LAST RIDE Fiat 124 Spider Abarth

[@chefdancooksforyou1352]

I've owned one for a little over a year. If you are going to buy one get an Abarth. It's not an MX-5. It's an Italian roadster designed by Fiat and built on the MX-5 platform. I give Fiat a lot of credit for teaming with Mazda on this car. It's beautiful, sexy and it performs. Personally, I wouldn't make comments until you drive one. On second thought, don't drive one unless you are ready to buy one. Once you get a taste you will want one, bad.

[@BrianMakse]

Indeed. I'd put a tune on it and call it a day.

[@chefdancooksforyou1352]

@@BrianMakse Yes a tune is in the near future. I installed a cold air induction and new diverter valve for the turbo made by Go Fast Bits. It really helped reduce any turbo lag and sweetened up the throttle response. I'm also considering a turbo upgrade. ATP Garrett 1752 turbo from Eurocompulsion. At the end of the day the spec is roughly 265hp/284ft pounds torque at the rear wheels. All upgrades are bolt on and total cost for the build is around $2700. A lot of bang for the buck. And should smoke anything in its class+.

[@ag4allgood]

Better yet, drive them back to back so YOU know what the differences are for yourself. There is a big difference !

[@nelsonperez1577]

Keeping my A124 as long as possible. Best handling car I've ever had. Also running Brazil tune Phase 1. Check it out! Also every car show, you find out how unique this car is!

[@BrianMakse]

Lovely car. What are you making with that tune?

[@nelsonperez1577]

@@BrianMakse The shop said 200hp. But I'm not sure. It did wake up the car really well. I'm happy with the performance and drivability overall.

[@GadgetyMV]

"a... convertible turns a regular commute into an occasion" I totally agree. Very well put.

[@BrianMakse]

Totally true, isn't it?

[@jswish777]

Yesss

[@seanin1990]

In the summer the majority of dates I go on are mountain drives in the Catskills. The women love it and it can be done with less than a full tank of gas. $40

[@bispal]

Great review and AT LAST! someone who agrees with me regarding cloth seats. SO much better than leather. :-)

[@BrianMakse]

Thanks! Truth!

[@CrappyBJJBlueBelt]

I have this exact car and I love it. It handles so well and definitely turns heads all the time. Plus, no one knows what it is. LOL

[@BrianMakse]

@@CrappyBJJBlueBelt I think that was the experience I had, as well. Quite a few people asked what it was.

[@ag4allgood]

@@BrianMakse Watched it again Brian. Absolutely don't see these cars. Used to see one in the parking lot at work. No more. Exclusive cars becoming more excusive. Is it a plus or a minus ?

[@ag4allgood]

Hey Brian , good review. These 2 cars 124 Spyder / MX-5 do have completely different feels to them. I preferred the 2016 MX-5 Club with Brembo / BBS over a 2017 Fiat 124 Spyder Abarth as I test drove them back to back. The 124 Abarth had a nice Red tach in the cluster but I didn't care for the huge Abarth badges on the hood & trunk. The 1.4 L turbo has a lag to it so throttle response was delayed. The shifter was notchy plus the clutch felt overly heavy for a small sport car. The MX-5 Club has a great feel to the shifter & super light clutch. The naturally aspirated 2.0L engine has PLENTY of torque in every gear. Throttle response was instant ! Plus it felt so much more athletic & nimble in the corners. So engaging to drive my dealer gave my the keys for an extended test ride for a whole Sunday plus a 1/4 of a Monday ( work in the way ) to make a decision with it ! So after work I traded my old car in plus had to throw down some cash & now the MX--5 Club with Brembo / BBS pkg sits in my garage. Great car even as a daily in 4 season Illinois I put the winter tires on when the snow flies !

[@BrianMakse]

Thanks, Alan. Saturday's review is ready to drop and guess what it is...a base MX-5!

[@ag4allgood]

@@BrianMakse You mean a Sport model of the 2020 MX-5 ? That will be interesting to hear your thoughts.

[@BrianMakse]

Alan Gregori the trim name depends on the local market, so I’m going with base. Fun drive. Episode drops early tomorrow morning.

[@kmitchbuyshouses3717]

Thanks for another Spot on review. I have driven both the Miata and the Spyder and could not have describe the differences any better.

[@BrianMakse]

Right on!

[@henrychen8067]

1:02 no, I will say "Abarth 124 Spider Competizione" instead. JUST to show off.

[@ogdumplings8196]

Turbo miata

[@jamandtoast4tea]

Great review many thanks

[@BrianMakse]

Thanks for watching!

[@Bretana]

Great review! I own the Classica trim and I love the heck out of it. It truly is incredibly fun to drive. I love it's uniqueness. I agree with you about the cloth seats! I much prefer them over leather.

[@BrianMakse]

Thanks, Brittini! Classica is great, I know exactly what that is. Which colour did you buy?

[@Bretana]

@@BrianMakse I ended up just getting the regular white color, since I planned to get it wrapped in another color that they didn't sell it in

[@BrianMakse]

@@Bretanasmart! The wrap will preserve the white paint, too. Enjoy your Spider!

