Classical elegance and wind-through-the-hair motoring remain high on the list of a special class of buyer priorities that the traditional two-seater car satisfies. Appealing more to the heart than the head, dipping into the sportscar arena can be an expensive exercise but there are two carmakers that have worked the market cleverly to kick high costs into touch.
Fiat is a carmaker on somewhat of a nostalgia kick with many of its latest models, as proven by the retrospective stylings of its Alfa Romeos and the resurrection of the 500 moniker for its mainstream brand offerings. The firm’s once popular Spider and the never officially-imported Barchetta remind us of a strong legacy. Should you desire an original, try California, or Nevada, where the climate has been remarkably kind to Federal-bumpered convertible Fiats of that vintage…although you might pay a premium for the privilege.
Yet, manufacturing a sports car is not inexpensive. It has to be strong, with good roll protection, and zesty enough to warrant the sportscar tag. While Fiat can afford to consider a self-developed model, when taking economies of scale into account, seeking a partner makes sense. Mazda, now freed from its Ford shackles, has the ideal base…a Hiroshima sportscar factory and enough production capacity to make it worthwhile.
Of course, the MX5 is something of a revolution, not least because it evokes the illustrious past and pomp of a period, when Britannia ruled the waves and British sportscars ruled international roads. It is the world’s best-selling two-seat sportscar bar none. Fiat is able to latch onto its tow-bar of success and can share some of the limelight. As the Mazda brand possesses a superb reliability record, Fiat can also trade on its reflected glory. The MX5 platform is a solid one. Front-engine. Rear-drive. Easily raised soft-top. Sweet gearbox. The recipe for success is well directed.
Of course, Fiat does not want a faithful replica, thus its designers and engineers got stuck into re-fettling the MX-5 platform with Fiat’s turbocharged 1.4-litre petrol engine and strengthening the transmission to accommodate the additional torque. As such, armed with 140bhp, it dovetails neatly between the 128bhp 1.5-litre and 158bhp 2.0-litre Mazda units, which also helps to avoid model confusion.
Yet, apart from some minor detail differences in upholstery, which I think, personally, looks more at home in the Fiat than the Mazda, there are other technological and instrumentation carry-overs that will be of little consequence to most owners of either marque. As it happens, the shared aspects also happen to be the best ones.
For a start, the driving position, a key requisite of the sportscar buyer, is near-perfect, with plenty of leg, foot, knee, hip and shoulder space, although raising the high-quality canvas top might upset some loftier hairstyles, even with the inclusion of an anti-turbulence screen, when it is down. In fact, with the top raised, simply by reaching over your left shoulder to grab the handle that latches over-centre on the screen-rail, an operation that takes around two seconds to achieve and, thus, needs no electric operation, cabin refinement is surprisingly good. The range of seat and steering column adjustability, while not extensive, is more than adequate.
As mentioned earlier, Fiat’s nostalgia kick allowed it to delve fifty years into the company’s past, to produce an updated bodywork version of the original 124 Spider. All of the 1960s’ cues are evident, from the power-humps on the bonnet, to the downward kink of the boot’s trailing edge. Even the radiator shell reflects the styling of the original, as does the headlamp signature. It is a very attractive machine, possessing enough classical elements to distance it further from its heavily Oriental sidekick.
Driving the Spider is immensely pleasurable. The relatively small capacity engine delivers a handsome wallop, which results in a top speed of 134mph, allied to the ability to cover the 0-60mph acceleration benchmark in a smidgen over 7.0 seconds. While that wind-through-the-hair aspect is particularly enticing at maximum velocity, driven with caution, the Spider’s Official Combined fuel return of 44.1mpg is well within reach, although the worst figure I attained on some of Cheshire’s most challenging back-doubles was closer to 32mpg, pushing very hard. It emits 148g/km of CO2, which equates to £200 for the first year’s road tax but £140 annually thereafter.
Its ride quality is firm but surprisingly supple and proves capable of absorbing most road surface imperfections with aplomb, although sharper-edged holes are both noisier to encounter and can jostle occupants. Fortunately, the standard stability control ensures that the Spider regains its composure almost immediately. Opt for the 17-inch alloy wheels (16s are standard) and the 205/45 profile tyres can introduce additional road noise understandably. The all-round disc brakes provide assured stopping power and the switch-blade gearshift is an utter delight to operate, being both short in travel and capable of changing gears as fast as the driver can synchronise hand and foot motions.
There are three trim levels available: Classica, Lusso and Lusso Plus, as well as the higher-tuned Abarth alternatives. The differences between them are quite small but allow buyers to tailor their cars to meet budget conditions. Prices start at £21,050, rising to £23,800 and £25,050 respectively, although Motor Source Group discounts will reduce those figures significantly. The options list is small and will not add too much to the invoice, although the racier Abarth version carries a significantly higher price tag to accompany a promised 200bhp that tests the integrity of the platform to a much higher level.
