White Scorp: Fiat Abarth Urban Cross Ownership Review


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UCAPalio.jpg
White Scorp: A noob’s Ownership review on Fiat Abarth Urban Cross Avventura Tjet

Greetings friends. This is going to be very long post and I am no way a technical/enthusiast person to express my feelings in a perfect way. I am just a little guy who is passionate about my cars. So, please consider this as a ownership experience from a noob point of view and kindly bear for the same.

Prelude:
I was a happy driver of my Palio 1.9D though it had few problems from time to time due to its age. It has no AC and no other mean comforts, and very often it had breakdowns. You can see my ownership review on that car in the following link.
So, I was thinking of buying another car for some time. Since I was so addicted to Fiat driving style, I had decided not to go for any other brand. Also for some strange reasons, I have never liked sedans except Mitsubishi Cedia or Skoda Rapid. I am more of a hatchback guy. So, the contenders list is very narrow. Hence, two things were in my mind.
  • Punto Evo Diesel Emotion: Needless to say, this is one of the stylish cars around without compromising the safety and driving pleasure. Had driven it many times of my friends. It was too good to miss, but then my heart was pumping for Avventura for some time.

  • Avventura Diesel Emotion: Ever since it was released on the market, I had an eye on it and wanted to own it for its superb road presence and not to forget the driving pleasure. Test drove it a few times, but couldn't take the decision as it was known for the issues with hatch wheel.
Around this time, Fiat released new version of Punto Crossover in the so-called name of Urban Cross. IMO, it looked like a no nonsense car, fit for both city and highways. But for some strange reason, initially they didn't release the Emotion version in diesel. Only Active and dynamic versions were available in diesel which didn’t come with airbags, rear wiper and many other features that came in the Emotion variant. If you want Emotion in UC, you should go for Abarth Tjet version only. Until that time, I never thought of buying a petrol car, especially from Fiat. So the confusion started. Also recent developments in Government policies indicate that the future might rule with petrol and electric cars only. So I gave a thought for a petrol car. At the same time, I have to admit that I am not a speed monster either. Honestly, I wanted a reliable and powerful petrol car that can give me optimum performance without sacrificing the safety on the first place. But since my Palio was running fine, I haven’t thought about it seriously.

Then, sometime in January 2017, I happened to hit my Palio 1.9D into a big pothole. It was very bad to her and she popped up too many problems - first with the damage of the sump. My local mechanic did a fine job and for quite some time, she ran without any major problems. Later on, she developed engine noise, heavy white smoke and what not... Simply unbearable for a non tech mind like me. Still, didn't wanted to lose her since we had some sentimental attachment to her during the hard times. Decided to restore it to its strengths, but wanted to buy another car at the same time.

After going through few friends advises and few review threads, I seriously thought about the Abarth. Still couldn't decide whether to go for the Punto Abarth or UC Abarth.

Though Punto Abarth has a stiff suspension, I had my reservations for its Ground Clarence. Plus, I liked the masculine shape of Urban Cross which I felt was a perfect one for the Indian Roads, albeit might lose some fun due to its higher GC. In addition to that, I often go semi off-roading due to my hobbies in exploring ancient temples and heritage places. So, decided that it has to be UC Abarth.
 
Thread Starter #2
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Drama Part

Drama Part: The closest Fiat dealer from our place is the one at Kurnnol, some 150 kms away and the other at 250 kms at Bangalore. Being living in Andhra Pradesh, I decided to buy the car from the AP dealer. Now that I've decided where to buy and what to buy, I called Shivani Fiat, Kurnool to arrange a test drive for me. As usual, like any Fiat dealer, they were not responsive for few days. Again, I had to call them and this time they sent an SA to my office to talk about. We sat over a cup of coffee and he informed, Sir, soon we are going to arrange a test drive session in your place. But, unfortunately, we don't have any petrol/Tjet cars for test drive. And I had to admit to the fact, since it's a new and small dealership, they might not provide it. Over the next week, they arranged a test drive with the diesel versions of Evo and Avventura. Though, I already drove them few times, I TDed them again. The revised power tech versions came with very less turbo lag and were easy to drive in city traffic as well as highways. But, the gearshifts are still uncomfortable. Meantime, I drove one of my friend's Linea petrol (Not Tjet) to have an idea about Fiat Petrol engine performances. Pleased with its performance and just assumed the power band in Abarth powered Tjet. (Can't help it for the small town people like me who don't have TDs for these mean machines).

