[Waspune]

Congrats S2 on your awesome acquisition. Abarth is one special car and I am sure it will leave you grinning for years. Regarding the cheap plastics that are present in some part of the interiors, they are pretty well put together which might be the consolation . Keep an eye on the C-pillar (left) interior plastic which has a tendency to come out.

Regarding the noise that you are noticing from front suspension, it might be the strut pads which you need to replace. Get it checked.

Regarding body roll performance shocks would be better for you as the car already sits lower than the standard punto. I have also got Eibach pro springs installed in my Punto as i wanted to cut down on body roll and the center of gravity.

Just to show this is how your abarth would look with eibachs:

[ARAY]

Loved reading your review. Very detailed and very touching at the same time. Your blog brings back some fond memories. Congratulations on the acquisition of a true hot hatch, literally. Due to space concern (read lack of parking space) I had to move off from FIAT stable and I regret it even now. I am in the process of convincing my better half why an Abarth is necessary in the family.

Sharing a picture of my 90HP Punto that was Stage 1 mod with inlet and exhaust haul, few tweaks in the fueling setup. Cant really call it a Stage 2 but could have been there had it stayed with me a bit longer.

[ghodlur]

Heartiest Congratulations S2.

Love it or Hate it, those stripes actually defined the Abarth, warned the world "Dont mess with me" in Bold. Frankly after removing the stickers, your Abarth looks bland, its my personal opinion. Those Scorpion alloys are a real eye catcher, but damn expensive.

Wonder why the old owner still ran the beast for 32K kms even though he was getting a raw deal from Fiat services, you could got it earlier I mean to say. Have you planned any mods? I think you will getting the ICE done.

Happy flying and drive safely.

[S2!!!]

Originally Posted by i74js

The T-jet motor (in Abarth) is very reliable, though you may need to be little disciplined with the turbo because of higher operational temperature at which turbo operates in petrol motors compared to diesel which operate at a relatively lower temperature. 30- 45 seconds of idle before moving on in the morning and before switching off the engine when you call it a day should keep it healthy; ensure engine oil quality and be disciplined in oil change should keep the turbo running without any fuss. I hope it has not been abused by the previous owner.

Didn't do it in the initial 1 month but now I have religiously begun idling the car 30 sec after a cold start and before switching it off after a drive for more than 5 km.

Originally Posted by i74js

The T-jet in my extended family (Linea - Dynamic) is close to 1.5 Lac on ODO and there is not even a hint of drop in performance; it is still the stock and satisfies the driver every time during highway run !

Wow! That's quite reassuring to know. Although now this car has started to feel a bit slow at times

Originally Posted by Wildy

Saumil, please accept heartiest congrats from my side too.

Thanks for the wishes Raaj.

Originally Posted by Wildy

Though we might be stupid sometimes, heartfelt decisions will be very happiest in our life.

Absolutely!

Originally Posted by abhii176

If the Abarth had come to India when i picked up my Punto, i sure as hell would have been an Abarth owner. My Punto is now 8 with 120k on the odo, and she still drives like a beauty!

Stupid Fiat. Had they even launched the Punto T-Jet with the 114hp turbo petrol (like the Linea's), leave aside the Abarth, I'm pretty sure a lot of us here would have lapped it up a lot earlier.

Originally Posted by sandx

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Originally Posted by jbpanda

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Thank you for your wishes sandyx and jbpanda.

Originally Posted by Waspune

Congrats S2 on your awesome acquisition. Abarth is one special car and I am sure it will leave you grinning for years. Regarding the cheap plastics that are present in some part of the interiors, they are pretty well put together which might be the consolation . Keep an eye on the C-pillar (left) interior plastic which has a tendency to come out.

Hey thanks for the heads-up. No issue with that yet. Actually, I haven't ever been anywhere close to the rear half of the interiors in the 7 months of ownership

Originally Posted by Waspune

Regarding the noise that you are noticing from front suspension, it might be the strut pads which you need to replace. Get it checked.

Thanks again, this was really helpful in identifying the possible issue. Will have it checked at an FNG, the service centre is 90 mins away from my place on any given day!

Originally Posted by Waspune

Regarding body roll performance shocks would be better for you as the car already sits lower than the standard punto. I have also got Eibach pro springs installed in my Punto as i wanted to cut down on body roll and the center of gravity.

I've tried Bilstein B12s and they're way too stiff for daily city driving. Handling is incredible though. Maybe the lowering springs might do the trick of reducing the roll. How much did the Eibach pro springs cost you?

Originally Posted by Waspune

Just to show this is how your abarth would look with eibachs:

You shouldn't have shared this picture! (*checks bank account*...sigh!)

Originally Posted by ARAY

I am in the process of convincing my better half why an Abarth is necessary in the family.

Abarth and necessary...lol. Good luck with that. I still can't convince myself that I needed a car, leave aside this car. It's purely a heart thing. So if your convincing involves any logic, you might as well save the effort and not try. haha

Originally Posted by ARAY

Sharing a picture of my 90HP Punto that was Stage 1 mod with inlet and exhaust haul, few tweaks in the fueling setup. Cant really call it a Stage 2 but could have been there had it stayed with me a bit longer.

