Abarth 124 Spider: PH Fleet
Abarth worked brilliantly as Christmas transport no matter the weather!
During the cold snap over Christmas, the windows froze over, preventing them from dropping the centimetre or two necessary to open the door, and the wing mirrors never managed to completely defrost, leaving the centre completely frozen. Luckily, though, I never experienced any of the technological gremlins that Matt spoke about in his last update, although the infotainment system did get a little confused, refusing to output a voice call to the headrest speakers whilst Waze continued to blurt out directions through the door units.
And that idea of going for an early drive in the Abarth is great, until you need to start up on a quiet street. The noise that comes from the Monza exhaust somewhat reminiscent of a yacht idling at its berth, just burbling away. In an ideal world, the exhaust system would be connected to the Sport button so that the full baritone notes are unleashed only in conjunction with the improved throttle response, allowing Normal to keep the exhaust muted to a more sociable level.
All in all, this may seem a somewhat negative reflection for a car we've so enjoyed, but the fact is that so much pleasure can be derived from driving the Abarth, even on mundane journeys, that the little niggles are what start to really play on the mind. Despite those minor irritations, however, the Abarth is certainly a car that will be remembered fondly once it's gone back.
FACT SHEET
Car: 2017 Abarth 124 Spider
On fleet since: August 2017
Mileage: 15,367 miles (delivered on 8,858)
List price new: £29,565 (As tested £32,210 comprising £600 for Portogallo 1974 Grey paint, £1,250 for Visibility Pack (LED headlights with automatic levelling and washers, Adaptive Front Light System, Dusk-sensing and rain sensitive wipers, rear parking sensors) and £795 for Bose Sound System)
Last month at a glance: Abarth providing fun on mundane journeys over Christmas
Previous reports
Naughty but nice? A noisy Abarth noses onto the Fleet
Can 124 score 10/10 against 595 and MX-5?
Sliding around Silverstone in the Abarth puts it in Matt's good books
Electrical gremlins starting to emerge in the little Abarth
Dynamic photos: Will Williams
In comparison, its predecessor, a Golf R, to which I grew a kind of grudging affection towards, always felt like the result of a million meetings where everything was just as good as it needed to be, rather than exceptionally good or bad.
Of course, the Golf R — and indeed, any Golf — is the car you have when you can only have one car; it is defined by this purpose of compromise. But, I've replaced it with a gloriously impractical two-seater and 1995 Volvo 850 Estate (£350) to lug around all the bulky stuff. The best thing about having both is that each one makes the other feel special on its own terms and so neither ever gets boring — something you can't enjoy with just one Golf.
I still think the MX5 is a nicer looking car....but when i stop thinking of the 124 as looking like a poorly proportioned copy of a previous model MX5 (which i still think it does)....and change to think of it as being 'it's own car'....it makes a lot more sense.
I gather they are also a bit bigger inside than the current MX5? At 6ft 2...these things matter.
I saw a normal fiat 124 drive past the window today and they certainly stand out compared to the rest driving past.
Someone above mentioned the mx5 vs 124 for the taller driver. The 124 is far more comfortable (I’m 6’3”).
I saw a normal fiat 124 drive past the window today and they certainly stand out compared to the rest driving past.
Someone above mentioned the mx5 vs 124 for the taller driver. The 124 is far more comfortable (I’m 6’3”).
I can fit in the soft top MX-5 - it's snug, don't get me wrong, but once I'd been driving for a couple of minutes I got used to it. Couldn't fit in the RF however, the roof was too low!
I saw a normal fiat 124 drive past the window today and they certainly stand out compared to the rest driving past.
Someone above mentioned the mx5 vs 124 for the taller driver. The 124 is far more comfortable (I’m 6’3”).
I can fit in the soft top MX-5 - it's snug, don't get me wrong, but once I'd been driving for a couple of minutes I got used to it. Couldn't fit in the RF however, the roof was too low!
My hard top 335i does this... its a right pain when it freeze
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