. This lack of adjustability may not be a deal-breaker for everyone, but it's definitely worth mentioning.

In contrast, other manufacturers often prioritize interior quality and design over driving dynamics. While this can result in cars that are more comfortable and refined, they often lose sight of what makes a car fun to drive. The Abarth, on the other hand, is unapologetically focused on performance and agility, even if it means sacrificing some interior luxury in the process.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en(dramatic electronic music)(screeching)(roaring)- The 2016 Abarth.Well, I feel like I shouldhave a European accenttalking about it.That's because this wasoriginally a Euro carand it's been around forabout nine years now.Of course, they've refreshedit, updated a few things,but essentially, thisreally is the same carthat's been around forever.This exterior is a hot topic.It looks like somethingBig Bird would've boughtfor his teenage daughter.It just doesn't work for me.But that doesn't mean it's notgonna work for other people.This is a strange vehicle,because different colorscompletely change the personality.If you've never seen one of these in blackmurdered out with tints,it looks really mean,and it's just strange andsilly at the same time.The 500 Abarth is just more aggressivethan the regular model.And here's the thing aboutcars with personality,is that it will bring outthe best and worst in people.I've pulled up to several traffic lightsand had pickup truck driversroll down their windowand just laugh at me,like I was some type of disfigured chud.And at the same time, I'd pull some placeand people would actuallyget out of their carand tell me how cool this thing looked.The other thing about the Abarth exterioris they don't have to usea ton of gimmicks here.This is just kinda old school.You got halogenheadlights, driving lights,there's just nothing fancy.They didn't have to tartthis up full of all this crapto follow the crowd,because this has justreally worked for so long.You might be wondering,well, how the hell do I knowthat this is an Abarth model?Well, let me give you the subtle hints.There's scorpions everywhere.On the wheels, on the sides,you have the Abarth badge.If that wasn't enough, there'sthis splatter-paint lookingvinyl decal along the sideof the car that says Abarth.When you open up this hatch,you're like, oh my god,what am I gonna use this forwith the seats folded towards you.If you're somebody that likes to carryover 100 kilos of cocaineat any given time,this is not gonna be the vehicle for you.But I can fit two backpacks in the back.When you fold down these seats,that's when this vehiclemakes a lot more sense.It really is a glorified two-seater,when you look at it that way.I can fit everything I need in here.My gear, my drone case, my backpacks,but my slider has to ride shotgundue to the size of it.And you realize, especially in America,that so many people have this obsessionwith buying cars thatare ten times the sizethat they actually needfor a single person.Once you drive this, you realizeyou can get most of everythingthat you have in hereand it makes a lot of sense.Oh, I left the headlightson in the (mumbling).(instrumental electronic music)I can't see you!Why are we on the alignment rack?- 'Cause it doesn't fiton two of our other racksand it barely fits on here.- Yeah.It isthe wheelbase and theactual width of this thingis just ridiculous.It's so small.You can't even put it in perspectiveuntil you witness it in the flesh.(giggling)The Abarth has some specialfeatures here, Scott.Let's start with the front.We have twin intercoolersthat vent in and exhaust out,and they're propped in frontof the front wheel wellsfor cooling.- Just don't run overany debris in the road,'cause you'll cut your hose.- Yeah, you got two rubber--- You'll have a boost leak.- Yeah, and then you'd loseall the horsepower you want.So, we got some changes herewith the Abarth suspensioncompared to the regular 500,and they are significant.What do we got, to start?- There's some dual flow struts.- (laughing) Yeah, theyare dual flow struts.Uh, we have,so, you said it has stiffer spring rates.- Stiffer springs, lowerride height, probably.- Yep, that is correct.- How much lowering?- 0.6, around 0.6.The second thing it hasis it has cast steel lowercontrol arms for rigidity.You have larger brakes, 11inch rotors in the frontwith painted calipers which isall for performance, obviously.(spirited mariachi music)The big thing here is the FSD dampers,the struts from Kony.It has Konys on all four corners.And the nice thing about this suspensionor these dampers isthe name.And I have to look at itbecause I cannot believethe name of these struts.- They should havejust called 'em I-dampers.- What do you think FSD dampers stand for?(bleeping)(laughing)- No actually, they stand forDual Valve FrequencySelective Damping.- How does that work?