Fiat 124 Spider offers open-air nostalgia
It occurred to me the other day that one of my favorite images of any car was of a sports car coming toward you on a curvy roadway, trailing an exhilarating exhaust note as it comes around the last curve, with multicolored fallen leaves blowing up in a swirlin wake.
It also occurred to me that the same reverie has stayed with me for about 50 years, and it was regenerated because I was driving a new Fiat 124 Spider roadster along a curvy road, and sure enough, some of the leaves that had given up early were visible in my rear-view mirror.
The other reason for those indelible memories coming back is that if you look at the 2017 Fiat 124 Spider from the front corner, it bears a striking resemblance to the original Fiat 124 Spider that was the object of considerable lust by a much-younger me.
Fifty years ago, the auto business was vastly different. There were big sedans, a few pickup trucks, and a scant few primitive imported sedans. But there also was an impressive array of sports cars -- mostly from European countries, most notably MGs and Triumphs coming from Great Britain actually in large and smaller sizes, amid a few German and Italian roadsters.
Fiat, in fact, was best known in the U.S. for its 124 Spider roadster, and its companion 124 Coupe 2-plus-2, along with a couple obscure little economy cars 50 years ago. It was, in fact, 50 years ago that the 124 Spider first hit these shores. Times change, and Fiat quit selling cars in the U.S., as we’ve seen pickup trucks, minivans, large and small sedans, and SUVs take over the marketplace, all but squeezing the pure-pleasure sports cars out of the picture.
You can’t find an MG or Triumph anywhere, and those of us who wish we could can only thank Mazda for creating the inexpensive joy of the Miata for preserving the breed. With Fiat coming back into the U.S. both on its own and as owner of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, I’m sure Fiat is also celebrating Mazda’s latest Miata -- which is far more than merely inspiration for Fiat to recreate its 124 Spider; it is the basis physically and spiritually for the 2017 Fiat 124 Spider.
Our neighbors, who always wanted to add a sports car to their pickup and SUV world, bought a Miata a year ago, and they look for every opportunity to put the top down and go off on drives together, or fight over which of them gets to drive it to work before the Minnesota chill shortens the roadster season. When I had the Fiat 124 Spider for a week’s test drive, our neighbors looked it over and remarked about how amazing it is that the control knobs and interior features are identical to their Miata.
That makes sense, because the 124 Spider began life as a Miata. But Fiat did far more than just take a Miata, change the grille and put a Fiat emblem on the nose. When Fiat first decided it wanted to build an inexpensive roadster, the thought was to rebadge it as an Alfa Romeo, which is another Fiat-owned nameplate. But then Fiat realized that a rebirth of the 124 Spider was the most-appropriate way to go.
Taking the Miata platform, Fiat first replaced the exceptional Mazda Skyactiv powertrain, with its 155-horsepower 2.0-liter 4-cylinder and replaced it with Fiat’s own 1.4-liter MultiAir 4 from the 500’s Abarth-powered pocket rocket tweaks the turbocharger up to 160 horsepower, with 184 foot-pounds of torque, and installs it as the first application of that engine in a front-engine/rear-drive platform.
Leaving pertinent features as Mazda built them, Fiat stretched the body a bit from the Miata’s silhouette, styling the extended nose to be longer and more gracefully slender, and also styling the rear bodywork, both to resemble the 50-year-old Fiat 124 Spider. Fiat did its own thing with suspension, too, tuning double-wishbone front and multilink rear. Without driving the two back to back, I would venture that the Miata might be a bit more abrupt in the quickness of its steering and handling, while the 124 Spider might be a bit more mild as a boulevardier. Both are supremely fun to drive.
The 124 I test-drove was the Spider Lusso model, which is positioned between the base Classica and the high-powered Abarth models. With a few luxury amenities, the Lusso raises the base price of the 124 Spider from $25,000 to $27,495, and with several classy options the test-fleet car carried a sticker of $29,985.
A 6-speed stick guarantees that there is no shortage of sporty flair with the 124 Spider Lusso, and the arrangement between Italian designers and Japanese engineers worked. The 124 is assembled in Hiroshima, Japan, and the test car was finished in Grigio Moda Meteor Grey metallic, with Nero black leather interior.
A carryover feature from the Miata is that when you’re driving along -- preferably blowing those fallen leaves up behind -- and you realize it’s warm enough out that you should have the top down, you can reach up with your right hand, unlatch the top, pop it upward, and guide it back and then down, with only a slight finishing push latching it securely under a hard cover. No need to stop. You can do it in a few seconds, even at 15 or 20 mph.
Same if a sudden rainstorm interrupts your solitude: Slow down, reach back to unlatch, then pull the top up and over and lock it in place. Tight, precise fit, water tight with an acoustically lined headliner on the underside of that soft top.
Driving pleasure is enhanced by some of the contemporary auto features, such as blind-spot detection, cross-park detection, rear parking camera and parking assist, plus rain-sensing wipers and LED head and tail lights.
The 124 Spider is also easy on gas, making its 35-mpg highway fuel economy reachable and staying above 26 in town even if you like to run up the revs to hear that exhaust note. You can get an upgraded Bose audio system with nine speakers, although I still can’t comprehend where there is room for nine speakers.
Emergency handling is obviously excellent, and pleasurable handling is precise and exciting. Under Fiat’s direction, the 124 makes some pertinent changes, including adding just a touch more power, but a buyer who is determined to get a thoroughly enjoyable sporty roadster that has more than enough punch for real-world driving, and can turn a cloverleaf into a thrill without breaking any speed limits, my advice would be to try both the Mazda MX-5 Miata and the Fiat 124 Spider. You can make your decision based on appearance or any other element, and you won’t be making a mistake.
One last note for those who are reluctant to get a sporty, rear-drive roadster in snow country: My experience is that folks in colder climates enjoy and appreciate top-down driving more than those all across the South, where you’ll see more roadsters with the top up to keep the heat out. Up north, we appreciate sun and warmth, and capitalize on every possible moment to put the top down and go!
