Used Abarth 124 Spider 2016-2019 review

The story behind the Abarth 124 Spider is rather convoluted, with it being essentially a sportier version of the Fiat 124 Spider, which is itself based on the hugely successful Mazda MX-5. Abarth, you see, is Fiat's in-house tuner. However, you won't find any Fiat badges on this car and it was sold in separate dealerships.

What you get is the two-seat interior and rear-wheel drive platform from the Mazda (and the Fiat), but with stiffer suspension, a traction-enhancing limited slip differential and a more powerful version of the turbocharged 1.4-litre petrol engine found in the Fiat.

So, the Abarth is the fastet version of this fine-handling sports car, but it's also the most expensive.

While the engine in the Fiat 124 Spider produces 138bhp, Abarth has extracted an extra 30bhp from it, which cuts the 0-62mph time from 7.5sec to just 6.8sec. There’s a little turbo lag, which sets you back for a moment each time you upshift, and can be annoying in traffic, but once on song the engine pulls strongly.

The six-speed manual gearbox helps, with a short, neat action that makes it easy to stay within the ideal power band. It's a much better option than the optional automatic, which can't seem to decide which gear it should be in. True, you can override it using paddles behind the steering wheel, but these manual shifts aren't very smooth.

The Abarth 124 Spider sounds racy in the mid-range, but there’s a bassy drone from the exhaust below, while high revs bring a loud, strained engine note, and this soundtrack remains prominent even with the roof up. You also have to put up with a fair amount of wind noise as well as that exhaust drone on the motorway. Taller individuals may find the top of their head blasted by wind with the top down, too.

Much more positively, the revised suspension tames the body roll that you get in this car's Fiat and Mazda cousins, yet the ride is still fairly supple. The limited-slip differential provides fantastic traction out of corners, and this is a thrilling car to drive down a winding road, because it's as involving as it is playful, and you can adjust your line with ease using the accelerator.

The problem is that the Abarth starts to feel raggedy the harder you push it. The stiffer suspension causes the body to wobble more over bumps and sometimes you can’t quite tell how much grip the front tyres have. Take it to a track and you might be disappointed, especially as the cheaper MX-5 handles more sweetly.

The interior design is identical to that of the Mazda MX-5 and Fiat 124 Spider, aside from some different finishes. However, that means all-round visibility is very good and head room just about acceptable for most six-footers.

Dropping (or raising) the manual roof is a moment’s work, and can be done without leaving your seat. And although the range of seat and steering wheel adjustment is limited, most people will find it easy enough to get comfortable.

Clear instrumentation is viewed through the chunky steering wheel, with a prominent rev counter taking centre stage. Meanwhile, the infotainment system is easy to use and responsive to both touchscreen inputs and a rotary controller, even though the sat-nav maps can be a little slow to load.

The upper swathes of the interior are coated in tactile materials, but you'll find scratchy plastics if you look further down - something that's acceptable in the Mazda and Fiat, but a little disappointing here given the Abarth's higher price.

There’s sufficient space for most adults in the 124 Spider, although some may find the non-height adjustable driver’s seat to be mounted too high. That means we’d definitely recommend trying one with the roof up before buying, though; some of our testers can’t fit without having the top down. Leg room isn’t an issue but the narrow interior does push you close to your passenger making it feel claustrophobic with the roof up.

What you do get is a pair of flimsy, movable cupholders, one of which can be fitted next to the passenger’s right leg. Alternatively, both can be mounted on the transmission tunnel, in prime position to be knocked by your elbow.

The boot loads from the top like an American washing machine, but is sadly far less capacious at just 140 litres. The boot’s shape is irregular, too, so to get a week’s luggage for two inside you’ll need to bring squashy bags and go easy on the packing. At least the boot doesn’t get smaller with the roof down like some cabrios.

It’s not like you get plenty of room inside for your belongings, either. Oddment storage is stingy as it has no glovebox, the cubbies in front of and behind the gearlever are tiny, and the three compartments behind the seats are pokey, too.

The Abarth 124 Spider comes with four airbags and cruise control with a speed limiter as standard. It hasn’t been crash tested by Euro NCAP, but expect a similar overall score to the MX-5’s four stars out of five. Both cars are only held back by a relative paucity of driver assistance equipment.

If you're interested in buying a used Abarth 124 Spider, or any of the other cars mentioned here, check out our used car classifieds site here.

Prices for the Abarth 124 Spider start at around £18,000 for a 2016 car, and make their way up to around £25,000 for the last of the 2019 cars.

The Abarth 124 Spider costs more than the equivalent Fiat, while the gap to the Mazda MX-5 is larger still, so you're paying a lot for the extra performance. It’s worth remembering that for not much more than the Abarth you can have an Audi TT Roadster that is much more spacious, plusher insider and cheaper to run.

It's not all bad news, though, because the Abarth returns the same 44.1mpg (under the older NEDC tests that were prevalent at the time) as the Fiat and is more efficient than the more powerful of the two MX-5s.

Road tax will cost the current flat rate for cars registered after April 2017. That rate is currently £155 a year.

Insurance is broadly similar to that of the 1.5-litre Mazda MX-5; this is good news because the 124 is the more powerful car. You need to service the 124 more often, though, since it has 9000-mile intervals rather than the 12,500 miles of some rivals. Fiat offers fixed-price servicing plans to help with costs.

There is only the one version of the Abarth 124 Spider.

The obvious alternative would be the Mazda MX-5. It can be had in a number of engine options, including an economical 1.5-litre petrol and a faster 2.0-litre unit with 158bhp, and you can get it with a folding metal roof. The MX-5 is a touch sharper to drive and its non-turbocharged engines are free from the lag that the Fiat's and the Abarth's units sometimes suffer from.

If you are looking for a more performance-oriented convertible, then a BMW Z4 is worthy of consideration. Not only is it plusher inside and comes with a refined folding metal hardtop, but its six-cylinder petrol engines also sound fantastic and are much more powerful than even this Abarth version of the 124. It is much more costly to run, though.

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? Newsletter here

If you're interested in buying a used Abarth 124 Spider, or any of the other cars mentioned here, head over to our used car classifieds site here.