Raising the roof

They may roll out of the same factory but the new Fiat 124 Spider is going head to head with the Mazda MX-5 as James Fossdyke reports

Amazingly, the 124 manages to be both very new and hardly new at all. It shares little more than a name with the old 124, which went out of production in the 1980s, but it shares much with a far more modern roadster, the fourthgeneration Mazda MX-5.

The bodywork takes cues from the old car, what with the round headlights and the wide, vertical grille, but applies them in a distinctly modern way.

The majority of the underpinnings, meanwhile, are pretty much straight from Mazda’s much-acclaimed droptop. a stunning thing to look at. Inside, it’s basically identical to the MX-5, with the circular air vents, driver-focused cockpit and seven-inch infotainment system that perches on the main dashboard. The changes are just enough to give the 124 a charming Italian character that the MX-5 can never match. The Mazda may be a pure driving machine, but the Fiat is undoubtedly the more stylish option. little more space in the boot, but it’s hardly cavernous back there. The biggest problem, though, is that the steering wheel doesn’t adjust for reach. It’s a small issue really, because it’ll be fine for most, but taller drivers might struggle to get comfortable. With the MX-5 as a baseline, it’s no surprise that the 124 Spider is a great car to drive, but there is a very different character to the Fiat.

The 138bhp engine may be less powerful than the MX-5’s 158bhp 2.0-litre unit, but it offers similar performance. The 7.5-second sprint from 0-62mph is two-tenths slower than the Mazda’s, but the 134mph top speed is marginally faster. In the real world, though, it actually feels substantially quicker than the Mazda.

The MX-5 is the ultimate driver’s car, and though the 124 is a half-step behind in terms of excitement and involvement, it’s actually a far better allrounder. The 124 Spider pricing starts from £19,545. It’s £1,100 more