- Well, I'll tell you all that means ismuch like our Öhlins dampers that we had,it's got two oil paths that it can go.So under aggressive driving,where there's not a tonof shock or strut travel,it gives you one oil path to firm upthe actual ride of the damperswhen it senses there'sa lot of compression,huge travel, it opens up two oil paths.So the damping is less aggressiveand it changes the rate.- Are the holes big and small,are they the same size?- There's oil that flowsthrough the center of the tube,and on the outside of the tube.The next thing it has,and this is noticeablewhen you really start todrive the piss out of it isthey set up thisalignment very aggressive.It actually comes from the factory with1.5 negative degreesof camber in the front.- Wow.- You don't get as much understeer.Scott, we're in the back,how do you feel about that?- It's pretty tough with it,no exhaust or muffler, I should say.- Yeah, it looks strangewithout a muffler back here.Straight pipes.- Beautiful exhaust note.- You'll like the exhaust.- Is that a Beats exhaust note?- It is, it's got Beat Audio Exhaustby Dr. Dre.(laughing)- Nice fuel tank you got here.- Yeah, this is a 10 gallon cell, Scott.Which means you can go about 280 milesbefore you fill up.I'm getting 30 milesto the gallon, almost,which is shocking, considering.- And a normal persondriving would probly getabout 45 miles a gallon.- Yeah, probably.I mean it's rated for 34 butyou gotta think that you could get betterif you're just puttin'around in this thing.Again, it doesn't weigh much.- (scoffing) There'snothing back here to weigh.- No, it doesn't,look how big the springsare in this thing.They're like a child's toy.It's crazy.This almost reminds meof when we looked at thePromaster rear suspension,how these dampers, exceptthey're on the opposite angleof the Promaster, but it'ssurprising this even works.But anyway, let's takea look under the hood.Wasted enough time back here.- I do like these cutouts on this hood,it's a great armrest.- Yeah, it is good,it's good for guys like you who like tosit in the parking lot at Starbucks.- Yeah.- So Scott, anything you'regonna have to do to this car,looks like you're gonna haveto put in service position.This bumper's gonna comeoff all the time, isn't it?- I don't thinkit's more than a bumper.- We have to take all this off.- The wiper cowell.- Yeah, all that.And this is one of the bigproblems with this car,and this is the realityof Fiat as a brand.And everybody knows it,even the CEO has talkedabout the fact thatthey've had some quality issuesthat they need to work on.They don't have good reliability.The first thing you're gonna do when youlook on the forums forpeople with these cars isit's a check engine light fest.What code today they're gonna get.And the funny part about it is,most of the owner's of thislike the car so much thatit's just part of theownership experience.If you go in expecting that you may havesome nagging issues,you're probably gonna really enjoy this.And that's not saying that everysingle Fiat's got problems,but, you know.- You should do a fullsystem scan and see ifit has any.- You like thatscorpion plastic don't you?- It's red, so.- Yeah, it's fast.It's all performance.It's hot as hell under this hood.- It's amazingly hot.- It needs venting.- It's epic how hot it is.- You could probably cooka whole bunch of mess ofdot dogs on the front of this.- That's what I was thinkin'.Hot dogs, man.- Yeah, 'cause it's easy.You foil this up.You just bake a little bed for it,you go to Starbucks, you start leanin',and you start squirtin'your mustard all over 'em.(laughing)Or whatever you call it.- Usually ittakes 5W40 synthetic oil.- See, they're preparedfor the heat on this car.Speaking of that, yes, thisgenerates a lot of heat.It is a turbo and theturbo is right up front,right in front of the radiator.- That's ridiculously hot.This thing's been sittingfor an an hour or more?- At least, yep.Let's talk about the engine, Scott.- That 2.4 liter?- Yeah, the 1.4 liter.It has a cast iron block.It has a forged steelcrankshaft and counterweights.It has lightweight forgedsteel connecting rodsand that has forged aluminum pistonsand floating piston pins.And all of this is obviouslyto increase strengthand durability, especiallywhen you're blowing,what did we say, 21 pounds of boost?21, 22 pounds of boostat certain times, so,yeah, you gotta have abuilt motor for that.- That's just crazythat they just use theseplain old hose clamps andthis stuff doesn't blow apart, you know?- I know.- What would your first mod be?- I'd probably do nothing to it becauseI'd be afraid that mywarranty would be voidwhen I had a problem for the first time.If I was out of warranty,I'd re-flash it for sure.