[livetodrive]

Congratulations Sir on your purchase and welcome to the small but strong world of Abarth Owners Club. Your informative review helped me to know few more details of the car which I am enjoying close to 3 years. Rated your review 5 stars.

Happy revving.

[PrasV]

Congratulations on your abarth! It was my dream car.. bought it after eyeing it for three years. June 2018 model, I just conjure reasons for family outings just to drive the car!!
The night light dashboard deserves a special mention, everyone just loved it.

[cogWheel]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

I remember the discussion we had over PM when you are considering the Abarth! Must say reading your report makes me happy that you are one of the few souls to get this car!

Here is a milestone pic from yesterday on my car. I hoped to cross 50k kms, but ended up just 5 km short!

Than you blackwasp. Your review was one of the triggers for my interest in the Abarth. Last year your inputs helped me make up my mind and kept me interested in the car.
Congratulations on your milestone, Yours is probably one of the most widely travelled Abarth in the country. And of course you can make even an Abarth return near-Maruti level mileage

Originally Posted by Khan_SK

... It also has a touchscreen like the one in your Abarth. I wanted to know if it also has a plug and play output for a reverse camera.

Yes, I have installed the Linea's reverse camera (at FASS) and I was told the ICE has a AV input suitable for it.

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

It is a great car, have fun! It's very very hard to get this car out of control or make mistakes while driving. It is like my rc390. It makes you hone your skills. It is cheap but at the same time can hold its own against much much more expensive machines (atleast until 120 kmph).

Couldn't agree with you more! It is a like a intermediate jet trainer for pilots!

Originally Posted by LOL_FWD

I have visited this particular showroom many times for servicing the older gen Punto. They are least bothered, very careless with the cars and plain scam artists. ... Take care while leaving your prized possession in their hands in case you plan on getting some work done there.

They have in fact shut shop entirely since a year. Currently there is no FASS in Mangaluru. I had to drive to Mysuru for the first service.

Originally Posted by pavi

Is the door damped from factory or am I being mislead?

Yes, that is indeed some basic door damping. Stock.

Originally Posted by TheLizardKing

Having read your review, I must confess that I feel a pang of regret. Well, c'est la vie.

My turn to regret may well come when the car needs unscheduled servicing

Originally Posted by TheLizardKing

1. ........
2. You fool yourself when you say you weren't "born a petrol-head". You wouldn't have thought about the GT TSI or the Abarth if you weren't one. And while the car may seem "more than you can handle", I won't be surprised to hear in 6 months that you went ahead and got some performance mods. May I suggest a non-resonated exhaust? Why do I think so? Here's my story: After 3-4 months of fighting with myself, I went ahead and got a Stage 1 remap. More than happy with it, and already thinking about Stage 2...
3. I really love your writing style!

Yes, there is always that danger. The neo-converts are often more fanatical! Lack of money may be my saving grace!

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

Once you are out of warranty, try the Motul 8100 X Cess engine oil, it just takes up the smoothness of the engine to next level.

Thanks, will keep that in mind.

[yogeshsom29]

Wow, such a point & shoot review of a point & shoot bullet like car.

Owned a Palio & driven a close friend's 1.4 TJet Linea a lot (against his wishes most of time, even he disliked to part away with driving seat in the Tjet ) I feel the rush everytime a review/ownership report of Abarth pops up.

Not owning a Abarth will always be a regret but except the car, nothing else inspired confidence on purchasing one; the whole FCA ecosystem.

Kudos to you on going against the odds to satiate your desire of addictive BHP's; I'm sure this will be one prized possession & shall give you tons of memories.

[Simat]

What a beautifully written ownership review of an already beautiful car, both looks and performance wise! Loved reading it from the very beginning to the end . I have always loved Punto, and the Abarth have increased my love for her even more!

Originally Posted by cogWheel

FIRST SERVICE (5000 KM)

The first service...
.
.
.

To sum up, the service team at Mysuru FASS were inefficient and not very confidence inspiring.

