Anyone gone from an Abarth to a GR Yaris?

[Roman Moroni]

I've got first refusal on a MY21 GR Yaris (sans Circuit pack) with 2k miles for a very good price. My daily is a MY20 595 Comptizione which I only bought in September to replace my old 595.

Good move or not?

[J1990]

Test drove the Yaris GR but only been a passenger in an Abarth 695.
I think the GR is a fantastic piece of kit and I'd love to take one around on a few track days, however I found it pretty dull to drive on the road at sensible speeds. Being a passenger in the 695 and also driving a few other hot hatches, I think for both the cost difference and the fun factor I'd be much more inclined for the Abarth.

The boring comment here is that with the volatility in the current used car market, I'd be fairly hesitent and questioning why the dealer is happy to offer a 'gear price'.

[Roman Moroni]

J1990 said:

Test drove the Yaris GR but only been a passenger in an Abarth 695.
I think the GR is a fantastic piece of kit and I'd love to take one around on a few track days, however I found it pretty dull to drive on the road at sensible speeds. Being a passenger in the 695 and also driving a few other hot hatches, I think for both the cost difference and the fun factor I'd be much more inclined for the Abarth.

The boring comment here is that with the volatility in the current used car market, I'd be fairly hesitent and questioning why the dealer is happy to offer a 'gear price'.

Thanks for your imput regarding the handling etc.

The car is owned by my mechanic. He has just replaced it with a MY72 GR. On top of that he has several other cars in his own 'fleet' plus a couple of the garages' courtesy cars hence the low milage for the one up for sale

[ecsrobin]

I went from this:



To this:



Should be noted I hate red cars and didn’t want another but didn’t come in blue.

The Yaris is everyday the better car, the grip is unreal but can be made to slide if you so wish but you buy it for the grip.

So I guess it’s easier to list what I miss about the Abarth:

The monza exhaust - sounds like a tractor but made people giggle like school kids.
The Sabelt bucket seats - they looked amazing and were very supportive.

And that’s it.

[Roman Moroni]

ecsrobin said:

I went from this:



To this:



Should be noted I hate red cars and didn’t want another but didn’t come in blue.

The Yaris is everyday the better car, the grip is unreal but can be made to slide if you so wish but you buy it for the grip.

So I guess it’s easier to list what I miss about the Abarth:

The monza exhaust - sounds like a tractor but made people giggle like school kids.
The Sabelt bucket seats - they looked amazing and were very supportive.

And that’s it.

Thanks for you insight. I had to double take your 595 as its VERY similar to mine. My one has the standard exhaust, my last one had the Monza which sounded glorious. Agreed re: the seats

Funny enough, the one that's for sale is white. IMHO it's my least favourite colour in the range and I would rather it was the red. .

Out of interest, how tall are you? I'm 6ft 5 and built for comfort rather than speed I've seen several people who says that the interior rear view mirror obscures thier vision and have do some sort of alteration.

TIA

[ecsrobin]

I’m 6’3” and long in the body. I fit fine including with an helmet. The mirror really isn’t an issue and feel like the horn that people want to swap as they just can’t not change something.

6’5” I’d probably be investing in one of the seat base kits though.

[Roman Moroni]

ecsrobin said:

I’m 6’3” and long in the body. I fit fine including with an helmet. The mirror really isn’t an issue and feel like the horn that people want to swap as they just can’t not change something.

6’5” I’d probably be investing in one of the seat base kits though.

Lovely, thanks once again for your comments

[Pistaaah]

I found the seat higher in my wife’s 595 Comp than the Yaris. The Abarth sounded way better than the GR, but I much prefer the Yaris. I’m 6’3”, longer in the body and can’t understand the “seat’s too high” comments- I find it comfortable and better to drive.

Yaris is better to drive and I prefer the look of it

The sound of the Abarth though…

[Roman Moroni]

Pistaaah said:

I found the seat higher in my wife’s 595 Comp than the Yaris. The Abarth sounded way better than the GR, but I much prefer the Yaris. I’m 6’3”, longer in the body and can’t understand the “seat’s too high” comments- I find it comfortable and better to drive.

Yaris is better to drive and I prefer the look of it

The sound of the Abarth though…

Likewise, thanks for your opinion & thoughts. Agreed re: the sound of the Abarth

I'm taking one of my other cars into him on Monday to have some work done. I may speak to him before that and ask him to take the GR in so I can have a closer look & drive

Thanks again

[CrippsCorner]

I would like an Abarth 500 next as it goes... but for me it would be the Yaris. Just something about them; very special car! Plus I think they will hold their value well.

[ecsrobin]

CrippsCorner said:

I would like an Abarth 500 next as it goes... but for me it would be the Yaris. Just something about them; very special car! Plus I think they will hold their value well.

So my high mileage 2016 comp sold to WBAC for £8.5k and which I thought was a fair price and saved me dealing with people (PCP wanted £7k) yesterday I saw the same spec car on same mileage and WBAC price was £12k!! 6-7 year old car RRP was about £24k I don’t think the Abarth’s have done too badly and seemed to have picked up.