Quick Drive: Fiat 124 - Is Just A Miata Wearing An Italian Suit?

In person, the 124 looks a lot nicer than it does in pictures. It has not resonated well with customers though. It's sales are a fraction of the already dismal volume of the Miata. The Fiat engine huffs and puffs a lot, so like the Miata, it so needs a bigger engine with much more power. And like the Miata, it's not enough car for the price.

Of course the Fiat volume is lower - it's a new model still unfamiliar to most Americans and there are many fewer Fiat dealers. Plus the for-crap reputation for reliability Fiat had years ago is very, very hard to shake.

As for more power - sure - it is surprising to me that Mazda and now Fiat have not at least offered a more powerful model at the top of the range. I would hate to see them abandon the original formula though and turn this into a bigger, heavier car with each succeeding generation just like every other manufacturer has done with every other model, ever.

For what I use a convertible for, it's enough. 1000 miles a year tooling around as a toy in something reliable is worth about ~25K to me.

The "for crap" reputation of Fiat is alive and well. The Giulia and the 500L are merely the worst of the Italian garbage.

If you've never drive a Miata with a 5.0 conversion, you should.

Any theories as to why Mazda hasn't done or isn't planning a Mazdaspeed version? I'd guess they'd sell every one they built.

They have the 2.5T that could be reworked for longitudinal placement, but there probably isn't enough volume to justify it. I know, but the 2.3T from Ford.

My guess is all the buyers who were old enough to see the Graduate in theatre's and have fond memories of the Fiat in their salad days have no desire or need for such a car.

You do realize that it was an Alfa Romeo in the movie, right?

I do now. I stand corrected. I wasn't around for the film. But my point remains the same. I am not sure who this car is supposed to appeal to. Same for the Miata. Both compete in a very thin edge of wedge of the tiny sports car market which is a tiny % of the automotive market as a whole.

I think the lack of sales is 100% due to lack of performance. 300 horsepower would make the Fiata a great car.

I have driven a 124 Abarth version. In actuality the performance is not at all bad. Could it be better absolutely. However at 300HP Fiat would have to re-engineer the car and charge about 10 grand more for it. 124 start at 25 grand. The 2018 Mustang Ecoboost starts at that price but quickly escalates above 30 grand once you add a performance package. However it now offers about 370 LBS of Torque. So for the price if you don't mind driving a large car its a bargain. Fiats and Mazda's are for people that hark back to old MG's, Triumphs, Alfa Spiders and Fiats of the 70's and 80's. Further they get good gas mileage. I wish the BRZ/86 would offer even a light boost turbo. It has a much better chassis and would really be the bargin.

One other thing. Due to it being turbocharged the 124 has the immediate advantage of being able to take advantage of some after market performance goodies. They are as follows: From Euro CompulsionV4 intake-,, Eurodrive ECU Flash , El Gato Exhaust system(mid pipe)$1,400,Columbo Bariani Multiair Camshafts ,Alfa 4C Coil Packs- and if you really want to get closer to 300 HP an ATP Garrett 1752 Turbo Upgrade (with that you would also probably need a Forge BOV).How much or how little you wish to upgrade this motor is up to you and your wallet. Being that this is the same engine as on the 500 Abarth you could spend about $5,500 or so and get them all added on to your 124. Oh and you need an extra $550 for a water meth kit to keep the engine running cool. Doing all that I'm guessing you would be at 240 to 250 HP.
I'm not sure about engine longevity. If you wanted to do a less extreme upgrade you could just do the reflash and an intake for about 210 HP. In Europe the engine is tuned to make in the 695 Biposto 500 195 HP. There are performance upgrades to the Miata but it being N/A you don't get the same bang for your buck. Unlike a 500 Abarth you don't need concern yourself with torque steer. However oversteer tailslides would be the order of the day.