The service experience shared by you is not the best one, but it is the service centre at fault here, nothing wrong with your car. Wish you a lot of happy miles and even happier times with your awesome machine!

[The Riddler]

Congratulations on your purchase of Abarth! Very detailed & crisp ownership report.

I have a 2011 90HP Punto which is up for the 75000kms service. Since we mangaloreans don't have a FASS anymore, I'll have to take her to Mysore for the service. Any reason to drive is good & I'm looking forward for the drive to Mysore soon.

[Wildy]

Hearty congratulations and very well written Harsha Sir. You have covered almost every point like a perfect end user.

Wish you to have a trouble free ownership experience and looking forward for the more updates.

Last but not least, glad that I had an opportunity to see this car in flesh and funnily it was the only White Punto Abarth I've seen sofar.

The Meeting of Two rare cars (UC Abarth & Punto Abarth)

[pavi]

Originally Posted by cogWheel

Yes, that is indeed some basic door damping. Stock.

That's nice to have some damping done from factory. I have done door damping with my limited knowledge on my 4th generation Honda City and it really improves the solid feel of the doors. Are you planning to make your car less flashy, I mean by removing decals?

Note : I am one of those who like less flashy designs, yes I hate chrome be it overdone or underdone.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by pavi

Is the door damped from factory or am I being mislead?

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

Yes, that is an acoustic damping sheet provided from the factory by Fiat on the inner panel for all doors.

The image is not very clear hence I am not sure what it is. But most manufacturers these days provide structural patches in car panels.

These are sheets which help in controlling the excess flex due to thin sheet metal usage without increasing the weight. I first noticed them on a Maruti Ritz, and dug up further to get this info:

https://youtu.be/XejGfddwRUM

Link to the blog: http://henkeladhesivesna.com/blog/ve...tural-patches/

Such patches on the Ritz:



It probably also would help for acoustics as it would dampen the outer panel vibrations.

Regards,
Shashi

[cogWheel]

Originally Posted by Wildy

Last but not least, glad that I had an opportunity to see this car in flesh and funnily it was the only White Punto Abarth I've seen sofar.

The Meeting of Two rare cars (UC Abarth & Punto Abarth)

Thanks Wildy! It was a pleasure meeting you! Yours is the only white Urban Cross that I have seen too!

Originally Posted by pavi

... Are you planning to make your car less flashy, I mean by removing decals?
Note : I am one of those who like less flashy designs, yes I hate chrome be it overdone or underdone.

Quoting myself...

Originally Posted by cogWheel

To be honest, the stickering did not appeal much to my taste and I had planned to get rid of the racing stripes and blacken the fog lamp surrounds. But my son and, surprisingly, my wife have convinced me to retain them. Over the months, I have grown used to it and have more or less decided to maintain the stock look.

The decals do look better in flesh. The white Abarth without the red stripes looks a bit bland. But yes, Fiat could have offered some subtler options too. Its going to remain for now.

[cogWheel]

10,000 KM update



Completed 10,000KM on 26th December 2018, exactly in 7 months to the date!
Daily average: 46.7KM
No significant problems / niggles to report in last 5000KM after the first inspection service.

Urs Kar Service Center, Mysore informed me of a Service Camp there were holding at Mangalore in the last week of December. They had brought the replacement for the left bumper side sticker which was damaged during the First Service with them. However, they botched it up while applying it. Air bubbles and misalignment. So they are are ordering yet another one under warranty. Will have to wait and see how long it takes this time.

Replacement sticker needs to be replaced as it was not applied correctly!


I had mud flaps installed for the rear wheel well. The white car was picking up tar spots too frequently. The Punto flaps cannot be fitted for the front wheel wells because of the side skirts in the Abarth. I had to buy the entire set though. It costs Rs.1000.

Punto mud flaps. Front flaps cannot be fitted because of the side skirt in the Abarth.