Strangely, dealer is not at all interested to sell Abarth car to me as if it does not belong to Fiat. They tried their best to convince me to go for the diesel versions. Since I had plans to restore my Palio 1.9D, plus future Govt. policies on diesel cars, I didn't want to go for Multijet. I firmly said, I want UC Abarth Bosso Nova White with designer package. (Actually wanted Red one, but my mother and daughter vetoed it… ). :lol!:

Initially, gave them Rs. 10,000 cheque and took a receipt for that. And for a month or so there was no word from them what so ever. When I called them, then only they said they want full payment to order as the dealer can't invest the money on petrol cars... Alas. I was so irritated by their behavior and almost decided to cancel the order. Then after few days, the Fiat regional manager Mr. Anvesh came in and settled the things. And for the deal, I had to pay 3 lakhs as advance and they offered few free accessories and nothing else. I saved few bucks by taking outside insurance. The total on road price including outside insurance is 11.30 lakhs.


Regarding designer package, they said, they would try their best if it is available. I wrote a letter to FCA about my requirement and I am still waiting for their response...[evil]

Meanwhile, I proceeded to loan process and get sanctioned. Sometime in the middle of March 2017, got a call from the dealer, that my car was going to arrive in a week, but without designer package, as it is not available at factory. I had no choice but said okay for that. A week later, got a call from SA that my car is arrived. Then, I went for PDI and was happy with the product with all the necessary checks and decided to take the car on March 23rd, 2017.

First time, I saw my beast. Thankfully, the dealer covered it with a cover.
UC Uncovered.jpg


Glad to see H and ODO is just 19kms.
ODOH.jpg
 
Thread Starter #3
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The Delivery Day

The Delivery Day: Me and SA travelled in a bus to take the delivery of the car. Took few sweet pockets and a gift to SA. The formalities were completed with a nice gesture and we took the car. SA was polite and patient all through the process and I thanked him for that. Had a full tank in the nearest petrol bunk and left for my place that is 150 kms away. The SA belongs to my town and hence we both came back again in my car and we both had lunch on the way. And I named the beauty as “White Scorp”

My SA Mr. Naresh on left and Me on right



Beautiful Scorpion Alloy


Abarth Powered Tjet in its glory



Free accessories
Accessories.jpg



 
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Thread Starter #4
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Driving Experience, Likes & Dislikes

1UCAbarth.jpg

Driving Experience:

First Impressions:
After taking the delivery, started the car and slotted into the first gear and the power is evident with first touch itself. I carefully drove until the highway and then tried to test its abilities to some extent. In my view, the first two gears were little lazy. From 3rd gear on wards the fun starts. Surprisingly, the gearshifts in Abarth UC are quite smooth and easy unlike in Multijets. And the torque is infectious like in a diesel car and the turbo lag is minimal. With no effort, it reaches 100 and goes beyond our expectations in no time. Since I had to travel 150 kms on the highway to reach my home, it was a good experience to learn a bit about the car on the first day itself.

Ooty Experience:
There was a Fiat enthusiasts meet in Ooty in April 2017 which I had planned to attend. I had been to Ooty, but never been driving on my own. And you know those hairpins in Ooty are crazy. Honestly, it was a nightmare to drive there ‘coz I couldn’t understand how to manage the turbo petrol engine. But it was a valuable experience and forced me to learn the things in hard way. The biggest lesson is, make no mistake, keep her in right rpm to give you great pleasure in any conditions.

Drivability & Engine Performance: In city, most of the times, I had to drive in 2nd and 3rd gears due to traffic and it pumps the adrenaline only if you drive it above 2000 rpm. Still, I don’t see any engine strain in city traffic. Turbo lag also minimal as it seems this engine may be little tweaked to meet city driving challenges. However, IMO, this is not a right car for city traffic both in terms of riding pleasure or for mileage concerns. You will end up bankrupt if you keep driving it regularly in city traffic. I usually don't drive it in city unless it is very necessary. Still, my daily workhorse in the city is my Palio 1.9D.

On Highways, its difference beast. Once you hit 2000 rpm, it zooms like a rocket. Practically, If you know how to pamper her, it can beat any car of that power band. I usually drive in 4th gear until I hit 80 speed then slot into fifth. Someone rightly said, Abarth cars are really pocket rockets. Iam running this car purely on highways where I can get the maximum out of it with sheer driving pleasure.

Punto Abarth was introduced with Abarth Powered Tjet engine with 145 BHP @5500 rpm and with 212 nm torque @200o rpm. But in Urban Cross, this was little detuned for the mileage and city drivability concerns (As per official statements). Here, we got 140 BHP@5500 rpm and 210 nm torque @2000 rpm. In the last few months, I drove few Punto Abarths too in our meets. But, I don’t feel any power difference in normal driving. May be the difference can be noticed on track level or on open roads. But in real life, it has minimal, if not, no difference IMO. Also, this is rev happy and very refined machine. If you have free roads, it feels happy to be abused. The engine note is very sweet and no way coarse or any of that sort. Very often, I stop music and end up listening to engine music. As I mentioned above, it was detuned to meet the multiple tasks and has very minimal turbo lag which is easily manageable. But, first two gears earn you little or no fun.