[@dawsonjohannes613]

My brother just picked up a 2019 ND Miata and was a little upset he got the cloth seats in the Club instead of leather in the Grand Touring GT-S. I've had this talk with him a thousand times: cloth is a better material than leather for seats. I'd rather not burn my legs on a hot summer day, and here in Buffalo it gets cold in the winter-- I don't want to sit on frozen seats either!

[@BrianMakse]

Cheers to that! Your brother scored on that ND. Did a review of it last summer, feel free to check it out.

[@ag4allgood]

@@BrianMakse Agree on the cloth seats. The 2016 Club I have the cloth seats almost have a hammock kind of feel. They are not heated but the heater does a nice job keeping me warm in winter with the top down in 20 F degree temps with the side windows up. Only thing that feels cool is the top of my head but I have plenty of hair.

[@chris-de-gio7455]

Thanks for the review. A little addition, because you said that the noise is not really a special thing: In Europe, one of the most interesting things pro Abarth is the exhaust "Record Monza". Nearly every Abarth 124 spider has it here (like mine) and it's an absolute fun thing!

[@BrianMakse]

How funny. Here it's the opposite. Most dealers and customers don't bother with the exhaust. I've only heard it once, I think, and I love it.

[@chris-de-gio7455]

@@BrianMakse yeah, sad that its like that, because everyone would love the abarthish exhaust sound. I really didnt get the decision of fiat. But maybe it was a legal issue

[@seanin1990]

I love the exhaust, especially between 2nd and 3rd gears. Those pops are magic to the ears.

[@jamandtoast4tea]

Fun fact The spider uses the manual transmission from the previous mx5 so it's super reliable.

[@BrianMakse]

Yep, covered this in our first drive of this 124 years ago.

[@chrisbrook1234]

I could not agree with you more about the cloth! I currently have a 5-speed Focus Titanium Hatch with the base cloth interior which I chose over a 6-speed Veloster Turbo that was comparable in price because of the seat material. I love the Veloster Turbo but it has always bothered me that it is leather-only. In the next year or so I would like to get something quicker and the Veloster Turbo, Focus ST, GTI and Civic Si are all on the short list but the fact the former two are leather-only is definitely a strike against them when the latter two are available with cloth.

[@BrianMakse]

Cheers! What about the new seats in the Veloster N?

[@chrisbrook1234]

@@BrianMakse good point, I did sit in the Veloster N at the CIAS this year and loved it! If I can find a good deal on a used one I would definitely get the N over any of them, they are just still too new for prices to be where I want them.

[@kareybarey13]

U like cloth over leather?

[@ZZZWorks]

No last ride... a never ending story.

[@BrianMakse]

Indeed. It's forever on youtube!

[@ZZZWorks]

@@BrianMakse and in some garage....

[@swanblake]

I wish you could option a lsd on all the trims instead of needing to buy the Abarth model just for an LSD on a sports car

[@ErectileSceptile]

Why would you want the regular model anyways? The Abarth can be bought cheap (used) and sounds infinitely better than stock

[@acchaladka]

@@ErectileSceptile Well, cloth seats obviously. Yeesh, it's likes you weren't even listening to Brian's video! ;)

[@johnmohanmusic]

If they had the sense to put a 2 Liter Turbo engine in it with a solid 250 hp (or more), they'd still be selling every one they could build today.

[@hillbillysportsman5818]

#save the manuals # save the cloth seats👍

[@BrianMakse]

Truth!

[@acchaladka]

Excellent summary review and I agree on all points - highlights are tune-ability and lowlight is the ‘infotainment’. I’ve been looking at these and see two key roadblocks to me getting one: first, prices are way too high for the base trim (with taxes a base Classica with the cloth seats, totals almost $45k Canadian MSRP) and there’s only a 10% jump to fully loaded Abarth, which of course is, unbelievably, more expensive than a Golf R. Secondly “Fiat” dealers in Canada are really Chrysler dealers, and they’re atrocious. I’ve had them miss appointments, question my choice of a 124 (eg “but you should get a Jeep they’re totally fun dude, what are you going to do with this little faggot car?”), pretend to be insulted I want to talk price on a two year-old car sitting on their lot, all kinds of stupidities like that. I cannot imagine dealing with that kind of place for service and what kind of truck mechanic will get told to service mine. All other factors aside, I’d love to have this as a second car.

[@BrianMakse]

A friend of mine recently bought one in Canada. $9k off MSRP.

[@justint984]

Really looking at buying one of these, I'm just worried at the reliability.

[@BrianMakse]

What are they saying on the forums?

[@brendansenior5181]

I’ve had mine for a year and drive semi hard on weekends. Haven’t had any issues yet at 15,000 miles

[@ag4allgood]

Eating oil in massive quantities ! Others are fine.

[@dogbert22]

might be too little too late, but I have a 2018 124 Abarth and it has been a shop nightmare. It only has about 10k miles and at 7k miles it required a new clutch with very mild, mostly freeway driving. I've never had to replace a clutch on any of my cars even after nearly a decade of use. At 10k miles it just stopped turning over and after 3 months in the shop and a million phone calls with FCA, it has a new engine. All of this was thankfully under warranty, and otherwise I have enjoyed the car, but it really scares me long term. I only leased it and it is up in mid 2021 and I definitely won't be buying out this lease. I had been warned about Fiat going into the purchase, and pretty much every worst case scenario has been realized.