(dramatic electronic music)We're taking off in the Fiat 500 Abarthand the first thing you'regonna notice behind the wheelis this exhaust tone.And I know you've heard it before,you've probably heard it from everybody,but the engineers whowere behind the soundof this exhaust system deserve an Oscarfor sound production.It's that good.In fact, this is probably the best4-cylinder I've ever heardfor any affordable price range.You would expect having this insanelythroaty exhaust woulddrive you nuts on the road,and it does not.In fifth gear, when you're cruising,the only time it will make any noiseis when you smash down the throttleabout a quarter way,and you'll start to heara little drone.But it is non-offensive.If you're looking for likea sportier sounding car.In terms of ride control, body control.This uses Kony dampers, dual flow,dual valve dampers.Now, I've said this beforeabout other cars is,it's one thing to throw aset of just stiffer shocks,just more aggressive valve dampersand expect to have a good ride.What they've done here isproof positive that dampersare so important on a car suspension.They lowered this, firmed it up,but they were smart.They got a set ofdampers that were able toperform two tasks.Handle rough pavement andthen firm up when they need toon the twisty stuff.Now, this is a firm riding car.It's on the sportier side.But, it does both regular highway drivingand sporty driving tremendously wellfor a car in this price range.The Abarth has a sport mode button.And this sport mode buttonactually just changes a mapin the ECU.It allows the engine to justgenerate more horsepower.When you turn it on,you have to turn it onevery time you turn on the car,which 95% of people will do,it changes the wholedriving dynamics of the carfrom just a straightline and just an engine,just performance perspective.The ESC button's on the left.You can hold it down while you're driving,it's two stages.One tap kinda half turns it off.If you hold it down, it willturn it all the way off.We're in sport with ESC all the way offand we're gonna take it through the turns.(roaring)Brakes are really, really good.Initial bite is super strong.It has semi-metallic pads,so you get that immediate gripand it's probly gonnabe hard on the rotors,so if you have this car, you probablywant to bed them really wellbefore you start pounding on it.And if you're doing alot of street driving,just bed it all the time, just to be safe.Transmission and clutch feel,well, let's take itthrough this next segment.When I first got into it,I thought, this clutch feelis totally spongy and vagueand the manual gearbox,the actual shift feel isnot the best.And I'll still contend it's not the best,the most smoothest shiftingor the best clutch take-upI've ever been in.But the beauty of amanual transmission car isas a driver you adjust to each one.Every one is a little bit different.And after you get used to it,I've just been beatingthe piss out of this carand I've totally enjoyed it.I have zero problems with theclutch and transmission now.Let's take a look at straight line.(roaring)You'll hear thatbackfiring or popping soundfrom the exhaust when you pull off a,when you hit that clutch hard,you'll hear a pop all the timeand it's just another great partof the driving experience in the Abarth.You feel so connected to this car,'cause you hear everything,you feel everything.It stimulates all your sensesand that's really one of thisvehicle's strongest suits.Now,there is understeer,and there is torque steerand it's just unavoidableeven with 160 horsepoweryou still feel it.This car definitely tends to understeerat the edge of performance, at that nine,or pretty much about at eight tenthsyou can start to feel it understeering.It's not a huge problem for mebecause the steering feels so good.Just the overall feel that it gives youthrough the steering wheel's so goodyou can kind of forgive that.This is not gonna be thebest ever auto crossing caror track car, but man does it finda super balance betweenperformance and street.We're comin' up on this set of turns here.And this is where this car excels.There's a bird on the road.This is so enjoyable to drivefor a front wheel drive car.It's just a really fun car to drive.I think that's its singular purposeis to kind of put a smile on your face,especially for being front wheel driveit kind ofwhen you get to thisprice range you think,well a Miata, right?Miata, S2000,that's kind of the de-facto answer andobviously this is nowhere near those carsin terms of dynamics, but man,if you had to have a budgetfront wheel drive car,I'd put this on the shopping list.The rear gets a little twitchy, you know.There's nothing you cando about it at the edge.If you get the rearunsettled over some bumpsit will start to tail out on you,you get some bump steer on the back.But you really have to beat that nine, 10 10ths arenato get the back end totally unsettled.It's non-offensive, really,that's what I'm tryin' to say.The beauty of the Abarth is it provesthat building a car is not all aboutbeing the best at everything.You don't have to have the best engine,the best transmission, the best looks,the best engineering and qualityto make a fun-driving car.This is not the bestat everything it does,but what it's able to do successfullyis