What an awesome click! Your post actually made me a bit nostalgic and remember my stage 1 Zen. Till the Abarth came in, I kept regretting of having sold that car, thinking of all the potential mods that I could do to that. Now? Not at all, not any more.

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Love it or Hate it, those stripes actually defined the Abarth, warned the world "Dont mess with me" in Bold. Frankly after removing the stickers, your Abarth looks bland, its my personal opinion. Those Scorpion alloys are a real eye catcher, but damn expensive.

Point taken. But I'm actually the type that prefers subtlety over flash, and like they say, "a car is an extension to a man's(/woman's) personality". I had been toying with the idea of replacing the Scorpion wheels with 17" Momo Drone wheels and wider 225 mm tyres, but that was initially. Now, I absolutely love the Scorpion wheels.

You could keep an eye on OLX for some one-off ads. Some owners have swapped their stock alloys with different / larger wheels.

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Have you planned any mods? I think you will getting the ICE done.

Something in the near future (like a few weeks types) is the remap planned. Will be definite only next week after I test the remap personally, before doing it to my Abarth. Springs or dampers, wider tyres, ICE, LED headlights etc will all follow in 2018.

[Waspune]

Originally Posted by S2!!!

Hey thanks for the heads-up. No issue with that yet. Actually, I haven't ever been anywhere close to the rear half of the interiors in the 7 months of ownership

Well that is what defines an abarth driver

Originally Posted by S2!!!

Thanks again, this was really helpful in identifying the possible issue. Will have it checked at an FNG, the service centre is 90 mins away from my place on any given day!

No problem. I have attached a pic in which you would find the elastic pad (also known as strut pad). You need to get it checked.

Originally Posted by S2!!!

I've tried Bilstein B12s and they're way too stiff for daily city driving. Handling is incredible though. Maybe the lowering springs might do the trick of reducing the roll. How much did the Eibach pro springs cost you?

I guess the B6 would be a better bet. It would make the ride stiff but not unbearable. Also you can plan for an upsize (205s) which should give you a better ride because of better sidewall.
I am using the Eibach pros for the past 3-3.5k kms that I bought from a friend who had put up in his Abarth (the one I attached in my previous post) as he was leaving for US for further studies. So I got it cheap but the new one costs 24k without shipping.
Lowering springs would definitely reduce the roll but in doing so they would make the ride firmer as well. The cushy feeling wont be there and you would always be aware of the road.

Originally Posted by S2!!!

You shouldn't have shared this picture! (*checks bank account*...sigh!)

This is how an abarth should look . The only downside I see with this is that you will have to be very careful over the speed breakers as the Abarth already sits lower and with 25-30 mm drop it would sit much lower.

[Dr.Naren]

What is the present status of Abarth Punto production? I have seen few dealers even trying to sell TD cars.

[Rocky_Balboa]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

What is the present status of Abarth Punto production? I have seen few dealers even trying to sell TD cars.

I dont think even The Almighty would know.

My countless calls and tweets evoked no response from Fiat, baring a courtesy reply!

I think the Great Abarth is truly given the step-motherly (and every other 'ly) treatment!

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by Rocky_Balboa

I dont think even The Almighty would know.

My countless calls and tweets evoked no response from Fiat, baring a courtesy reply!

I think the Great Abarth is truly given the step-motherly (and every other 'ly) treatment!

I had called Fiat customer care today and the guy said Abarth Punto is still in production and to approach nearest dealer. But the dealer had told me that production is stopped when I visited them few weeks back .

I want my next car to be a turbo petrol, that's missing in my garage . Baleno RS is quick but not exciting to drive like Abarth Punto. I liked GT TSI too, but I personally know many owners who had DSG failures. I hope Fiat produces another batch soon.

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

What is the present status of Abarth Punto production? I have seen few dealers even trying to sell TD cars.

I think the company itself is not too keen to sell/make one. I had refrained from posting here, but this morning a quick WhatsApp query to Fiats's CRM about the Abarth production was left unanswered... That should say things.

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

I want my next car to be a turbo petrol, that's missing in my garage . Baleno RS is quick but not exciting to drive like Abarth Punto.

I think the your best bet would be the vRS.

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

I am planning to buy a good hatch after few months. Performance is my main priority. My budget is under 12 Lakhs. I want the best performance with all modifications under my budget. Cars which are in my list are New Figo Diesel, Polo 1.5 GT TDI, Abarth Punto.

Don't want to come out rude here, but if you'd have considered the Abarth back then, you could have had one. Now your choices will have to be from the pre-owned market. BHPian chase_nt is selling his low run Abarth on the classifieds. Unfortunately, I think the success of the Jeep has made FCA ignore Fiat - after all the numbers speak for themselves. It's true that Fiat cars are amazing, but it's only so much that you can tolerate. I've been lucky to get good service and decently timed parts from the factory, but not all have been happy about the dealings of the company. There's only so much that a product can make the customer forget about the other shortcomings. Franky, the only thing keeping me neutral on my opinion of Fiat is my car. I have overlooked a lot of things that would have been taken for granted by the customer in any other dealership/service center. The only reason is the car. One drive and you forget everything else. Very few cars can claim, let alone deliver on that.

