Fix It Again Tony,
When I first saw the official pictures of the Abarth 124 Spider I didn’t think much of them, not that I thought a lot of the ND MX-5 to be honest and I’ve always been a huge fan of the NA MX-5.
I completely changed my mind when I saw it in person, then I started up the 1.4-litre MultiAir turbo four-cylinder engine and heard the optionally fitted Record Monza exhaust. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face and while my first couple of minutes driving it were fun, it wasn’t until I found the sport button that really woke up the beast; improving the throttle response, firming up the steering, relaxing the traction control and ESP.
I spent the next week looking for every opportunity to get out and go for a drive and I was sad to see it go at the end of the week. So much so that three weeks later I was in the dealership trading in my Kia ProCeed GT on one.
I ignored all the advice I had been given about buying an Italian car but given that it’s built by Mazda on the same production line as the ND MX-5 I felt fairly comfortable that my purchase would be a safe one.
Sadly the bits built by Mazda are the ones that I have the most problems with. From really thin and soft paint that scratches with the slightest touch, to the steering wheel colour band rubbing off within 12 months. The main issue was the retractable roof rubbing on the rear of the roll hoops so much it wore a hole in the roof fabric, a claim that was rejected by Fiat at three dealers, citing I wasn’t retracting the roof correctly.
Eventually it was replaced but with the original rubbing problem still present. Other than that, build quality is solid with no rattles or squeaks.
The cabin is snug for someone that is 186cm tall but that just adds to the sensation of putting the car on rather than getting in to it, but as snug as it is, it’s not wanting for much with auto headlights and wipers, nine speaker Bose stereo, push button start, reversing camera and with the optional vision pack it also has cornering LED headlights, blind spot monitoring with cross traffic alert but it does miss out on AEB. The one feature I miss more than anything is auto up on the windows.
Although the Fiat connect infotainment system is just a re-skin of the Mazda Connect system it’s disappointing that unlike Mazda, Fiat have not made the Android Auto/Apple CarPlay upgrade available, but thanks to a great online community and the fact that it shares the MX-5’s electrics, I was able to order the parts from my local Mazda dealer and two hours later I had CarPlay installed.
This is not the car if you’re shy and don’t like talking to strangers, at some point on almost every drive I find myself alongside someone at the lights trying to get my attention. Asking questions like whats under the bonnet, how fast, how does it drive and what is it.
I used to tell people it’s an Abarth but after the third ‘what?’ I’d say it’s a Fiat, which more people understood, so now I just I say it’s a Fiat. While I secretly love the attention the Spider receives, it’s an issue when it’s parked in public as people can’t seem to keep their hands off it and with the soft paint it’s showing the signs of admiring fingers being dragged along it.
It’s the constant grin when driving the Spider that makes you forget about all the negative, the turn-in is sharp, it handles flat and is super predictable at the limit. The power delivery is not as linear as the MX-5, but I’m ok with that. I love the feeling of the boost kicking in opening the valves on the bi-modal exhaust, it just does it with so much more theatre.
So two years on I still find myself looking for an excuse to get out and go for a drive.