ROAD TEST: FIAT TWO-SEAT DROPTOP GETS THE ABARTH TREATMENT
Fiat’s little 124 Spider sports car may not be practical, but it’s easy to fall in love with
Two years ago, we got the Fiat 124 Spider and a Mazda MX-5 together and found, of the two, the Mazda was the better sports car. That’s because the 124 Spider we drove wasn’t an Abarth variant ; if it was, it surely would’ve won. That’s because the 2018 Fiat 124 Spider Abarth is the best Mazda MX-5 you can buy.
The 124, of course, is the Fiat version of the MX-5. It shares a chassis and an interior with the Mazda, but none of the exterior body panels. And though looks are subjective, yours truly thinks this is a very good thing; it has more classic lines and an overall more pleasing shape.
But the real differences are under the skin, where the Fiat trades Mazda’s normally aspirated 2.0-litre in-line four for a 1.4-L turbo-four. The MX-5 got an impressive power bump, to 181 horsepower, for 2019, so the Fiat trails in horsepower, with just 164 on tap. But the real figure is the torque: The Mazda makes 151 pound-feet at 4,000 rpm, while the Fiat makes a strong 184 lb-ft at a much lower 2,500 rpm. Quite simply, the 124 has much more midrange punch than the MX-5, and feels much faster when squirting around in traffic.
The Fiat did inherit some very fine genes from the MX-5, and as a result, it’s one of the sweetest, most pure driving experiences you can buy in 2018. The steering is divine, the driving position is fantastic and the shifter is a joy.
Thebase124isabittoosoft for our liking, but the Abarth fixes that complaint handily; it’s what the 124 should have been all along. The car absolutely dances through turns; with the extra torque, you can shoot yourself forward into the next turn with a faint whoosh of induction noise. It’s a fun car, and you’ll want to fling it around on-ramps and back roads for the sheer funofit.
The Abarth upgrades won’t be found in the engine bay. Horsepower is up by just four over the standard model and torque is unchanged. Mechanical upgrades are limited to stiffer Bilstein shocks and a limited-slip differential. Of course, you get cool Abarth scorpion badges for the nose, tail and wheels. But those cool Brembo front brakes? They’re a $1,995 option and not included with the Abarth package.
We need to talk about the options on this car. The Abarth starts at a reasonable $37,995, but our tester was optioned out to $48,880, which is pretty darn rich for just 164 hp. The leather seats are a $1,295 option, and heated, auto-dimming mirrors, rear park assist and blind-spot monitoring require the $1,500 “convenience group” package. It also had satellite radio, and a ninespeaker Bose stereo for $1,600.
And the most egregious of all? That flat-black hood and trunk treatment is a $2,995 option. Personally, I think I could accomplish the same look with a can of Plasti Dip and a free afternoon and save myself a few thousand. It all adds up to $10,885 worth of options, most of which you could do without. I’d check the box for the Brembos and one more for the $1,695 Recaro seats; the standard units are too narrow in the shoulder for even a string bean like me.
Sadly, the restrictive seats are just a small part of the driving discomfort as soon as you hit the highway. I realize it’s a soft-top, but compared to the folding hardtop MX-5 RF, the increase in wind noise is drastic; I kept checking to make sure I hadn’t forgotten to roll up a window. The 124 is loud on the highway, and not in a fun way. You might hope to drown out the din by turning up the radio, but despite having nine speakers, the sound comes out tinny, and must be turned up rather high to hear a song well at 110 km/h.
Which begs the question why I chose to take it on a 1,600-kilometre road trip from Toronto to Quebec City and back. Because it’s fun! If a hatchback made that much road noise on the highway, you’d drive it into the sea. But in a sports car? It’s just a part of the experience.
There’s a wonderful rhythm to road tripping the little 124. You sit close to your passenger in a cosy cocoon, skipping over expansion joints in your Bilstein-suspended sportster. I averaged 7.6 L/100 km along the way. Not stellar for a 1.4-L four-cylinder, but pretty good for a sports car.
My final qualm is with the transmission. Not because of how it shifts or feels, but the actual gear ratios. See, first gear has a very low 4.4:1 ratio and second has a high 2.3:1 ratio. This means the revs drop annoyingly low when shifting from first to second gear and you have to make that shift often. For example, a shift at a relatively high 3,000 rpm from first gear will drop you down to a chugging 1,700 in second.
None of that makes me want to buy one any less, though. Once rolling with top down, the 124 Abarth is nearly without peer. In a world where more and more cars offer to chip in and do the driving for you, the 124 Abarth is a car you’ll want to drive. Skip the stripes and pricey digital options, and you’ll have more fun than just about anything on the road.