Abarth 124 VS Fiat 500
Abarth 124
Likes
- Distinct look and feel
- Challenging but rewarding
- Glorious Monza exhaust
Dislikes
- Annoying turbo-lag
- Tight cabin
- Pricey
Fiat 500
Likes
- Looks great
- Nippy performance
- Quick charge times
Dislikes
- Modest rear room
- Sub-par safety rating
- Sub-par warranty
Summary
Abarth 124
When you take on a classic you’d better get it right.
Which is why, back in 2016, when Fiat released a new 124, many an eyebrow was arched.
The original was an icon from the late 1960s, the golden age of roadsters. Styled by Pininfarina, it also oozed Italian swagger and, to top it off, its double overhead cam engine (modern at the time) helped introduce a swathe of innovations to the Italian automotive scene.
Even 50 years later, those old boots were looking awfully hard to fill, and the complexity and demands of today’s economy had Fiat working with Mazda to use its MX-5 chassis and Hiroshima manufacturing facilities to get it right.
A travesty? To some, maybe. But the MX-5 once aimed to emulate cars from the original 124’s golden era, and was a runaway success since, arguably making few missteps.
Thus, the apprentice has become the master. So, does today’s 124, which we only get in angry Abarth spec in Australia, bring something different to the ultra-refined roadster formula in 2019? Is it more than just a badge-engineered MX-5?
I took an Abarth 124 – the latest Monza limited edition – for a week to find out.
| Safety rating | |
|---|---|
| Engine Type | 1.4L turbo |
| Fuel Type | Premium Unleaded Petrol |
| Fuel Efficiency | 6.7L/100km |
| Seating | 2 seats |
Fiat 500
If ever there was a car that looked ready for electrification from the moment it took shape in the design studio, it was the ‘new’ Fiat 500.
Arriving in 2007, it was up there with the best retro-inspired automotive designs in capturing the spirit of the original it’s based on, and EV power feels instinctively right for its next evolution.
On sale in Europe since 2020, this all-new 500e is the Italian maker’s first ever EV coming to Australia, and it will arrive in July this year.
We grabbed the opportunity of a brief pre-release drive in Fiat’s home of Turin, Italy.
Read more about
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- Fiat CEO wants to dominate small electric car segment, starting with Fiat and Abarth 500e - report
- Can an affordable electric car save Fiat? Why the 2023 500e is the final hope for the Italian brand in Australia | Opinion
| Safety rating | — |
|---|---|
| Engine Type | — |
| Fuel Type | Electric |
| Fuel Efficiency | —L/100km |
| Seating | 4 seats |
Verdict
Abarth 1247/10
The Abarth 124 Spider is a flawed but dramatic little car that should put a smile and a big, fat Italian moustache on any weekend warrior’s face.
As long as you don’t expect it to do much more than that in terms of its daily driving ability, it hits the nail on the head as a spicy alternative to the well-rounded MX-5 formula.
Whether it hails from Hiroshima or not is irrelevant. Its ancestors would be proud.
Now, if only all of them had this Monza Edition’s glorious exhaust…
Would you ever pick the Abarth 124 over an MX-5, 86, or BRZ? Tell us why or why not in the comments below.
Fiat 5007.4/10
It feels like the Fiat 500 is coming of age in this new-generation EV form. Electric power perfectly suits this compact hatch’s unique personality. It’s comparatively well priced and the design shouts Italian cool. It’s a niche model, but the 500e’s undoubted charisma could broaden its appeal as electric vehicle adoption begins to pick up pace.
Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.
Design
Abarth 1248/10
I love the way the 124 looks. The more you pore over its small frame, the more you discover how different it is to its MX-5 counterpart.
It’s angrier. It’s more beautiful, and it’s definitely more Italian.
References to the original have been tastefully applied without transforming it into bloated caricature. These include the dual indents on the hood, the rounded-out light clusters, and the squared-off rear.
