VW GTI vs. Mini Cooper S vs. Fiat 500 Abarth

VW GTI is awesome and the dual clutch transmission is a ton of fun and works great!
My brother has one, and he can't stop raving about it, he loves it. His 2000 Corvette almost never gets used any more since he got the GTI.

 

GTD is on its way, pumping out 280lb-ft of torque.

2014 Volkswagen GTD Diesel Photos and Info ? Car News ? Car and Driver

It could be another way to go.

 

Just curious, how come no one has mentioned a Subaru WRX? Fun...and built like a Fisher-Price car (plasticky, but able to stand up to less-than-meticulous users). It has the added benefit of being a winter-friendly vehicle.

 

Apparently, there will be two versions of the GTI. The Performance version gets 227hp, 10 more than the standard GTI. More importantly, it gets a mechanical LSD.

2013 VW Golf GTI /evo

(This is a UK magazine. I hope the Performance is offered in the US.)

 

The GTI is so much more car than the FIAT. I have a regular 500 and while I love it's quirky European character, I do not like the way that it pitches and rolls around due to its short wheelbase and narrow track.

It goes and stops okay in the snow but with its narrow track it kind of pinballs back and forth between tire tracks in the snow on the interstate. That can get scary.

I drove the Abarth and didn't fall in love. It wasn't as fast as I hoped it would be and in the end it is still the same 500, just faster. I guess after a year and 12,000 miles in the 500 it is starting to wear on me and the additional tweeks in the Abarth don't make enough difference.

My next DD will be a GTI or a WRX (Depending on what they do to it with the new body style coming down the pipe) I wish the GTI had more power than it does. It feels very solid though and has some nice German touches. I like the WRX but not sure what direction they are going to go. The current Subaru dog commercials rub me the wrong way but probably appeal to Subaru's core audience. So it is a wait and see. I have no experience with the Mini though the interiors on the early cars didn't seem to hold up very well.

 

Current GTI owner speaking--chip it. You can, just via programming changes, bump the HP and torque up by 50 (rough numbers). If you are willing to add $500 to $1000 in parts, you can get closer to a 100 increase in both. The problem is that the car really can't put the power down--wet road, forget about it. Even in the dry, my car will spin (not chirp, spin) the front tires accelerating hard at near freeway speeds (and I just have the soft wear). Fun, but also frustrating at the same time.

 

Saying that a GTI is better than an Abarth because you've driven a regular 500 is like me saying that the Abarth is better because I've driven a Golf TDi.

 

If you are talking to me...

While my car is a regular 500, I have driven the Abarth enough to know I don't love it as much as I wanted to. Maybe I am spoiled by the other cars I drive and my expectations were too high?

I have driven Golf, TDI and GTI variants of the VW. The VW is a real car. The FIAT is a great deal of fun but more of a novelty.

My 500 brought me a lot of enjoyment for the first year but now my eyes are wandering. For me, the Abarth is a hoot but it can't overcome the limitations that are inherent in the 500 platform.

 

I've bought 18 new cars in the last 13 years, including a 600 hp 2008 Dodge Viper, Turbo 550 Porsche Replica (faster than the Viper), two Mitsubishi Evo's, etc. The Fiat Abarth is the most fun of any of them. Just starting it up and listening to the engine is a thrill. Going to the grocery store is like competing at Monaco. OK, it's not the fastest thing in the world but it does stick like glue around corners. The optional leather interior puts an Audi to shame. I got the forged wheels with Pirelli PZero Nero summer tires. And the huge sunroof. Shifts like butter and goes 133 mph. You can stay with almost anyone on a back country road. This is just a great, great car and 100 times better than my wife's Mini Cooper S convertible or a GTI which I test drove. Heck, a Mazdaspeed 3 or new Ford Focus ST is lightyears better than the GTI. Just because the idiot magazines fall all over themselves for anything German, don't be fooled. The GTI is just a decent handling economy car. The Fiat Abarth is a junior Ferrari 458. Don't believe me? Go drive one......

 

Hear, hear!

Welcome to Fchat!

–500 Sport owner, future Abarth owner

 

I haven't read through all the posts and perhaps someone has posted this, but what about a Mini Countryman S?