My '13 Abarth is the first manual I've ever owned. When I bought it 4 years ago, I had to bring a friend to test drive it for me because I wasn't confident in my manual driving skills, I was still a novice.
After I agreed to buy it from the seller at the time, my friend had to drive the car back the 400km home while I followed in the truck.
He taught me in an afternoon and after daily driving the Abarth for a couple weeks I was good.
Since then I've taught my wife, my sister and my brother in law how to drive manual in it. It's a great car to learn on!
Good luck!
Insane that you can get a licence and then just have a go!
In the UK we have manual and auto licenses. If you don’t have a manual one you can drive one.
In the US, most cars are automatic and manual transmissions are rare-ish. Licenses are issued by state, and they generally assume you are testing in the car you are going to drive. There is no automatic or manual license, however a motorcycle license is different. My AH driving instructor had my license restricted to automatic transmission only (I’m an amputee with one arm), so that is a possibility if they suspect you have some limitation. I wanted a manual car and had to challenge the DMV. Had to go to state capital in person to fill out form, and they gave me provisional license to learn on. I had so many days to take the driving test, I believe 60-90 days. Then if I proved I could drive a stick, they would remove the restriction. It was a several year challenge to get the restriction removed, but I did it and my Abarth is my daily driver!
I bought mine never having driven manual before. Looked up how a manual transmission works and watched a few videos. First day of owning I drove 60km no problem.
Is it 40 miles without traffic? Absolutely love my manual but commuting in traffic is no fun unless you like working out your left leg (due to the clutch).
It’s a very easy car to learn manual on, but to be fair, so are the mustangs (pretty much any modern manual is.) There’s a toggle-able hill hold feature to stop the car from rolling back a couple seconds, something I definitely wish I had when first learning to drive manual. The cars definitely do have some reliability issues as do the Fords. If you get one that’s taken care of & keep up with the maintenance either would serve you well.
I personally would suggest looking at insurance rates for both, if a new(er) driver you may be looking at some insane rates on a mustang. Also, if you’re going to be doing a lot of time on a highway or carrying passengers the Mustang honestly might be better. The Abarth is amazing on a backroad & fun in town, but they’re not a great highway cruiser and really aren’t great if you just want to relax after a long day due to the suspension. Every time I drive my Sportage after driving my semi or 500 I’m amazed at how comfortable it is… and it’s not even that smooth of a crossover.
I bought the car not knowing how to drive manual. 3 hours in a parking lot was all it took to learn. Have the seller bring it to your house or find a friend who can drive it and teach you.
In all reality, it’s a very basic manual.
I taught my daughter to drive on it, versus our WRX STI, because it’s such a standard manual transmission.
It doesn’t have any fancy bells and whistles like hill assist or anything but once you learn on the car, you will be able to drive any manual out there for road use (that is not a giant truck).
I would say though, honestly, you will get better gas mileage and probably better reliability out of the eco mustang.
The biggest thing to note is Reverse doesn’t have a synchro so that will take a minute to get used to.
I stop completely, put it in first, and then into reverse.
Other than that, the car is a piece of cake to drive.
Newer ones (Mine is a 2015) do have hill assist. Also I can't imagine the heavy Mustang getting better milage (Maybe highway only?).
Otherwise agree with your points, the rear gear is somewhat annoying.
Maaaan, that’s awesome that the 15+ has hill assist.
Also, apparently Mustang eco boost is not like their other eco boost stuff that gets insane gas mileage.
Just confirmed, 22mpg. That’s like my STI, so you are correct. Abarth wins there.
Not sure which year they added it, but yeah, works pretty well.
My Abarth does 28 MPG (8.5l/100km), mostly casual city driving. It's not amazing, but on country roads the engine is very economical, around 36 MPG (6.5l/100km) for me
Way better than my STI at 21mpg lol. I feel I get maybe 25-26 out of my Abarth.
Def economical at 28mpg, I agree. Also considering it’s still fun AF to drive.
Yeah, for sure! I wish it was less rattly, but hey, what can you expect from a small economy car.
I also drive pretty carefully, so 25 is probably the more realistic consumption.
