The Fiat 500 Abarth Understood One Thing The Ford Fiesta ST Never Did

By most accounts, if you’re in the market for a subcompact hot hatch, the Ford Fiesta ST is the one to buy, at least here in the U.S. Sure, you could always go for the Fiat 500 Abarth, but the Ford is the better car. Actually, if you want to get technical about it, the Fiesta ST is both the better car and the better hot hatch. Despite being objectively worse in almost every way, though, demand for the little Abarth remains strong, and that’s because it offered one thing the Fiesta ST never could — the ability to make even the most boring of trips fun.

Again, I cannot emphasize enough that the Fiesta is the better hot hatch. When Car And Driver compared the two against the Mini Cooper back in 2014, it concluded that “[u]nlike the 500 Abarth and the Coop­er S, the Fiesta behaves and moves like a far more expensive sports sedan.” It also found the Fiesta ST lacked the Abarth’s turbo lag, while offering more torque, more comfortable seats with a more comfortable driving position, a nicer interior, a better manual transmission and clutch, less body roll, a superior ride and better braking. Others offered similar critiques at the time, and they were all correct. 

On an autocross course or a winding back road, it’s hard to imagine a single person who knows how to drive stick being able to tell you with a straight face that they prefer the Abarth. On city streets, though, where subcompact hatchbacks are typically driven, a lot of what made the Abarth worse starts to work to its advantage. In fact, if you do most of your driving in an urban area, the Fiat 500 Abarth is arguably the superior hot hatch.

Imagine you live in Chicago and own both a Fiesta ST and a Fiat 500 Abarth. It’s snowing outside, and as you get started on dinner, you realize you’re missing something important and need to run to the grocery store. It’s only two miles, but you don’t want to wait for the bus, so you grab your keys. Which car are you taking? The Fiat, every single time. Even if you own a Fiesta ST in real life and love it, in this hypothetical, the Ford stays home. 

Why? Because it’s just more fun. You won’t encounter any fun corners where the Fiesta ST would shine, but if you take the 500 Abarth, you get to experience that incredible, raucous exhaust note as you row through the gears. It may just be a trip to the grocery store, but the Fiat will make it feel more special. And if you do encounter any turns, the body roll that’s less than ideal on an autocross course will inject a little extra dose of drama into your otherwise boring drive. It’s also not like you need the ST’s rear doors to pick up green onions and sesame seeds.

Even better, Fiat also offered the 500 Abarth as a convertible, which only adds to the fun, at least when the weather’s nice. You won’t be driving that fast around town anyway, but drop the top and roll the windows down, and even a quick trip to the pharmacy turns into an adventure. Heck, in the city, a Fiat 500c Abarth would probably be more fun than a Miata, and yes, I know that’s a bold statement, especially considering the blog I write for. Miatas and Fiesta STs may put up better numbers, but the Abarth was designed specifically to make dull drives more enjoyable.

As someone who’s on his third Fiat 500e, I’m probably a little biased here, but I didn’t exactly get into 500es because they were fun. I got into them because they’re cheap. I’m not going to pretend I don’t see the appeal of buying an Abarth to go with my 500e, though. In fact, the recent thought of turning my now-fixed blue 500e into a 500c Abarth is what prompted this post. 

At the same time, though, a few years ago, a friend came to me with a problem. He lived in a city and didn’t feel like he got to drive his NB Miata the way it was meant to be driven and thought maybe he should sell it to someone who could do that more frequently. You can’t go from a Miata to something boring, though, and he wanted my advice on what he should replace it with if he did decide to sell. The Fiesta ST was the obvious choice, but I also told him not to overlook the Abarth. 

What did he end up buying? The Abarth. Why? Because when he test drove it, he realized I was right. As much as the Fiesta ST was the objectively better car, he simply enjoyed the subjective experience of driving the Abarth so much more, it was worth it to him to buy the worse car. 

Does that mean everyone should buy a Fiat 500 Abarth over a Ford Fiesta ST? Not at all. If you live somewhere that lacks good driving roads but still want to have some fun on the cheap, though, at least take one for a test drive. You may be surprised how much better the worse car ends up being. Sorry in advance to your neighbors, though.