You Can Buy A Modern Italian Sports Car That Won’t Bankrupt You For The Price Of A Mitsubishi Mirage

If I were to say “Italian sports car,” your imagination might spark to life with daydreams of dashing along the riviera, wind in the hair, not a care in the world. Mind you, these cars also conjure up images of five-figure repair bills, which is why modern Italian mechanical stallions are pretty much just for the wealthy few, even second-hand. However, there’s one exception — The Fiat 124 Spider.

This small, two-seat convertible sold from model years 2017 through 2020 looks all-Italian at first glance, comes with a rorty, beloved turbocharged four-cylinder engine, but comes from mixed origins that help stack the deck on reliability.

Best of all, they’re reasonably priced on the second-hand market, to the point where you can pick one up in sporty Abarth trim for less than a new example of America’s cheapest hatchback. Talk about an intriguing proposition, am I right?

What Are We Looking At?

Here’s a fun open secret: The Fiat 124 Spider is technically the NE Miata. No, really, it was built by Mazda in Japan, carries the chassis code NE, and is largely an ND Mazda MX-5 with an NC MX-5 transmission and a Fiat engine. It does come wrapped in more traditional sheetmetal than the Mazda, with hood bumps to evoke the Lampredi twin-cam engine of the ’60s and a longer trunk lid than you’d get in an MX-5, but those largely Japanese bones are reassuring.

Under the hood sits the 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine from the Fiat 500 Abarth, backed up by the six-speed manual gearbox from the old NC MX-5. Total output? A decent 160 horsepower, rising to 164 in the 2020 Abarth trim, and a robust 184 lb.-ft. of torque. As with many modern small-displacement turbocharged engines, tuning can extract more juice from the Italian heart of this roadster, but be careful, as greater output often comes at the expense of longevity.

However, perhaps the Fiat MultiAir engine isn’t the best part about this car. In a 2016 road test, Car And Driver noted a mismatch between engine behavior and the character the car’s trying to evoke, and I largely agree. As per the mag:

The most frustrating thing about the Fiat MultiAir engine is how unforgiving it can be when hustled. Screw up a shift or bog down in the wrong gear, and the engine loses its turbo edge and goes limp. Our top-gear 30-to-50-mph test found the engine in a hole–it took many long seconds more than the Miata did to complete that task, after which it was fully on-boost and handily outran the Mazda from 50 to 70 mph. In reality, both cars would need a downshift to zip around even the slowest traffic, but this nobody-home sensation is an aggravation that the Miata engine better resists.

However, there is no denying that especially in Abarth trim, there’s something visually fetching about the 124 Spider. It’s also nice that it uses a more robust gearbox than the early ND MX-5s, and has an extra third of a cubic-foot of luggage space. That last figure might not sound like much, but 4.9 cu.-ft. vs 4.6 cu.-ft. is a real difference.

How Expensive Are We Talking?

The dirt-cheap economy car that is the 2024 Mitsubishi Mirage starts at $17,790 including freight, but don’t expect to pay quite that much money for this Japanese-Italian drop-top. Take this 2017 124 Spider Abarth that recently hammered on Cars & Bids for $16,250. All dark and moody in black with red accents, it has just 61,600 miles on the clock and a clean Carfax, meaning it’s basically ready to have some fun with without much in the way of worry.

Likewise, this adorable little grey beast sold on Cars & Bids for $16,250 back in February, and while it did have 71,000 miles on the clock, it also came with some goodies to enhance the soundtrack. A fancy Ragazzon exhaust system should make this example sound a bit more like a Fiat 500 Abarth, while an intake from Fiat speed shop Madness should liberate some turbo noises. If that’s what you’re into, then hey, solid deal.

Want to go even cheaper? This 2017 124 Spider Abarth sold on Bring A Trailer in January for $14,000. When the hammer dropped, this white cabriolet had just 53,000 miles on the clock and a clean Carfax. Sure, it might be a few years old, but it’s a well-priced modern sports car that doesn’t bring up any immediate red flags.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong With A Fiat 124 Spider?

Weirdly for a European car, the Fiat 124 Spider has proven to be fairly reliable, although there are a few minor maintenance things to keep in mind. Firstly, the water pump seals on early examples can leak, and if you’re in there, you might as well do the water pump and timing belt since a 2017 model would be seven years old or so.

Secondly, coil-on-plug units can fail prematurely, but those are an easy DIY. Oh, and a weak diverter valve may result in lumpy power delivery, but a nice aftermarket GFB one costs less than $150 and is a driveway DIY. Otherwise, the mechanicals seem relatively alright, with no widespread reports of catastrophic failure or anything like that.

Should I Buy A Fiat 124 Spider?

Let’s get the obvious question out the way first: Why not just buy an MX-5? Not only is it slightly quicker than the 124 Spider, it features a linear powerband, is more reliable, and its production volume means there are more spares available on the second-hand market. Slap on a set of Xidas and your favorite tires, and get ready to experience the simplest modern open-topped sports car on the market.

However, if you’re already in love with this thing, it probably won’t steer you too wrong, and its pricing is quite competitive. This is a modern Italian sports car for the rest of us, and for some of us, that’s a big win.

(Photo credits: Cars & Bids)

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