From there it goes beyond the original 124 and seems to take influence from contemporary Italian designs. I would argue there’s more than a little modern Maserati in this car’s tough wheelarches, scoopy mouth, rear light fittings and alloy wheel design.
The quad-exhaust pipes (actually just two tailpipes with four apertures) is arguably overkill, but adds a bit of extra aggression to this car’s rear. I’m not a fan of the oversized Abarth badgework on this car’s nose and rear. It removes a bit of subtelty from the equation, and the one on the bootlid is entirely unnecessary.
I’d also argue our test Monza Edition car looks best with its white paint and red highlights throughout. It’s also available in red and black.
The inside breaks the illusion a little. I’d argue not enough has been done to differentiate the 124 from its MX-5 roots here. It’s all Mazda switchgear.
There’s nothing wrong with that switchgear, of course. It’s well built and ergonomic, but I’d love to have something different to mix it up here. A Fiat 500 steering wheel… some switches that look cool but barely function properly… Just a little more of the Italian personality that’s so well expressed on the outside…
The seats are unique to the Abarth and are lovely, and the red highlights carry through them onto the dash and wheel stitching. The Monza edition has the official logo of the famed Italian circuit between the seats, with the build-number etched on it.
Fiat 500
In its latest electronic guise, the 500e stays loyal to its 1950s cinquecento roots, with the addition of contemporary touches like this distinctive split headlight and DRL design, beautiful 17-inch alloys that look like they’ve come out of a jewellery box, and a simple, curved rear end treatment with classic 500-style LED tail-lights.
There are six colours to choose from, with ‘Ice White’ being the only no-cost option. Premium shades - ‘Onyx Black’, ‘Ocean Green’, ‘Mineral Grey’ and ‘Rose Gold’ cost $700 extra, while the ‘Tri-coat’ ‘Celestial Blue’ adds $1600 to the price.
The interior also evokes 500s of old with a familiar elongated central panel across the dash, a two-spoke steering wheel and a circular instrument binnacle.
Woven material across the dash (made from recycled plastic) is a nice touch, and there are fun Easter eggs around the car like Turin’s skyline embossed in the wireless charging pad and an outline of the original 500 in the armrest recesses.
The single trim option is ‘Ice Beige’ synthetic leather on the seats and door panel, with a super-cool ‘FIAT’ monogram pattern, throwing back to the brand’s typography from the 1960s and ‘70s.
Overall, the cabin design is neat and ultra-clean with a high-quality attention to detail.
Practicality
Abarth 1246/10
When it comes down to a practicality score, it’s only fair to compare a car like this to its direct competitors. A sports car like this is never going to take on a hatch or SUV in the practicality stakes.
Even so, and just like the MX-5, the Abarth 124 is tight on the inside. I fit inside it perfectly, but there are problems.
Legroom is super tight for me at 182cm tall. I had to adjust to having my clutch foot at an angle, otherwise I’d smack my knee on the bottom of the steering wheel, a problem that also makes this car tough to clamber into. The handbrake takes up a massive amount of room in the limited centre-console space, and as to storage in the cabin? You may as well forget it.
There’s a tiny flip-up binnacle in the centre, shallow enough maybe for a phone and nothing else, a slot under the air-conditioning controls seemingly designed expressly for phones, and two floating cupholders between the seats.
There’s no storage in the doors, nor is there a glovebox. You do get a rather large storage area behind the cupholders, accessible through a hatch opening, but it’s a little awkward to use.
Once you’re in, though, this car fits like a glove in terms of ergonomics. The wheel is nice and low, the seats are surprisingly supportive and your elbow rests nicely on the centre, leading your hand to the excellent short-action shifter. Headroom is tight no matter which way you cut it, but it’s such a small car you hardly expect more.
How about the boot? It’s better than you might hope, but with just 130 litres on offer it’s still no more than a weekender. It’s also less than the Toyota 86/BRZ (223L) which also have back seats, always handy no matter how small they are.