it takes all of the important thingsthat add up to an enjoyabledriving experiencefor an enthusiast, andit checks all those boxesand you can forgive so manyof the downfalls about this.The age, the interior quality, just,the overall kind of cheapness to it.And it just, you forget about it,because it's so fun to drive.And I think so many manufacturers,believe me, I'm not an FCA,I've never been a huge Chrysler personor a Fiat person, but,there's so many manufacturersthat don't get this right.They don't get that there's more to a carthan just all thetechnology, all the featuresthey want to throw in it.Sometimes it boils downto the bare basics,and this is where theAbarth totally wins for me.When you get on theinterior of the Abarth,because this is a yellow car, you get thisyellow trimmed interior withplastic panels.And I'm not gonna pull any punches,this feels extremely cheap.And I know this is an old platform,but you look at the door panels,you look at the fabric choicesand this horrible lookingplasti-chrome trim,it's a hard pill to swallow,especially when you getinto a lot of modern cars.If you're new to the 500,well the ergonomics arepretty good overall.Things are logically laid out in place,they're all within handsreach of the steering wheel,so you're not having to hunt for too much.Your HVAC controls, they'reall physical buttons,they're pretty easy to use.Your turn signal's stock,your wipers stocks are easy.The sport button, your ESC button,pretty much everything is right here.Now, there are someproblems with ergonomics.Let's start with the steering wheel.Most people will raveabout the thickness of it,the flat bottom, it gives you good controlover the heavier weight of the steering.But I find it's justa little bit oversizedfor this interior.I'd like to see the diameter smaller.The second thing isthis trip button.The trip button controller is actuallyon the wiper stock at the end, at the tip.You have to scroll through like that,and also your menu buttons forjust dimming and the central screenis kind of like strangely placed.It's hard to get through.You either have to go around or throughthe steering wheel, so that'skind of annoying to me.The last thing reallyhere that is troublesomeare the window switches.Typically they place window switchesright next to each other.So if you're the driver, you can justhit them both at the same timeand roll 'em up and down.Well, these are so farapart that it actuallyeither requires two hands todo 'em both at the same time,or you have to do one ata time with one finger,unless you have monster hands.Again, these are littlequirks, that again,they're not deal-breakers,but they're justsomething you notice aboutusability of vehicles.There's no sunglass holder.The actual storage in here is justit's kind of awkwardly laid out.You can't fit a bottle in the door,which they could easilymassage the plastics to havecupholders in the door.The cupholders at the bottom, you know,it's not really good for holding phonesand just various stuff,and then they have twocupholders near the rear,which is really hard to get to.And without having a sunglass holder,your sunglasses are gonna be flying aroundor in the door pockets.It's a strange storage layout.Many people get greatly concernedabout the interior spaceof the 500.This is a narrow fitted cockpit.And then you add these sport seats in hereand the anxiety level goes up.But I can tell you,I've been in plenty ofcars with sport seatsthat feel like you're sitting on concrete.This is not one of them.They are cloth, the bolsters are high,but they are super compliant.One of the more comfortablefitted seats I've been inand the cloth helps a lot.And the other cool thing about theseis they're actually heated.And I just got out of a $44,000 Lexusthat did not have heated seatsand it's jut, you getin here and you're like,well, how can they do it in hereand a Luxury brand can't?So that's a cool feature.Now, the problem with the seats isthe adjustability.It sucks.Every person that'sgotten in here is like,\"Well, how the hell doI adjust these seats?\"Because, the reclinemechanism's on the right.The up and down rockerswitch is on the leftand it kinda pumps up and lowers the seat.And it's so close tothis left storage pocketthat you're either scrapingup your hands or bumping 'em.And, of course, the frontand back is in the frontlike a standard seat.I don't like the seating adjustmentand your seating positionis so high in here.And obviously it's tomake people feel likethey're in not such of a coffinor a small car.This steering wheel doesn't go down.I mean it goes down, butit doesn't go down much,so you actually have to raise your seat upto get at the steeringwheel that you want.I really don't likethat about this car, butthe seating comfort makesup for a lot of that.The backseat space, well,it's like getting in the backof a two seat car, but worse.It's really tight back there.I don't imagine thatanybody would want to spendmore than like 20 