I have the exact same car and I do love it. Owned two Miatas previously and by far this gets more head turns and is much more fun. Especially when you turn off the traction control in sport mode. No it’s not a car about practicality but pure enjoyment. Can’t tell you how many strangers approach me about it in parking lots, etc. It gets mistaken for a Maserati or Jag all the time. As far as quality. I’ve never had one problem with it.

Italian style and flair with Japanese reliability...seems to be a car to make you smile. Fun and affordable, great job!

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. The interior is great. I'm not sure what he is talking about. It's kind of annoying that every other word out of his mouth is Miata. It's not. 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.

@mikepolimadei8445

3 жыл бұрын

Why did you sell yours after 1 year?

@chefdancooksforyou1352

3 жыл бұрын

@@mikepolimadei8445 I still have it.

Great review as usual. Thanks

Great review, I just bought one and your review helped me decide. Thank you!

Nice review Sam! I am a big fan of mine...

Back in March of 2017 I did a back to back test of the 124 Spyder Abarth Vs a 2016 Mazda Club soft top. The 2017 124 Spyder Abarth was 1st. I liked the styling but it didn't have the Red mirrors or the flat back hood / trunk treatment but it was White. The Red tach in the cluster is also a nice touch. The test ride had me immediately wondering WHY the heavy feeling clutch in a sports car ? In traffic it really started to bother me. The shifter felt a little tight in its gates. The turbo lag had me waiting ! Overall it had me under whelmed. The next day a 2016 Mazda Mx-5 Club soft top with Brembos / BBS package also in White. Curved lines a much different look than the 124. Interior was good the shifter leather ball felt good in hand. The clutch was so light so easy to work Vs the 124 ! The throttle response was instant ! It pulled all the way thru the rev band in each gear. Shifter felt better easier to find the gears. In corners the MX-5 felt more athletic , more nimble. I really liked the overall feel of the MX-5 Club so much that I bought this car ! After 3.6 years of daily driving it has amazed me how good this little car does even when the snow flies as the winter tires go on. Absolutely a great job by Mazda !

I have the exact car and features. It's a 2017 and I Love it!!! Got it for $18,988.

Beautiful scenery - looks like Gold Canyon, AZ.

Best car at this price, love it...

The 124 Abarth is a great example what used to known as a "hybrid," here with an Italian engine and design, but with Japanese everything else.

Good Review.... it does remind me of the old Black & White Movies, big old 48’ ford/ chevy four door sedans in the background with young couples on vespas or driving zippy little two-seater “sports cars”, a new term for what would replace “hot rod” deuce coupes.

How's insurance and whatnot on these? Would like to get a second car down the line.

Hey Sam by chance can you review either the 2019 kia sorento or 2020 kia telluride I really like your review on the last 2017 kia sorento thanks

Did this abarth have the record Monza exhaust? Trying to decide if that option is worth the $. Thank you!

This has to be somewhere in Kayenta, UT. Looks just like the houses in that area.

Sure looks good. Fun little car.

i want to see you get in and out with the top up.

@TestDrivenTV

5 жыл бұрын

Wearing Spandex or no?

@cdpond

5 жыл бұрын

I can do it with mine, and I'm 6'2". No spandex though. Sorry.

Trying to decide between this and the Miata GT. Does the Fiat come in RF?

@vossler360

5 жыл бұрын

Nope, the 124 is only available as a soft top.

@Driko99

5 жыл бұрын

If you wanna mod, the community is pretty good. With some bolt ons and a tune you can get over 200hp pretty easy and they have some fun tunes that let the exhaust pop a lot. I think the GT is coming to the states soon and that has a removable carbon roof and the soft top, but I haven't looked into it too much but it might be worth the wait depending on when you want to buy.

@cdpond

5 жыл бұрын

Stock? No, No hard top option. But, there are a couple of after market hard top options for it... one from a third party, and another from Fiat. Sadly, the GT 300HP rally version isn't available in North America (I haven't seen any information from Abarth that it will be sold here, as there are no Abarth dealerships in North America and here it's only sold as another trim in the Spider line. In the UK, Europe and Australia, they're sold by Abarth dealerships... not Fiat). With some performance upgrades and tuning, you can tweak around 230 wheel HP out of the North American version, and many of us have gone that route.