There’s no spare to be found. The 124 has a repair kit only.
Fiat 500
It might be 61mm longer than the combustion 500, but at just over 3.6m long, a little under 1.7m wide and a bit more than 1.5m tall, the 500e is still right-sized for the city.
A four-seater, it offers adequate space for the driver and front seat passenger, but with a wheelbase of just over 2.3 metres, something’s got to give, and that turns out to be room in the rear.
Realistically, it’s a kids-only zone, and even then, those in front will need to give ground to free up some legroom.
Storage runs to a tray between the front seats complete with roll-top lid, another storage box/armrest above that, a small glove box and bins in the doors with just enough room for a decent-size bottle.
For connectivity, there are USB-A and USB-C ports for power and media, plus a 12V socket in the centre storage tray and another in the boot. No charging options in the back.
Speaking of the boot, it's only 185 litres (VDA) with four seats up. Enough room for a limited number of (preferably) soft bags, although the rear seat split-folds 50/50 to open up 550L.
Given the front engine, FWD configuration, it’s no surprise there’s no ‘frunk’, the 500e is a no-tow zone, and don’t bother looking for a spare of any description your only option is a repair/inflator kit.
Price and features
Abarth 1247/10
I should make this clear at the beginning, this Monza edition is an ultra-limited trim, with just 30 cars available in Australia. Ours was number 26, a manual, wearing a drive-away price of $46,950.
That’s expensive, but not outrageously so. An equivalent high-spec manual MX-5, for example (GT 2.0 Roadster), comes in at a before-on-roads cost of $42,820. Looking outside Hiroshima, you can also be hopping into either a Toyota 86 GTS Performance manual ($39,590), or a Subaru BRZ tS manual ($40,434) for less.
So, the Abarth is the most expensive of a limited pool of choices. Thankfully it does offer a little more than just Italian spunk and some oversized scorpion badges.
Standard on every car are 17-inch gunmetal alloy wheels, a 7.0-inch touchscreen with Mazda’s rather good MZD software (but no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto support), a Bose premium sound system, heated front seats, and keyless entry with push-button start.
Performance-wise, every car gets four-piston Brembo front brakes, Bilstein suspension and a mechanical limited-slip differential.
The Monza edition adds the normally optional ($1490) contrast-stitched ‘Abarth’ red and black full leather seats, and the ‘Visibility Pack’ ($2590) consisting of full LED steering-responsive front lighting, rear parking sensors and camera, as well as washers for the headlamps. The pack also adds items to this car’s rather limited safety suite, which we’ll talk about later.
Most notably, this edition finally grants the 124 the exhaust system it deserves, the neatly named “Record Monza” system, which uses a mechanically actuated valve to have the 1.4-litre turbo barking and spitting away in a stupidly smile-inducing way.
Every 124 should have this system, it adds much needed drama to the engine note, but isn’t as obnoxiously loud as something like the outgoing AMG A45.
The Abarth isn’t as crazily specified as some of today’s run-of-the-mill SUVs, sure. But that’s not what this car is about, and for what it’s worth, it has just about everything you’ll really need and certainly more than the 86 or BRZ, helping to justify its extra cash ask.
Fiat 500
Offered locally in a single ‘La Prima’ coupe spec the 500e is priced at $52,500, before on-road costs. Although it's available in other markets, there’s no cabriolet-style convertible for Australia this time around.
At that price point EV rivals include the entry-level ‘Classic’ version of the Mini Cooper Electric and just-released five-door Cupra Born.
And the standard features list includes a 10.25-inch multimedia display (running the latest ‘UConnect 5’ software with ‘Hey Fiat’ voice recognition), built-in navigation, a 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster, climate control air, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, a panoramic fixed glass sunroof, synthetic leather seat trim, a wireless charging pad, heated front seats and six-speaker audio with digital radio.
There’s also 17-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, tail-lights and daytime running lights, plus keyless entry and start.