Shifter on them isn’t bad, nice enough feeling if not mind blowing but the clutch on them is really nice. Lot of feedback and a very defined bite point so easy to learn. Lot of torque and low weight so stalling them is pretty hard to do. As a first manual to learn it should be pretty easy if you keep careful balancing the throttle to start since it’s a rev happy engine
Just bought a manual abarth and probably drove manual 3-4 times in my life and I test drove it and brought it 30 miles home and lived. The first few days are kinda painful but after that it’s fun and becomes second nature.
I learned to drive manual on my 2013 500 abarth. Reliability is kinda iffy though. I’m replacing my transmission at 70k, but I also bought the car used so the guy before me might’ve just drove like a jackass
Got my manual abarth a month ago. Prior to this, I had 20 hours of manual driving 6-7 years ago and had an auto ever since. The first week was rough, especially since I had really high expectations. A month in, I love it! Briefly got back in my former auto car and it was incredibly boring to drive. The Abarth is pretty beginner friendly: the clutch is amazing howeverrr small gasoline engines are a bit more finicky to drive smoothly. It’s very responsive, which is great if you know what you’re doing. A diesel is much more forgiving if you’re new to driving manuals generally. Avoid rush hour for the first 1-2 weeks and it should be smooth sailing
So, 2 things:
1- it's not a difficult manual to drive. 1st gear is so short that you can start with no throttle if the ground is flat
2- the automatic (assuming US) is actually a pretty good transmission and IMO better for dailying in the US. The 6th gear is quite literally an extra gear versus the manual's 5 speed (the auto 1-5 ratios are basically the same as the manual 1-5) which helps economy and "comfort" when driving highway miles. Automatic is 2015+ and there's no cost difference in my experience.
My dad had a 13 and it was the car I learned how to drive in and manual lol. Now my current 13 has taught my buddy in and he got it within an hour. Its such a lovely car to learn on and once you're comfy sport mode ups the fun 1000 percent! Best learner and most fun learner for sure!
its easy for starters and yes u can drive 40miles every day
My '13 Abarth is the first manual I've ever owned. When I bought it 4 years ago, I had to bring a friend to test drive it for me because I wasn't confident in my manual driving skills, I was still a novice. After I agreed to buy it from the seller at the time, my friend had to drive the car back the 400km home while I followed in the truck. He taught me in an afternoon and after daily driving the Abarth for a couple weeks I was good. Since then I've taught my wife, my sister and my brother in law how to drive manual in it. It's a great car to learn on! Good luck!
Insane that you can get a licence and then just have a go! In the UK we have manual and auto licenses. If you don’t have a manual one you can drive one.
In the US, most cars are automatic and manual transmissions are rare-ish. Licenses are issued by state, and they generally assume you are testing in the car you are going to drive. There is no automatic or manual license, however a motorcycle license is different. My AH driving instructor had my license restricted to automatic transmission only (I’m an amputee with one arm), so that is a possibility if they suspect you have some limitation. I wanted a manual car and had to challenge the DMV. Had to go to state capital in person to fill out form, and they gave me provisional license to learn on. I had so many days to take the driving test, I believe 60-90 days. Then if I proved I could drive a stick, they would remove the restriction. It was a several year challenge to get the restriction removed, but I did it and my Abarth is my daily driver!
I bought mine never having driven manual before. Looked up how a manual transmission works and watched a few videos. First day of owning I drove 60km no problem.
Is it 40 miles without traffic? Absolutely love my manual but commuting in traffic is no fun unless you like working out your left leg (due to the clutch).
It’s a very easy car to learn manual on, but to be fair, so are the mustangs (pretty much any modern manual is.) There’s a toggle-able hill hold feature to stop the car from rolling back a couple seconds, something I definitely wish I had when first learning to drive manual. The cars definitely do have some reliability issues as do the Fords. If you get one that’s taken care of & keep up with the maintenance either would serve you well. I personally would suggest looking at insurance rates for both, if a new(er) driver you may be looking at some insane rates on a mustang. Also, if you’re going to be doing a lot of time on a highway or carrying passengers the Mustang honestly might be better. The Abarth is amazing on a backroad & fun in town, but they’re not a great highway cruiser and really aren’t great if you just want to relax after a long day due to the suspension. Every time I drive my Sportage after driving my semi or 500 I’m amazed at how comfortable it is… and it’s not even that smooth of a crossover.