Gearshifts & Clutch:
Unlike in Multijets, surprisingly this one has smooth gear shifts. But clutch is still in old Fiat style. You have to depress it fully to slot the gears. Personally, I don’t feel any difficulty for that as iam used to Fiat kind of driving style.

Fuel efficiency:
ARAI fuel rating for this car is 17.1. Kms/liter. But, In city driving, no matter how good you drive, the maximum mileage you could expect is not more than 9/10 kms/liter. At least that's what in my experience. On highway driving, it’s different story altogether. Though it is a powerful engine, it is very fuel efficient, provided, if you drive carefully without revving much. If you drive between 70 to 90, you can expect from 16 to 18 depending on your driving style. Or if you are a very fast driver, you can expect at least 11 to 12. But then, it’s very hard to drive slowly in this car. Perhaps you should practice yoga.


Lowest Mileage Figure achieved sofar
2MileageLowest.jpg

Highest Mileage I could managed
3MileageHighest.jpg


Steering, Handling, Suspension , Ride Quality & NVH Levels: Like all Fiat cars, this one also equipped with 3 spoke Hydraulic Power steering, neatly leather wrapped. It gives you great confidence even on high speeds, cornering and earns you awesome feedback. Turning radius is still 5.4 meters. As any Fiat car, this one too handles beautifully though it has higher ground clearance i.e. 205 mm. Ride quality is smooth and I feel no bumps in city driving. But on highway, especially on high speeds, I feel little body roll due to higher GC. But far better than many crossovers in the market. However, IMO, the Apollo Alanc stock tyres are not so inspiring for this car. At the same time, don't expect Punto Abarth kind of riding experience or cornering in this car. It has certain limitations due to higher GC.



Front suspension is equipped with Independent Wheels suspension with Mcpherson struts, Helical springs, Double acting Telescopic Dampers with Stabilizer bar and the Rear suspension with Torsion beam, Helical Springs and Double acting Telescopic dampers which is tweaked for manoeuvring on any kind of roads, be it city, highway or country roads.

Regarding NVH levels, this Abarth Powered Tjet engine is super refined and it doesn’t have any disturbing noises or any of that sort, both inside and outside of the car. But on high speeds, wind noise and tyre noise is very evident.

Braking and safety: Equipped with ABS with ABD and front dual stage airbags. It also have all four disk brakes with awe inspiring confident braking, even on higher speeds. You have to be very careful when you brake in city or highway to avoid rear ended. As usual, the build quality of this car is awesome. It feel like a tank with 1215 kgs unladen weight.



Few memories of Fiat enthusiasts meet at Ooty
4UCOoty.jpg

5Cars1.jpg

6Cars2.jpg

7Hat.jpg

8Ootyoff.jpg

9Raaj.jpg

10GroupPic.jpg


Likes:

  • 140 BHP turbo petrol engine power on tap with a monstrous 210 nm torque , moves like a rocket
  • 205 MM GC , a practical car for Indian roads. It can take you to any kind of roads
  • Smooth gear shifts
  • Tank like build quality
  • ABS with EBD, dual stage front Airbags
  • Height adjustable seat belts with pretensioners
  • Automatic door lock
  • Beautiful 3 spoke leather wrapped hydraulic steering
  • 16” beautiful Scorpion alloys which enhances the looks of the car to great extent
  • All four disk brakes with awesome braking abilities.
  • Sweet Engine Note
  • Powered By Abarth decals on rear doors
  • Awesome HPS feedback
  • Bone chilling automatic AC with Rear AC vent
  • Functional roof rails
  • Ambient orange color themed cabin lighting, pleasant to eyes & useful MID
  • Redesigned Piano-finish front Grille which looks awesome
  • Thankfully, less Chrome
  • Apart from USB port, they provided two extra slots for memory cards on the head unit. One for GPS and other can be used for music/movies/photos play
  • Decent sounding music system with 2 speakers and 2 tweeters on front and rear and provision to install 2 tweeters on rear
Dislikes:
  • Impractical and almost useless Glove Box. My Palio glove box is way better than this one
  • Pathetic 5” touch screen navigation system which is hardly responsive. You have to operate it with provided stick which is impractical.
  • GPS maps were not up to date
  • No Tjet/Abarth /Variant logo on hatch door. No one knows what car it is, unless one would see the rear door decals
  • Better talk less about stock Apollo Alnac tyres. Spare tyre came with steel rim and is 15”.
  • Beige interiors. Should have been great if all black interiors
  • No designer package available even on order
  • No bottle holders in cabin
  • Left Pulling
  • Awkward place for mobile charging. I already broke few charging cables due to this.
  • No rear camera/sensors
  • Single remote key provided for such a premium price
  • Age old problems like awkward position of ABC pedals - kind of problem until you get used to it
  • Claddings are headache to maintain. It's already getting shaded.
  • No leather seats even at this premium price
 