Had an opportunity to drive to Bangalore and back. Left early in the morining from Mangalore, hoping to beat the traffic, but about 30 kms out of town, a nasty pothole caught me off-guard. The right front wheel landed in it with a thud and lost pressure alomost immediately. There was no visible damage to the tyre. After a quick roadside change to the spare wheel, I drove ahead trying to find a tyre repairer. This wasn't easy on a Sunday morning. FInally found one near Uppinangady. It turned out that there was no puncture but a break in the beading which fits into the rim. That meant the tyre had to be replaced. The spare is a 15 inch space saver with a speed limit of 80KM/hour. So I decided to drive back to Mangalore. Fortunately, Wheel Care, my usual go-to place for tyres was open and had in stock the Apollo Alnac 4G 195/55/16 that I was looking for. Had the tyre replaced and started off again at half-past noon.

Unplanned tyre replacement


Space saver spare


The car is fantastic on the ghats. Traffic was heavy on the drive to Bangalore on the 23rd of December, so was a bit of a dampner, the return on 26th was better. Cruising on the highways is effortless. The speed is masked so well that one is sometimes caught unawares by what the speedometer shows.

Bought a mobile holder as there is very little storage space in the car. Decided to mount it in the small space for sunglasses over the AC vents. This space used to have a lid in the pre-2018 Abarths.

The mobile holder has been sturdy so far.


I was planning to change engine oil and filters at 7500 KM, though the recommended interval is 15,000 KM. That did not happen as I forgot to order for the oil from the FASS at Mysore. Now I am in dilemma as to whether to change at 10,000 KM or wait for another 5000 KM. I think I will wait it out and henceforth plan for 7.5K interval changes.

A parting shot

[Air Cav]

It was great to read your heartfelt thread, both as a BHPian and as a fellow Scorpion owner. It is more than just a 'special' car and that in some ways only an Abarth owner can feel and understand that thread that binds. Or should it be 'that sting that binds'. It took me 3 attempts to own the car too.

Im sharing some pics of my Scorpione Italia.

[kiku007]

Congrats cogWheel! Loved reading your thread. Thanks for investing wisely. You own a future classic man.

I'll never forget the test drives I had in the Abarth Punto and Polo TSI back in 2015. Two little cars that were waging a loosing battle for the petrolhead's wallet

Originally Posted by cogWheel

I have also experienced how a machine can shape one’s own behavior. In the first couple of months, I have seen myself, almost sub-consciously, being drawn into a race or two on the road. The power on tap is tempting. It is easy to overtake and pull away from another car, for no particular reason, just because you can. Now, that was uncharacteristic of me. I have been a sedate, defensive driver all the while. So it was a sort of an unmasking of a more impatient side of me. But over the subsequent few months, I have become more conscious of this and my driving has become smoother and less impulsive. I drive spiritedly when conditions allow and focus on enjoying the driving rather than trying go faster than another car. I particularly let small cars and bikers who are trying a little too hard to catch up or overtake as they seem to be willing risk a lot on these road races.

Very well said. Enjoy!

[cogWheel]

A quick update.

At around the 12,000KM mark noticed that the engine oil level had dropped to the Min level. Topped with about 750 ml of the OEM Selenia K 5W40 oil that I had picked up at the 5K inspection service. Had topped up with 1L at that time. So the oil consumption has been on the higher side, but is within the limits of whats mentioned in the manual.

Nothing to complain in the 10 months of ownership. Engine has opened up well. No rattles, yet.



Approaching the 15K mark. I will probably need to schedule the First Service towards end of April. Got to decide whether to drive it to Mysuru or Bengaluru for it.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by cogWheel

Approaching the 15K mark.

Don't push your luck with a 15k oil change interval. Not in our hot, humid conditions. Change it at the 10k or 1 year mark, even if you have not run 10K in this time.

You need to remember that the same engine oil lubricates the turbo charger. On a car like this, you need to look after that turbo.

If FCA service it too far out, get it done at a FNG.