I've owned 2 Fiat 500's, looked to buy this car but unfortunately at 6'1" could not get comfortable seating position, shame cause I loved it....

@cdpond

5 жыл бұрын

I'm an inch taller than you, and I'm not having any more challenges with seating in this than I did in my 500. You'll likely know what I mean when I say that you end up learning a certain "getting in and getting out" routine for the 500, and the Spider is no different. With the seat all the way back, I find I have about an inch more headroom in the Spider compared to the 500 (but it had that funky sunroof sliding mesh screen thing over top of my head, and that cut into the interior head room of the car). Still, love both Abarth models. The most fun you can have with your clothes on. :-)

@Gentleman...Driver

4 жыл бұрын

@@cdpond Depends on how your body is built. Larger legs are no issue. But if your Torso is large, then you will have some problems at the top end. ;-) I am 6,02 foot and I am fitting quite well. However, there is not much space at my head when the roof is closed.

Hey Sam. Like that, but minus the (hand-painted) "heritage" stripe. If this is the new direction you are going, thumbs up to you; however, you really need a flat hat to augment your style (especially when in a roadster). This Abarth and the MX-5 are nice, but I need the expandability a 2+2 provides and need to go BRZ instead of 2-door, 2-seat roadster. I think Fiat nailed most of the styling side of this car; now, if they can get Mazda to let them tweak the inside with Fiat specific parts....cheers

@cdpond

5 жыл бұрын

One of the strangest things with the Spider inheriting it's cabin from the Mazda, is that unlike the 500, there's no turbo boost gauge. Given the Mazda's are naturally aspirated, I get that they wouldn't have one... but one of the very first mods I did was to install a pod mount boost gauge. You want to see what the blazes is going on with your boost pressure if you're running a turbo.

@Gentleman...Driver

4 жыл бұрын

@@cdpond I never ever needed a boost gage. But oil temperature and oil pressure would be nice (in any car).

recently bought a 2019 dodge challanger scatpack widebody. but if i were getting a dedicated convertible, it would have to be the 124 spider abarth

@jefferdon4428

5 жыл бұрын

Nice car 😊I wanna get the 124 spider when I am 18 (I'm 14 currently)

@Lem0nsquid

5 жыл бұрын

@@jefferdon4428 awesome man, start working towards it now while youve got time

@jefferdon4428

5 жыл бұрын

@@Lem0nsquid thnx I figured as abarth/fiat isn't popular in Australia there is only about 10 2017 manual 124s in Australia and it will probably cost about 10k ($7.5k us) and my mom said shed try and pay half but I wanna do it myself still a little bit annoyed cause the chance of there being one for sale then is slim

This must be the LESS emotional review of this car i have ever seen.

needs a back seat like the originals. then it would be unique and not just another Mazda, z4, boxster, etc.

@Gentleman...Driver

4 жыл бұрын

Honestly, the only reason we got this car is because it was developed with Mazda together. I for myself dont need a backseat. I was looking for a 2seater car. Back seats in a small car like this are kind of stupid and pointless. So I am happy to have bought the car one year ago. For my purpose it is perfect.

I see a Sam video, automatically click like.

2020 they should replace the 1.4 multiair with the newer 1.3L as it has more power potential.

@cdpond

5 жыл бұрын

mmm No. But, if they installed the 1.8 litre from the Alfa Romeo 4C, now that would be nice.

@andrewrae50

4 жыл бұрын

Kalvin Kao I think that’s a great idea too!

#NicePackage

I'm still waiting for the nice sound from the exhaust !!!!

@cdpond

5 жыл бұрын

You can't hear it because you're used to the vanilla drone of your Dodge. It's killed your hearing. lol

I’d rent it for fun.

Its a moded header. Thats all geeze mx5 is and alway will be the best

I don't think I have ever seen a 124 on the street.

@stephenhendricks103

5 жыл бұрын

They're rare in the Pacific Northwest. No doubt about that. But when I've seen them they're very striking. They project an image of being considerably larger than the MX-5.