minutes back there.I actually felt claustrophobic and Idon't have a problem with it usually.It's something you'regonna have to test out.Last, but not least is the infotainmentand this Beats Audio sound system.This Beats Audio soundssystem sounds like shit.It doesn't sound good at all.There's not a lot of clarity.There's a lot of bass,but there's not a lot of clarityand I think partially it's just the waythe cabin's designed.Acoustically, it's not really that great.It's the speaker placement,but you never get justthis sense of claritycoming from here.Now, it doesn't have aproblem playing loud.It makes up for it in other ways,but you're not gonna be blown away by it,that's the point.This you-connect system,despite it's, I don't know,four, five inch screen,four and a half inch screen,it's surprisingly usable.You look at it and you're like,\"What is this from, 1995?\"The menu structure works really good.It's super quick.I never had a problem withbluetooth connectivity.It just works for what is.Getting around is a little cumbersome,because of course, you haveto use the touch screenfor everything, but,for the most part, for atouch screen interface,the speed makes up fora lot of its quirks.There is no central commandknob, which sucks becauseyou're always having to dick with this.But the good thing is,when you turn this off,with the power button here,it blacks out the screen.So at night you don't have to stare at it.Overall, adjustments on here are good.It does take care ofsome of the car controlsabout automatic locking orhow you want to do unlocking.One of the really cool things aboutwhat this car lets you do isdisables hill assistif you have the manual transmissionand what that does is,if you come to a stop,and you take off the brake,it will hold the brakesfor you for a secondso the car doesn't roll.Like in my Mazda, itdoes that all the timeand I constantly almost stall it in firstbecause it's still on the brakeswhen I'm in first gear and trying to go.This car lets you turn that feature off,which is really nice,especially when you'vebeen driving, obviouslya manual trans forever,you don't want that on,you don't need it.When I first got in the Fiat 500,not the Abarth, I hated it.So when this was on theschedule I thought, well,I didn't have high expectations,let me just put it that way.Driving this, you realizehow many little things add up to a lotin plenty of cars andthe Fiat is not the best inclass for a lot of things.It's certainly not the fastest,it doesn't have the bestmanual transmission,it's certainly quirky as hell.But when you do the rightthings in the right places,you can take a very mundane carand make it extremely enjoyable to drive.And it just goes to say and show you thatif you connect on the rightemotional elements for a driver,it can make a world of difference.(dramatic electronic music)- Well, while you're lookin' that up,I really like yourchoice in coolant color.- What color is it?- Makes me thirsty.Looks like some grape kool-aid.- That's grape kool-aid?- Yeah, I'm so sick of seein'the hot pink and the red and the blueand the green and the gold.Original, purple.- What's in it that makes it purple?- Probly grape flavor like thatrear differential fluid GM has.- That would be amazingif it was flavored.- Well, let me open it,- And test it?- You smell it,'cause it's not that hot.- I'd probly use it as cologne.The other thing about the Abarthe is,shut up.Damn, these birds.The other thing about the Abarthe is(birds chirping)(laughing) you son of a bitch.They know when I'm talking.Okay, don't ruin it.I know it looks tough.The other thing about.(birds chirping)(laughing) Son of a bitch.- There's big goose on this side,big goose on this side.About 15 little ones in the street,don't know which way to go.All the cars are stopped both ways,they're just backin' up, backin' upand of course, I'm thefirst one goin' this way.I was just about to take my phone out.The lady across from me getsout to start shooin' 'em,and this frickin' one comes flyin' at her,she jumps in the car,and then it's about to attack my car,oh it was amazing.- You should have had a video.- I didn't have,dude, I was jammin'.- Jammin' what?To your Beats Audio?- Yeah, I was bluetoothin' Beats Audio.- Oh God, what a joke.- That was crazy.- If you don't have pictures or videoit didn't happen, bro.You should have periscoped me.Periscoped me andsnapchatted me, twittered it.- Insta-like hashtag.- Yeah, I insta-like it, F1 bound, bro.I'll see you and Hondapro Jason on the track.Well, let's take it for a drive.- I'm really shocked they have aold fashioned styleradiator cap on here.- That's for style points.That's probly shit they hadleft over from the '80s.- It is, I mean, I haven'tseen a car with thatsince probly the early '90s GM pile.- Would you rather have this ora PT Cruiser turbo?- Oh, PT Cruiser Turbo.You could put almost a cartin the back of a PT Cruiser Turbo.This has the same seatingposition as a PT Cruiser.- Yeah, it does.\n"