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Thread Starter #5
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Inside & Outside


Owners Manuals, Supplied cables and special stick to operate head unit
1Books.jpg

Besides such a premium price, only one remote supplied, other being normal key
2Keys.jpg

Decent Cabin, but would prefer all black interiors
3Cabin.jpg

4Cabin2.jpg


Head Unit
HeadUnit1.jpg

HeadUnit2.jpg

HeadUnit3.jpg

HeadUnit4.jpg

HeadUnit5.jpg

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HeadUnit6.jpg




Automatic Climate Control
HVAC.jpg




Rear Leg Space Maxmum
IMG_20171109_085638.jpg


Rear Passenger Leg Space after adjusting my driving position. And You can also see the only bottle holder on entire car and that too on rear AC vent.
IMG_20171109_085657.jpg


Time for some natural fragrance [:D]
Natural.jpg
Abarth Decals on rear doors

OAbarthDecals.jpg

Beautifully crafted Piano finish front grille.
OFront.jpg

No one knows what variant it is
Ohatch.jpg

ORVM Visibility
ORVM.jpg

RearDoor.jpg

Rear Visibility. You can also see height adjustable head rests
RearVisibility.jpg

No Alloy. 15" Spare Tyre
Spare.jpg

Boot
xBoot LH.jpg

Luggage straps on Boot
xBoot.jpg

Emergency Pulling thread for Fuel Cap xBootRH.jpg
 
Thread Starter #6
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Detailing

Detailing: On my request my friend Mr. Sanjay Rao aka SunnyBoi did some beautiful work on my car. The pictures speaks...!!!

SunnyUC.jpg

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Thread Starter #7
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First Service

First Service: It is supposed to be done on or before 5000 kms/first six months of car purchase. Though I have bought the car in AP, decided to service my car in Bangalore as its just 50 kms more than AP service center who have better knowledge to handle the Abarths. So, I’ve chosen Aadya Fiat.

As per manual, it is not necessary to change the engine oil at 5k service. But, being an old-timer, I thought of changing engine oil, filter and if necessary topup of all other fluids. Aadya, Bangalore was exclusively offering Abarth Specified Engine Oil i.e. Petronas Selenia 10w-50 which is kind of holy grail. Though it is very costly, I just go ahead to see whether it is any good. Make no mistake, it definitely worth. The workshop guys at Aadya/Ebony, Bangalore are really patient and listened to all the things I’ve told and done the service to my satisfaction. And from time to time, they served water and few coffees. Happy with their service. [clap]


1P_20170527_130328.jpg

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3P_20170527_130612.jpg

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7Bill1.jpg

8Bill2.jpg


Mini Fiatans meet at Aadya service center, Bangalore while I gone for servicing my car.
From left to right: Suraj Nagaraj, Kedar Gopaldas, Me, Jagadeesh and Binil Panicker
9Aadya Meet.jpg

From Left to Right: Neeraj (Aadya Service Manager), Aditya , Lavanya (the then CRM of Aadya), Me and Binil Panicker
10P_20170527_180628.jpg
 
Thread Starter #8
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Some Observations & Suggestions

Some Observations:

  • Iam the first one (rather I would say, first lunatic) who bought this UC Abarth variant in entire South India
  • Only 5 more people dared to buy this, after I got it.
  • No one cared to take the customer feedback though I have bought their most costly car under Fiat badge.
  • Though it has 5 BHP lesser than Punto Abarth, it offers lower mileage 'coz it weights like a tank.
  • Stock Apollo Anlac tyres are just ok, but not good enough for this car, especially if you are more into off-roading or into spirited driving. It begs proper upgrade
  • When compared to it's big brother Avventura, it has a little improved and stiff suspension for easy maneuver both in city, highway and on metal roads. Simply, it handles beautifully wherever you go
  • Hidden exhaust and no sporty sound what so ever.
  • Though it is pitched as Urban Car, it is strictly not advisable for urban usage for the obvious mileage and performance concerns. Multijet version will be best buy for that.
  • Possibly, this will be the last Fiat car comes with HPS in India. If Fiat sustains and releases any new cars in future, it's going to be light body and EPS. Please remember, this is purely my assumption.
Some Suggestions:

