2018 Fiat 124 Spider: Italian Heart, Japanese Soul

If I had suggested implanting a little four-cylinder Italian engine in a Japanese compact, you would have thought I was having too much sake with my linguini. And, you would really think I was tipping it back to believe that combination would create one of the very best sports cars of all time!

But, consider the component set. The engine is a turbocharged four-cylinder engine from the Fiat 500 Abarth. And, the chassis? Well, that’s from the Mazda Miata. Meet the delightful frankenroadster, known as the Fiat 124 Spider.

Obvious Historical Styling Connections

Pininfarina, purveyor of most things Ferrari, penned the original Spider, but this one was conceived by FiatChrysler. Still, the stylistic connections are obvious. Check the round headlamps, grille shape, and rectangular taillamps. Even the creases in the hood and kicked up fenderline recall the classics. You’d never know there’s a Miata hiding beneath. That long hood is especially sexy from behind the wheel.

The cozy interior is virtually indistinguishable from the Miata’s. Some models have nice stitched dash coverings, but our Classica-grade car came with cloth seats, rubber dash, and leather-wrapped sport steering wheel. A big tachometer right in the middle of the instrument cluster is as God intended. A large dead pedal, ice cold air-conditioning, Bluetooth, USBs, and Satellite radio were excellent on a three-hour drive. As is a Miata trademark, the manual top can be unlatched and flipped back over your head in less than five seconds – no need for fancy power tops. A glass rear window with defroster handles cold mornings and should prove durable.

Ergonomics are mixed. Large climate control knobs and air vents are excellent, but cupholders would be in the perfect location if I had hands in my elbows. The joywheel for the infotainment system works well, but is awkward to reach if you have long arms. And, I’m not sure why you have to click into a tuning mode every time you want to advance radio stations or songs in your music library. As nice as the rest of the car is, none of this was very well thought out. At least there’s a large cubby accessed between the seats and a reasonably sized trunk if you’re packing duffle bags.

Italian Turbo-powered Heart

On the plus side, the shifter clicks precisely, made more enjoyable given it’s connected to a 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine kicking out 160 horsepower and 184 lb.-ft. of torque. Stay out of the throttle to see a frugal 26/35-MPG city/highway. You have to rev the snot out of it to get power, but once you do, the car scoots. Even at ticket-deserving Interstate speeds, just tip into the throttle, feel the turbo deliver torque, and rocket away at a surprising pace. Triple digits are no problem if you can find somewhere that’s legal.

The Spider has a surprisingly comfortable ride, too. The longish wheelbase and compliant suspension tuning provide the right balance of corner-carving precision and long-distance relaxation. Flip it through corners and you’ll enjoy the tight steering as the rear-drive cars rotates on its center axis. You’ll want to find mountain roads and whip them all day long. Given the Miata’s stiff substructure, nothing squeaks, creaks, or rattles – even over rough pavement – allowing the car’s Japanese build quality to shine through.

So, the Spider doesn’t have a back seat like the original version, and my elbows don’t drink coffee, but those are small penalties for what’s likely the best affordable Italian roadster every built. The fact it’s built by Mazda in Japan only erases all of the bad memories and amplifies the good. It may have a Japanese soul, but the heart is completely Italian. A base price of $24,995, or $27,385 as-tested, will tempt you right out of that Subaru BRZ, Toyota 86, or Honda Civic Si.

Storm Forward!

Send questions and comments to Casey at AutoCasey@aol.com; follow him on YouTube @AutoCasey.