@cdpond

5 жыл бұрын

@@stephenhendricks103 - they're around, but yeah, there's not many of them. I live in a city of 1.3 million, and I only know of two other 124 Spider Abarth owners. I know they've sold more than that, but unless its a Cars and Coffee event, you just seldom see them. As to the larger appearance, they are slightly longer than that the MX-5, but I think it's also the optics from the body styling. The fender flares and sleeker body line make it look longer than the more blobular styled MX-5. It's a "some people love 'em, and some people hate 'em" kind of situation. Some people love the Spider body styling, others are drawn to the MX-5. Vive la difference! (Yeah, I know, that's French, not Italian... but the correct sentiment). :-)

@Gentleman...Driver

4 жыл бұрын

I was also stating this before I got mine. But since I bought my Abarth Spider a year ago I see them everywhere. Lol. Might be because they offered them with heavy discounts in my area. Got mine for about 26,000 EUR including tax.

👍👍👍👍👍

I guess V8s have spoiled me. I want to like the sound of the exhaust, but it sounds terrible.

It seems fun but I still think it's still pretty pricey. Even the Miata version I think cost a bit much. For $38,000 I would rather get the Buick Regal GS that puts out 250hp with AWD, Brembo brakes, sport bucket seats that can heat-cool-and massage, plus it can fit 5 people. Cool but not worth the money, also for $38,000 people can buy a Tesla Model 3. It feels when sedans comes out with these models with a price tag close to or at the same price of a Tesla as months and years goes by, a lot of manufacturers are going to see their sales take a hard dip when people compare every brand and model to a Tesla when it comes to price.

@vossler360

5 жыл бұрын

When you evaluate a car for value-for-money, you should look at more than just the sticker price. A 124 Spider Abart with every option box checked will cost $38k, but the base 124 starts at around $25k. Also consider that there is a significant difference in the classes of cars that you mentioned. They all have sportiness as a common denominator, the 124 is a small, lightweight roadster, whereas the Buick and Tesla are both large, heavy sedans. The Model 3 also starts around $40k, where the 124 caps out.

@Driko99

5 жыл бұрын

Ray A just get a slightly used one and throw a couple thousand to some mods and you can easily get over 200whp in these. The community is pretty good too.

@Gentleman...Driver

4 жыл бұрын

Ive got mine new from the dealership for 26,000 EUR including tax. They are not that pricy, and I think that is a great value for that amount of money.

@Gentleman...Driver

4 жыл бұрын

Also, dont compare it to cars that are totally diffrent. Compare it to a Toyota GT86 / Subaru BRZ, or to the Miata 2.0 ND. They are fun little RWD cars with LSDs and manual gear boxes. A Tesla is a whole diffrent story. More of an allrounder car for commuting and shopping.

Freakin' reviews but with cars

If you're taller than 69" then it will be a tight squeeze...

The car is so 💦💦

It's not fully Italian lmao. It's mostly a Miata.

Isn't the engine from Dodge... if it had a Japanese engine, then I would be much more excited to purchase one

@TestDrivenTV

4 жыл бұрын

It's a Fiat engine, built in Italy

@azeissler1987

4 жыл бұрын

@@TestDrivenTV Huh, why does it say Chrysler and Mopar all over the engine and surrounding parts? The 500 Abarth has the Dodge Dart turbo engine

@TestDrivenTV

4 жыл бұрын

......which is a Fiat engine made in Italy. The same engine as in the Fiat 500 Abarth

@TestDrivenTV

4 жыл бұрын

We are in what is called a "global economy". It's actually Fiat that owns Chrysler. And yes they do import engines and transmissions from all over the world. Do some common research to check us on our "probably wrong". What do we know, we do this for a living.

@TestDrivenTV

4 жыл бұрын

Wiki: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MultiAir FCA spec sheet calling out Turmoli Italy as the plant where the engine for the 124 Spider is made: s3.amazonaws.com/chryslermedia.iconicweb.com/mediasite/specs/2020_FIAT_124_Spider_SPkvk8h06drd45tn3ff3f9vsfpnj.pdf

Just enough room for 2 Log Cabin Republicans!

@RedNekLvr22

5 жыл бұрын

Oh, this that what you are insinuating Sam is? Wouldn't surprise me, but it would sadden me.

@hardchemist

5 жыл бұрын

@@RedNekLvr22 Why would it sadden you

@leehancock2782

5 жыл бұрын

Wtf is a log cabin Republican

the car may be fun but your fuckin hat made me mad