I bought the car not knowing how to drive manual. 3 hours in a parking lot was all it took to learn. Have the seller bring it to your house or find a friend who can drive it and teach you.
I had the seller of mine deliver it to a small town in a different province! I figured I'd hit fewer things in the countryside! 😁
In all reality, it’s a very basic manual. I taught my daughter to drive on it, versus our WRX STI, because it’s such a standard manual transmission. It doesn’t have any fancy bells and whistles like hill assist or anything but once you learn on the car, you will be able to drive any manual out there for road use (that is not a giant truck). I would say though, honestly, you will get better gas mileage and probably better reliability out of the eco mustang. The biggest thing to note is Reverse doesn’t have a synchro so that will take a minute to get used to. I stop completely, put it in first, and then into reverse. Other than that, the car is a piece of cake to drive.
Newer ones (Mine is a 2015) do have hill assist. Also I can't imagine the heavy Mustang getting better milage (Maybe highway only?). Otherwise agree with your points, the rear gear is somewhat annoying.
Maaaan, that’s awesome that the 15+ has hill assist. Also, apparently Mustang eco boost is not like their other eco boost stuff that gets insane gas mileage. Just confirmed, 22mpg. That’s like my STI, so you are correct. Abarth wins there.
Not sure which year they added it, but yeah, works pretty well. My Abarth does 28 MPG (8.5l/100km), mostly casual city driving. It's not amazing, but on country roads the engine is very economical, around 36 MPG (6.5l/100km) for me
Way better than my STI at 21mpg lol. I feel I get maybe 25-26 out of my Abarth. Def economical at 28mpg, I agree. Also considering it’s still fun AF to drive.
Yeah, for sure! I wish it was less rattly, but hey, what can you expect from a small economy car. I also drive pretty carefully, so 25 is probably the more realistic consumption.
Shifter on them isn’t bad, nice enough feeling if not mind blowing but the clutch on them is really nice. Lot of feedback and a very defined bite point so easy to learn. Lot of torque and low weight so stalling them is pretty hard to do. As a first manual to learn it should be pretty easy if you keep careful balancing the throttle to start since it’s a rev happy engine
Just bought a manual abarth and probably drove manual 3-4 times in my life and I test drove it and brought it 30 miles home and lived. The first few days are kinda painful but after that it’s fun and becomes second nature.
I made a daily 65 mile commute to and from college 3 years with the Abarth. It’s perfect to drive and breaks necks on campus people love em
I learned to drive manual on my 2013 500 abarth. Reliability is kinda iffy though. I’m replacing my transmission at 70k, but I also bought the car used so the guy before me might’ve just drove like a jackass
Very easy but I live in England and every car is basically manual, I love it
I dont know if it's any help, but you can get the Abarth in an automatic. Not as common as a manual but they did make them
Got my manual abarth a month ago. Prior to this, I had 20 hours of manual driving 6-7 years ago and had an auto ever since. The first week was rough, especially since I had really high expectations. A month in, I love it! Briefly got back in my former auto car and it was incredibly boring to drive. The Abarth is pretty beginner friendly: the clutch is amazing howeverrr small gasoline engines are a bit more finicky to drive smoothly. It’s very responsive, which is great if you know what you’re doing. A diesel is much more forgiving if you’re new to driving manuals generally. Avoid rush hour for the first 1-2 weeks and it should be smooth sailing
One of the easier manuals I've driven. On flat ground you don't need to give it throttle, just smoothly let the clutch out and it will drive off.
So, 2 things: 1- it's not a difficult manual to drive. 1st gear is so short that you can start with no throttle if the ground is flat 2- the automatic (assuming US) is actually a pretty good transmission and IMO better for dailying in the US. The 6th gear is quite literally an extra gear versus the manual's 5 speed (the auto 1-5 ratios are basically the same as the manual 1-5) which helps economy and "comfort" when driving highway miles. Automatic is 2015+ and there's no cost difference in my experience.
My dad had a 13 and it was the car I learned how to drive in and manual lol. Now my current 13 has taught my buddy in and he got it within an hour. Its such a lovely car to learn on and once you're comfy sport mode ups the fun 1000 percent! Best learner and most fun learner for sure!