Fiat 124 2017

The new Fiat 124 Spider marks the Italian brand’s return to the affordable roadster market after an absence of more than decade. 

Heavily based on the Mazda MX-5, 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.