[@pete332]

I think reliability fears is what ultimately killed the 124. The past came back to haunt Fiat.. It's a shame because it's a beautiful car.

[@Hermetic_]

Longevity of the engine?

[@flat6fever680]

You are right. Most people on the road drive incredibly boring cars....

[@BrianMakse]

Truth.

[@eric_peachey193]

I want to love these things so badly, but I just can get them to fit me right without a telescoping wheel.

[@BrianMakse]

One also learns to adapt.

[@eric_peachey193]

Brian Makse probably would have been better if I had more than a few minutes in the car

[@BrianMakse]

No doubt. After racing dozens of cars, I learn that you have no choice but to adapt in that environment. Few road cars are bad, but this one and the ND could be better, which is a surprise given their mission.

[@ShakingTwoTrees2012]

Since the 2019 model year refresh, the Mazda MX-5 ND has come standard with a telescoping wheel. Since they're built on the same assembly line in Hiroshima, Japan, I'm surprised the Fiata doesn't have it as well.

[@BrianMakse]

@@ShakingTwoTrees2012 It's more difficult than you think, plus it's been discontinued, so investment didn't make sense. Also, saying "fiata" is soooo lame.

[@tonyandrews7956]

Nice looking car but 2 things I can’t get past. Such a tiny engine with turbo lag in a sporty car makes no sense. I don’t need 400 HP but I think 200 or so would be fitting and I prefer naturally aspirated. 2nd is no digital dash in 2019-2020 with that tablet style infotainment. You never said by the way which drives better. The 124 or Mx-5

[@BrianMakse]

This wasn’t a comparison test.

[@gordonbrittas4842]

in the UK these make 168 bhp. A stage1 remap puts it at 200 bhp for £300 ish. Don't forget these are only a ton so they do not really need over 200 hp.

[@ag4allgood]

Tony , you know what that answer is ALWAYS !

[@GeneralObservation24]

Analog gauges will always be better in a convertible due to glare

[@andybroer651]

Seats: Don't get it in black!

[@mdjaidul4850]

MY. PLEASE

[@mdjaidul4850]

on

[@paulblank6161]

Love me 2018

[@alexisamtosta]

Its an Abarth, not a Fiat.

[@BrianMakse]

Huh?

[@alexisamtosta]

@@BrianMakse People always say Fiat Abarth but that is not correct. It is an Abarth 124 and not Fiat Abarth 124. Different brands but owned buy the same group. Nice video though. I love this car.

[@BrianMakse]

It’s a Fiat. Straight from this car’s window sticker, it’s called “FIAT 124 SPIDER ABARTH”.

[@alexisamtosta]

@@BrianMakse Ok. If you say so but its wrong. Fiat is Fiat. Abarth is Abarth.

[@BrianMakse]

@@alexisamtosta So, what you're saying is that the company that sells the car sends it to every customer with incorrect paperwork? I'm pretty sure there are laws against that.

[@abajaj1510]

Mx-5 Nd is a beautiful car....this thing looks like a lump of leftover spaghetti pulled out from the fridge...overloaded with sauce....not to mention the humped torque curve of the fiata buzz engine.....maintenance? Fuggedabahtit.....great job trying to sell it though ....but someone needs to tell Fiat.....nobody’s buying.....

[@BrianMakse]

They’ve already discontinued it.

[@ag4allgood]

@@BrianMakse I like the 124 Abarth looks without the Black trunk / hood. Just don't care for turbo lag in my roadster.

[@kc8653]

Just had a guy try me in one of these. My 03 eclipse spyder gts walked away from him. Things are slow. I'd never pay 26k for this thing. When my 3k project car just destroyed it lol. 3.0 v6 210 hp. So its not the fastest in its self. But compared to that car felt like i had a v8. Haha

[@BrianMakse]

This isn’t a street racing channel.

[@ErectileSceptile]

You do realize that there are Abarth 124s out there making 230 to the wheels with just the eurocompulsion tune?

[@chris-de-gio7455]

It's not a race car. But like you said 3.0 v6 210hp vs. 1.4 4c 160hp... ;) See? But I do think, that 0-100 km/h are pretty the same with them anyway (Wikipedia says 7.2 sec for the eclipse, 6.8 for the 124 spider), so "destroyed" seems a bit exaggerated. But if it makes feel you better - fine ;) Enjoy. Both are totally different cars, so no hassle! :D

[@kareybarey13]

It has never claimed to be a super fast car, its fast enough and its more about the traction and sport mode, handling. I just bought a 2020 Abarth November 2nd and they are all 4 cylinders, with naturally aspirated Turbo, 164 hp. So you are comparing a bigger motor to a smaller one and gloating like a child. Mine was sticker priced at 34,750 i pd 33 out the door, 20k down, and walked away from him. Things are flow, as in i have some, you don't. Enjoy ur old ass thing. Haha.