All the best for your car search. I hope you do end up with one soon...

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

I think the company itself is not too keen to sell/make one. I had refrained from posting here, but this morning a quick WhatsApp query to Fiats's CRM about the Abarth production was left unanswered... That should say things.

Thanks for the info. I will not blame Fiat here, any manufacturer would focus more on what is profitable (COMPASS)

I think the your best bet would be the vRS.

I do not have the budget for it. If I had money, would buy RS eyes closed

Don't want to come out rude here, but if you'd have considered the Abarth back then, you could have had one.

True. I was seriously considering a powerful hatch last year. But the priorities changed after I started modifying my S-Cross 1.6. My S-Cross 1.6 after mods is faster than stock Abarth Punto, but Abarth is more exciting to drive any day.

I was a diesel fan all these years. But after driving and enjoying turbo petrols and high revving NA cars, I am spoilt.

All the best for your car search. I hope you do end up with one soon...

[chase_nt]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

BHPian chase_nt is selling his low run Abarth on the classifieds.

I would like to clarify that my Abarth is no longer for sale. I was considering selling my Abarth (it was just a spur of the moment decision) and I had put up an ad in the classifieds section however after about a day I deactivated the posting. I changed my mind regarding selling my car and I'm gonna keep it for a while or at least until better alternatives (with comparable or more power and not too unreasonably priced) come up in the hatchback market. I see no reason in selling my low mileage car and buying something else just to satiate my urge to change cars every couple of years

[Williams_f1]

Hello,

I had a chat with the Sales advisor from Sky Moto Fiat, Pune.

He told me that he has Three 2016 Urban Cross Abarths in stock, Colors being White, Silver and Red, discounts can be negotiated.

Also he informed me that, upon full payment, an Abarth will be delivered in 15 days.

Hope this helps any prospective buyers.

WF1.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by Williams_f1

Also he informed me that, upon full payment, an Abarth will be delivered in 15 days.

The information on an Abarth being available is good. However; I won't give a dealer full payment for any car before I see it in person. More so when its FCA. Could be another Isuzu waiting to happen.

[S2!!!]

Originally Posted by Waspune

No problem. I have attached a pic in which you would find the elastic pad (also known as strut pad). You need to get it checked.

It was indeed a strut mounting that was rusted, which was causing the sound. Landmark workshop, Andheri, got both the front ones replaced under warranty. Speaking of which, am very happy with the Fiat service. Strangely, after reading several experiences, I kinda had no hopes from Fiat, leave aside Landmark. However, my experiences in dealing with them have been very pleasant. Firstly, getting an appointment at my preferred date and time hasn't been a problem (even if the notice is as short as 15 hours). Then, the staff, especially the SA who I've dealt with since day 1 named Asif Khan, has been very prompt and efficient in getting all the work done.

I recently got my car serviced (45,000km service, at 43,000km) and must say that they went by the book and there was no non-sense like AC cleaning, carbon cleaning and other add-ons that others seem to add and fool customers. I got the car detailed by them inside-out too. Total damage was Rs 11,500, which includes Rs 6000 for the detailing bit only. Honestly, the detailing job wasn't that great and I could have got it done from outside for cheaper. So for nearly Rs 5500, I got my oil changed, oil filter replaced, air filter replaced, wheel alignment and balancing and had the car dropped to my home, which I think is pretty fair in terms of pricing.

Even the speaker problem that I was talking about is solved. Turns out that the driver door speaker had a faulty connection. Got it rectified by a local accessory guy. Now the audio sounds pretty awesome.

In other news, a Pune cop recently stopped me for having dark tints. Well, I told him that it comes as is from the factory since this is a completely imported car. He looked hard, admired the car a bit and then let me go That's probably an advantage of having such a rare car.

As far as the car is concerned, it still turns my head every single time I park it. It still puts a huge smile on my face every time I floor it. And it still turns heads on the road, and I love it! Unfortunately, I haven't driven it as much as I'd have liked and completed only 11,000km in my 9 months of ownership, due to the nature of my work. Fuel efficiency has been a constant 9.2kpl in the city and 7.7kpl on the highway. No it isn't a typo...it's just a mental little car! 0-100kph is a whisker over 9 seconds. Still don't get how I get 7.7kpl on the highway?

I'm really waiting to start upgrading the performance. Can't seem to find the time. Leaving you guys with one more image from the photoshoot...

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by S2!!!

I'm really waiting to start upgrading the performance. Can't seem to find the time.

Nice. You would love the car more after mods

Recently I got a chance to drive remapped Abarth Punto. I had always loved the performance in stock map. But this remapped Abarth was just mental. Lot of torque steer. I switched it back to stock map and drove for some time. The car felt much slower .