   2013 Fiat 500 Turbo. Click image to enlarge |
As I head out of the city to find some properly twisty tarmac and start hucking the little Fiat around the bends, the chassis differences between the Turbo and Abarth become easy to identify. The Turbo is equipped with the same sport suspension upgrade as the 500 Sport model as well as the Abarth’s lower control arms, but it doesn’t get the its rear sway bar. This isn’t a horrible thing for your day-to-day driving, but needless to say it can get a little roly-poly when you start driving with enthusiasm. The shocks and springs also seem a bit softer than the strung-out Abarth.
On a handful of my usual test circuits with the Turbo I was pleasantly surprised at how compliant the suspension could be. In the same stretches where I would feel like I was about to drop a tooth at the wheel of the Abarth, the Turbo rattled, bounced lightly through the ruts without feeling too disconnected. Unfortunately, softening the ride didn’t help when it comes to the handful of creaks and rattles in the car’s interior. I couldn’t, for the life of me, track down the source of one particular creak that was the bane of my existence during my test week, and I certainly hope Fiat’s technicians have sorted some sort of fix for it by now.
After my week of testing I’m happy to say that I’ve bonded with the Fiat 500 Turbo. It may have its quirks, but when you get right down to it Fiat has done an excellent job of finding the much needed balance between the two previous 500 models.
Pricing: 2013 Fiat 500 Turbo
Base price: $20,995
Options: $3,060 (Leather-trimmed bucket seats – $800, AC with auto temp control – $195, heated front seats – $400, security alarm – $175, Beats premium audio group – $995, TomTom Navigation with Blue&Me – $495)
Freight: $1,595
A/C tax: $100
Price as tested: $25,750
Competitors
Ford Fiesta ST
Mini Cooper
Volkswagen Beetle
Crash test results
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)
