"FSI" (f-s-i) 08/12/2018 at 04:41 • Filed to: None

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The best way to spend your Sunday mornings? Spirited driving and taking photos of your ride. 

Nick Has an Exocet > FSI 08/12/2018 at 05:19

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Agreed. Except I screwed up :(

I rented an Abarth 595 for the weekend and managed to park it behind a 12 hour long road closure.

DutchieDC2R > Nick Has an Exocet 08/12/2018 at 06:04

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Did you rent that from the Europcar Fun and Luxury division? Im thinking of doing the same thing in October.

FSI > Nick Has an Exocet 08/12/2018 at 06:23

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That blows. Were there any signs that announced a road closure? Otherwise I’d go tell the policemen in the background to kindly back off. 

Nick Has an Exocet > FSI 08/12/2018 at 06:52

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There were signs out on the main road but apparently I didn’t see them. Everyone else in the house was aware except me apparently. I went over to chat with the police this morning - hoping to chat them up and charm them for help - they were super nice but couldn’t do anything . I tend to expect that in the UK since the rules tend to be rules here.

Nick Has an Exocet > DutchieDC2R 08/12/2018 at 06:54

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Sure did. It was 140gbp for 2 days. Not terrible (except now its more like for 1 day).

The guy who brought me out the car was funny. He was like: this has a lot of power... so you know, be really careful.

I wanted to say: “ lol dude, I’ve driven cars with 4x more power.” But I let him do his talk. Overall, decent experience.

DutchieDC2R > Nick Has an Exocet 08/12/2018 at 10:31

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I can understand the ‘warning talk’ about the power figure.

For the days that you had it, what did you think of fuel economy? Im thinking about renting it for a full week.

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > FSI 08/12/2018 at 16:25

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On my way to church this morning.

Nick Has an Exocet > DutchieDC2R 08/12/2018 at 17:08

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I only filled up once in about 300 miles. It’s most thirsty in sport mode - seems to get into the boost sooner and do some sort of anti-lag on the turbo. The rental was the 595 Competizione version .

I was able to get it out for 2 hours tonight and I think decided that I don’t really like the car. From the way people talk about it, I expected it to be a lot more flamboyant / fun. Around town it’s less boring than most cars, but the gearing has you hitting 30 which feels too tall. I feel like my NA Miata is more fun around town. On a twisty road, it’s fun. I would say it’s similar to the Scirocco GTS that I drove on the ‘ring: managable body roll, enough power to be fun when thrashing, and rear brakes that suffer from dust buildup (and cause a weird harmonic under soft braking when hot). The one area that I felt completely left down is comfort. I daily a 19 91 mx-5 on stiff coilovers , so it’s not like I’m a comfort person. The Abarth actually goes out of it’s way to be uncomfortable. The seat is barely adjustable, the pedals are too close, the steering wheel is too far & doesn’t telescope, the seats are bolstered but weirdly seem to let you flop around if you drive it hard, my right knee hurt from the angle on the gas pedal, and I pinched a nerve reaching for the seatbelt. It also only has two adjustments for steering feel: normal (soft) and Sport (insanely hard) - and you can’t mix them with any settings (the car has only 2 modes: sport or not sport). In any mode, the suspension is hard over small bumps and softer over big ones. Kind of weird.

The rear seats are clever though. We put 4 people in the car yesterday. They sacrificed boot space for seating. The rear seats are actually livable for a long journey but you can only fit backpacks in the hatch.

DutchieDC2R > Nick Has an Exocet 08/13/2018 at 01:06

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Hmm, thats a bit disappointing to hear. I know Fun and Luxury also have some type of Mini, but I cant seem to see whether its a Cooper S or something? I still havent decided on the Abarth, and your story doesnt make it any more positive, especially seeing as Ill be renting for a full week.

The rear boot space thing is concerning as well, seeing as Ill need a bit more than just a backpack for a week’s traveling.

Did you happen to see any Minis while picking up the car? 

Nick Has an Exocet > DutchieDC2R 08/13/2018 at 13:51

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The website had power figures that correspond with the non -S mini. They only had some random vans and boring cars. The Abarth was parked like a gem out of front when I got there. I assume they didn't get a ton of those at that location. Even the person I returned it to this morning commented on how special it was. I didn't mention that I've driven cars 6x more expensive.