There’s a firm edge to the ride at low speed, plus a tiny amount of body flex over really severe potholes, but the rest of the time the Fiat is comfortable and composed.
Refinement is as good as you’d expect for this type of car, too. With the hood raised there is some wind noise at high speed, but it’s rarely intrusive and no worse than the roar from the tyres. Drop the roof and the Fiat’s cabin remains a surprisingly calm place, thanks in part to a small wind deflector that sits between the roll hoops behind the seats.
Another dynamic highlight is the all-disc braking set-up, which delivers effortless stopping power. The system also benefits from a progressive pedal action that makes it easy to slow the Spider smoothly.
Engines
Currently, there’s only one engine to choose from – a turbocharged 1.4-litre four-cylinder petrol unit. It’s essentially the same MultiAir unit that’s used in the Abarth 500.
In the 124 Spider it delivers a respectable 138bhp, which places it between the entry-level 129bhp1.5-litre MX-5 and Mazda’s flagship 158bhp 2.0-litre car. However, where the Fiat scores over its sister car is torque. Thanks to its turbocharger, the 124 Spider delivers a muscular 240Nm (the 2.0-litre Mazda produces 200Nm) at just 2,250rpm, which means it responds more eagerly to the throttle at low revs.
According the official figures the Fiat will cover the 0-62mph sprint in just 7.5 seconds. Yet that wave of mid-range torque means it feels even faster in the real world. And more relaxing, because you can often stay in a higher gear without the need to shift down to accelerate past slower traffic or up a motorway incline.
However, while you don’t need to change gear all that often, you’ll probably do it anyway. That’s thanks largely to the six-speed manual that benefits from a quick, precise and short throw action. It’s not the same gearbox as in the Mazda, but you wouldn’t know from using it. Buyers who want to take things a little easier can choose the six-speed automatic, which can also perform manual changes via the steering wheel mounted paddles.
The 1.4-litre unit sounds pretty good, too. It doesn’t have the same appetite for revs as the Mazda units, but it benefits from a subtly raspy exhaust note that’s reminiscent of the 1960s original. Yet it settles down to a background hum at a cruise, and in combination with the torquey power delivery it allows the Fiat to perform a little like a mini GT car.
The new marks the Italian brand’s return to the affordable roadster market after an absence of more than decade. Heavily based on the , the newcomer combines that car’s agile rear-wheel drive handling with Fiat’s own turbocharged MultiAir engine. The 124 Spider also features totally unique exterior styling – although the interior is carried over largely unchanged from the Mazda.
The Fiat can trace its roots back to the original 124 Spider, which made its debut back in 1966 and continued in production for nearly two decades. Then, in 1995, Fiat had another stab at the roadster market with the pretty Barchetta. However, this car was front-wheel drive and only available in left-hand drive, meaning sales were slow, particularly in the face of rivals such as the MX-5.
So for this revived 124 Spider, Fiat has decided that ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em’. As a result, the new car is essentially a re-skinned Mazda MX-5.
Every single body panel is changed to give the Fiat its own identity, but the underlying structure, suspension and even the interior are taken wholesale from the Mazda. The Fiat is also built alongside the MX-5 at Mazda’s Hiroshima factory in Japan.
Externally, the Fiat looks different enough from the Mazda MX-5. Yet with its longer overhangs (the Fiat is 139mm longer overall), gaping front grille and slab sides, the 124 Spider doesn’t looks as compact or stylish as the tautly designed and perfectly proportioned Mazda.
Yet while fans of the sixties original will no doubt be dismayed at this blatant badge-engineering, it does mean the 124 Spider is fun to drive, solidly built and relatively affordable. And while much of the Fiat is Japanese, its heart is still 100 percent Italian.
Under the sculpted bonnet (a clear nod to the sixties original) is Fiat’s own 138bhp turbocharged 1.4-litre MultiAir petrol engine. It doesn’t rev quite as eagerly as the naturally aspirated 1.5 and 2.0-litre units used in the MX-5, but it’s as quick as the latter thanks to its muscular 240Nm torque output. It’s also more relaxing to drive, because you don’t need to work the engine as hard to access strong performance.
Currently, this engine is the only option available to British 124 Spider buyers – the American market car gets a more potent 160bhp version of the same powerplant. However, sources close to the company have confirmed that an even more powerful and sharper handling Abarth model is in the pipeline for UK and European customers.
Like the Mazda MX-5 powerplants, this engine drives through a six-speed manual gearbox, yet unlike its Japanese cousin the Fiat 124 Spider is also available in the UK with a six-speed automatic.
Given that the 124 Spider is essentially a Mazda MX-5 in an Italian suit, the newcomer promises to be hugely entertaining to drive. It weighs around 30kg more at 1,050kg, yet everything else about the car’s underpinnings is largely unchanged. That means you get the same real-wheel drive layout, plus double wishbone suspension at the front and a multi-link set-up at the rear.
That said, Fiat’s engineers have stiffened the springs and dampers, plus they’ve changed the anti-roll bars and recalibrated the electrically assisted steering.
As a result, the Fiat feels extremely nimble and agile through a series of corners. The steering is quick and accurate and features more meaty weighting than the Mazda.
There isn’t masses of grip, but that means it’s possible to subtly adjust the Spider’s line through a corner using a combination of steering and throttle. And when the 124 Spider does reach the limit of grip it begins to slide progressively and the electronic safety systems smoothly intervene.
Switch the stability control off, and the Fiat’s traditional rear-wheel drive layout and torquey power delivery allows you to indulge in controllable sideways slides in slippery conditions, but there’s no limited slip differential so it’s not really a car for show-boating, smokey tailslides.
The Fiat resists roll better than the Mazda, meaning it feels flatter during hard cornering. Yet the damping is excellent, so any body movements are well controlled – the Spider comfortably shrugs off mid-corners bumps.
No comments:
Post a Comment