  • Before buying this car, decide your requirements and draw your expectations out of it.
  • Stay away from this car if you are expecting mileage.
  • If you are expecting riding quality like in Punto Abarth, this isn’t the car for you.
  • This car was made for some special purposes where you require good ground clearance and sheer power. For example, uneven Indian Roads, little off-roading etc...
  • If you want power and go anywhere car, this is perfect mate for you
  • If you want stylish, unique in the mass, this is the car for you
  • If you want to own a car that is more rarer than Ferrari and within your budget, look nowhere else.


Panorama1.jpg
 
Thread Starter #9
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Parting Shots

1Gandikota.jpg

Car1.jpg

Car2.jpg

Clouds.jpg

Clouds2.jpg

CloudyUC.jpg

Fort.jpg

ISKON.jpg

Rain.jpg

UCOff.jpg

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UCpuli.jpg

UCRaketla.jpg

UCUniver.jpg

Windmills.jpg

Me With My Friend, Bhuvaneshwar Reddy in Anantapur
Abarths.jpg

With My friend, Amitra Sudan Kar in Anantapur
Abarths2.jpg

From Left to Right: Magesh, Jagadeesh, Binil Panicker, Me, Devidas, and Aditya in Bangalore
Fiatans1.jpg




From Left to Right: Suraj Nagaraj, Aditya, Me, Binil Panicker & Jagadeesh In Bangalore
Fiatans2.jpg


With My Daughter
WithDaughter.jpg


With My Kids
withkids.jpg


With My Son
WithSon.jpg


With our beloved German Shephard, Rocky
XRockey.jpg
 
Thread Starter #10
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Final Impressions and thanks to friends

Final Impressions: As of now, the ODO is little over 9000 kms. And I’ve very much satisfied with my purchase and glad to own one of the rare and last breeds in the market which is still driver oriented.

Thanks to my Abarth & Veteran Friends: Since, I didn't had any experience with Abarths/Tjets with any TDs or with any other friend's cars, the delivery day become my first driving experience with that engine. But had immense feedback and suggestions from Abarth Owners Club Whatsapp group since the day I booked the car. They were really helpful to me in understanding the power and handling the car to great extent. Thank You one and all.

I also would like to thank my Veterans Garage Whatsapp group friends by name Devidas K Menon, Dr. Murali, Joe Sir, Magesh, Dr. Nitin Dutta, Deepak Pathania, Rahul Gopalam, Binil, Aditya, Kedar Gopaldas, Aditya, Kanad, Bhuvaneswar Reddy, Sanjay Rao, Mikhail, Amith ES, Suraj Nagaraj, Amitra Sen Sudankar, Pradeep, Kunal Sharma, Siddharth Shankar etc for their valuable inputs. Also, special thanks to my friends etc.



Pardon me, If I forgot any. Thank you one and all, you know who you are. [clap]



Hopefully, you like to read this ownership review and I would appreciate your feedback, comments and suggestions. [:D]




Panorama2.jpg
 
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Akash1886

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Re: White Scorp: A noob’s ownership review of the Fiat Abarth Urban Cross Avventura T

Raaj! Congrats on the beast. That's one detailed review buddy. I remember you connecting with me for the Palio review and now this one comes as a pleasant surprise. Wonderfully loaded with pics and nicely written. Thanks a lot for sharing buddy.

Regards

Akash
 
Thread Starter #12
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Re: White Scorp: A noob’s ownership review of the Fiat Abarth Urban Cross Avventura T

Raaj! Congrats on the beast. That's one detailed review buddy. I remember you connecting with me for the Palio review and now this one comes as a pleasant surprise. Wonderfully loaded with pics and nicely written. Thanks a lot for sharing buddy.

Regards

Akash

Thanks my friend Akash for your kind words and for your support. Iam glad you liked this review. Hopefully it helps to TAI community as well.

Regards, Raaj.
 
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Re: White Scorp: A Noob’s Ownership Review of the Fiat Abarth Urban Cross Avventura T

Congratulations on your Abarth.
I too am a fan of Fiat/Abarth and we do have a 2010 Linea Emotion at Home.
My heart is out to the Abarth Punto and the Abarth Avventura for the engine itself.
Happy Driving
 
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Fantastic review Raaj. I was sitting on the fence for Linea tjet or abarth. However had to postpone the decision considering future of Fiat. Fiat cars are addictive for sure.
 

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