[Aldo]

On March 15 it will be 1 year I took delivery of my Abarth. I used the Sport mode for the first time two days ago.

OMFG!!! What a difference! Where have I been all this time...?

 

[sharkcohen]

Seriously? Why would you wait a year to use a feature of the car?

 

[JWA]

You're doing it wrong

Yeah, in this car the Sport mode makes a much bigger difference than in many other cars. Only way to drive it.

 

[Aldo]

Seriously? Why would you wait a year to use a feature of the car?

Ha! Good question... Can't say I have a valid answer.

But I have been accused of much worse! ?

 

[Chipshot]

You're doing it wrong

Yeah, in this car the Sport mode makes a much bigger difference than in many other cars. Only way to drive it.

Don't make the same mistake if you find yourself in an Alfa Romeo with a 'DNA' selector.

 

[CDPond]

On March 15 it will be 1 year I took delivery of my Abarth. I used the Sport mode for the first time two days ago.
OMFG!!! What a difference! Where have I been all this time...?

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I read that! So I'll go with laughing because your end result was happy and not sad.

On another positive note, you are now experiencing a new car without having to purchase one. Glad you figured it out and are finally enjoying the benefits.

A question to the other forum members reading this: I remember some time ago a guy who said he'd created an over-ride piece of plug and play hardware that would have the vehicle start up in Sport mode (which it should have been from the factory, with a button called eco mode that you could use to tame things down if you wanted). Anyway, where I'm going with this is, did any of you see if it ever became "a thing" that one could purchase? I remember him talking about being ready to sell them, but that seemed to be the end of the trail. I think the price was to be around $100, and in my mind, that would be money well spent for any Abarth owner.

 

[Aldo]

Agreed

You're doing it wrong

Yeah, in this car the Sport mode makes a much bigger difference than in many other cars. Only way to drive it.

Agreed. I think the reason I never bothered with it before is because I wasn't expecting it to make that much difference.

My 2012 Dodge Challenger SRT had a similar Sport mode button: it stiffened the suspension and the steering and that was about it. On a 4,400-lb, 500hp car, those changes are barely noticeable. So I never really bothered with it.

But on Abarth it is night and day!

 

[Chipshot]

Aldo, those palm trees suggest you weren't living in the Pacific Northwest then.
Congrats on successfully removing the yellow protectors from your Challenger's splitter.

 

[sharkcohen]

Aldo, those palm trees suggest you weren't living in the Pacific Northwest then.
Congrats on successfully removing the yellow protectors from your Challenger's splitter.

The 2012 Challengers didn't come with those stupid splitter covers.

 

[Aldo]

Aldo, those palm trees suggest you weren't living in the Pacific Northwest then.
Congrats on successfully removing the yellow protectors from your Challenger's splitter.

Good eye! I lived in Los Angeles for 20 years. Relocated to the PNW three years ago.

Like @sharkcohen said: them yellow protectors started appearing with Hellcat, circa 2015.

 

[jackovheartz]

You might find that your fuel consumption will go up now.

 

[spk3589]

Or maybe you were just breaking the car in before hitting that button?!! Lol

 

[fiatmidway124]

I am going to be slightly naive, but what does the sport button do? I have a manual Classica. What am I missing?

 

[ApexOversteer]

Go easy guys, some folks is late bloomers...

 

[linefeed]

I almost always drive with the sport mode on - but as an experiment I have left it off for the last week or so. Result - the car isn't quite the same. I keep thinking something's broken. BUT the mileage I get now is around 8mpg higher. SOME of it might be that I drive more like a sane person since she's not willing to shoot off the line at lights, but I've noticed that the shifts happen sooner - and just BELOW instead of ABOVE the speed limits. As an example, where the limit is 35 I now find the car in 4th and lower revs where in sport mode, it's revving much higher in 3rd wanting to shift when it gets to 40. Since 75% of my driving is back roads/residential this seems to make a big difference in fuel economy.

But to be honest, after filling up this morning, I put her in sport mode and jumped out of the gas station exit and up to the speed limit as quickly as I could. This car isn't about fuel economy, it's about fun!

 

[Chipshot]

I almost always drive with the sport mode on - but as an experiment I have left it off for the last week or so. Result - the car isn't quite the same. I keep thinking something's broken. BUT the mileage I get now is around 8 mpg higher. SOME of it might be that I drive more like a sane person since she's not willing to shoot off the line at lights, but I've noticed that the shifts happen sooner - and just BELOW instead of ABOVE the speed limits. As an example, where the limit is 35 I now find the car in 4th and lower revs where in sport mode, it's revving much higher in 3rd wanting to shift when it gets to 40. Since 75% of my driving is back roads/residential this seems to make a big difference in fuel economy.

But to be honest, after filling up this morning, I put her in sport mode and jumped out of the gas station exit and up to the speed limit as quickly as I could. This car isn't about fuel economy, it's about fun!

Automatic?

 

[sharkcohen]

I almost always drive with the sport mode on - but as an experiment I have left it off for the last week or so. Result - the car isn't quite the same. I keep thinking something's broken. BUT the mileage I get now is around 8mpg higher. SOME of it might be that I drive more like a sane person since she's not willing to shoot off the line at lights, but I've noticed that the shifts happen sooner - and just BELOW instead of ABOVE the speed limits. As an example, where the limit is 35 I now find the car in 4th and lower revs where in sport mode, it's revving much higher in 3rd wanting to shift when it gets to 40. Since 75% of my driving is back roads/residential this seems to make a big difference in fuel economy.

But to be honest, after filling up this morning, I put her in sport mode and jumped out of the gas station exit and up to the speed limit as quickly as I could. This car isn't about fuel economy, it's about fun!

Sport mode will make the biggest difference in behavior in with the automatic transmission because of the changes in shifting.

 

[spk3589]

Yeap, I was all set in buying a manual since my last two miatas where manuals. My local dealers only had Abarths that were autos and I just wanted to drive one to see how it handle. No way was I buying an auto! Well I test drove the Abarth auto for about a hour by myself on a curvy mountain road with the sport mode on. The rest is history, I bought an auto Abarth and love it. It just flys thru the gears when in sport mode, it’s kinda crazy!

 

[MiniDreamCar]

Saddest thing I’ve ever heard.

 

[MiniDreamCar]

I am going to be slightly naive, but what does the sport button do? I have a manual Classica. What am I missing?

Better throttle response, heavier steering, more relaxed ESC.

 

[Aldo]

I almost always drive with the sport mode on - but as an experiment I have left it off for the last week or so. Result - the car isn't quite the same. I keep thinking something's broken. BUT the mileage I get now is around 8mpg higher. SOME of it might be that I drive more like a sane person since she's not willing to shoot off the line at lights, but I've noticed that the shifts happen sooner - and just BELOW instead of ABOVE the speed limits. As an example, where the limit is 35 I now find the car in 4th and lower revs where in sport mode, it's revving much higher in 3rd wanting to shift when it gets to 40. Since 75% of my driving is back roads/residential this seems to make a big difference in fuel economy.

But to be honest, after filling up this morning, I put her in sport mode and jumped out of the gas station exit and up to the speed limit as quickly as I could. This car isn't about fuel economy, it's about fun!

Haven’t had to fill up since I started using the Sport button, but I catch myself driving the Abarth quite a bit more aggressively.

In any event, we only have a 10-gallon tank, so it can’t be that bad...