I test drove a 2013 Abarth 500. I was seriously considering buying it, but maintenance on the car was difficult and they had a long waiting list

 

Hi `Mike, I didn't know that...I think they are a nice human Go Kart, but they are expensive & I'd be concerned about parts + getting run over... I'd rather have your awesome 3.6 L, manual trans Camaro + it's faster then the Fiat & sure is a lot safer 4-Sure...

I hope to drive one of our employee's that got one > He loves it, but he's crazy out there on the roads...He's going to take it to the track & get it timed...

 

The only problem I discovered was the tire pressure monitoring system. It would say that a tire was low when it wasn't. That was after about 1500 miles.
Safety was never a problem. Both versions will HDTV out of their own way. I thought it wwould be a nice car for the Mrs. But then we have the teen who complains about the space in the back seat of her mother's 4 Dr Lexus.
But I drive the ABERITH in NYC and all over the NY metro area. Easy to park. Never felt threatened by NYC cabs. It was nice. Much better than the Smart Car!

 

I joined an Abarth forum and looked a walkthrough just for oil changes. They have a lot of that extra plastic shrouds all around the bottom of the engine that you have to remove just do get to an oil filter. To do other things you have to remove the bumper It's a tight squeeze in that compartment, and I was not looking forward to doing anything under the hood.