Bear in mind you’ll be adjusting the front seats manually, and the climate control is single zone, the latter not such a big deal in a small car. And the only options relate to the paint, which is detailed in the Design section.
Under the bonnet
Abarth 1247/10
Unlike the MX-5 and 86/BRZ combo, which offer a choice of naturally aspirated engines, the 124 carves its own path by dropping Fiat’s 1.4-litre ‘MultiAir’ turbo four-cylinder under the hood.
The word ‘turbo’ should rightly prick your ears in a car this size, but this this is hardly a high-performance unit when compared to its non-turbo counterparts.
Outputs are set at 125kW/250Nm. That power figure might seem a little low when compared to the new 2.0-litre MX-5 (135kW/205Nm) and 86 (152kW/212Nm), but the extra torque is welcome. It comes at a cost, which we’ll explore in the driving section of this review.
Fiat 500
Power is provided by a traction electric motor sending 87kW/220Nm to the front wheels via a single-speed reduction gear automatic transmission.
It’s fed by a 42kWh lithium-ion battery, the set-up running on a 400-volt electric architecture.
Efficiency
Abarth 1247/10
The 124 has a bold-souning official combined fuel consumption figure of 6.4L/100km, which I overshot by quite a margin. At the end of my week, (involving truly mixed freeway/city driving) I landed on 8.5L/100km, which was exactly on this car’s ‘urban’ estimate, so take that as a realistic figure.
It’s also less than I’d expect to consume in an 86 and perhaps also the MX-5, so all-in-all it's not too bad.
The turbo Fiat engine requires a minimum of mid-grade 95 RON unleaded to fill a 45-litre tank.
Fiat 500
That 42kWh battery is connected to an 85kW DC charging system, with Fiat claiming it makes 50km of range available after five minutes, and 80 per cent of range in 35 minutes.
The charging port is a CCS Type 2 combo, and the AC maximum is 11kW, taking four hours for a full charge. An 11kW Mode 3 charging cable is included as standard.
Maximum range is 311km which is pretty handy, with the benefit that the relatively small battery delivers those quick recharge times.
Energy consumption on the WLTP cycle is 14.3kWh/100km, however our relatively brief steer around Turin didn’t allow for a meaningful test figure. That will have to wait for evaluation on local soil.
Driving
Abarth 1249/10
I drove the 124 up NSW’s Old Pacific Highway from Hornsby to Gosford at dusk on a Saturday. Talk about the right car in the right place at the right time.
It was absolutely in its element, darting around tight hairpins, then blasting up straights, giving the short shifter a thorough workout. That new exhaust added 150 per cent to the theatre of it as each aggressive down-shift was accompanied by crackling, spitting and barking.
It’s an absolute joy, a proper nod to how cars used to be in the good old days of a ‘Sunday drive’, and thus a proper nod to the 124’s history.
And, of course, it has flaws. Many of them fall into the subjective category on a car like this, however.
Take the engine, for example. I’ve heard endless criticisms of it as laggy and annoying. And it is. Catch the wrong gear and get the revs too low and no matter how hard you stomp that go pedal, you will be stuck fighting a mountain of lag. Seriously. Several seconds of it.
Even trying to ascend my steep driveway had me concerned it was simply going to stall out in first gear.
It’s a bit strange, but then when you’re on the open road it’s worth relishing the challenge that it offers. Grab the wrong gear and this car will let you know how foolish you are. And yet, when you get it right it offers a surge of excitement in the straights that’s arguably far more dramatic than either the MX-5 or 86 can muster.
Another annoyance is the speedometer. It’s tiny and counts 30km/h increments all the way up to 270km/h. How fast was I going, officer? No idea. I have about two inches to tell whether I’m going between 30 and 90, so it’s anyone’s guess.
An obvious benefit of the MX-5 chassis is its go-kart handling, and it seems as though the excellent, fast and direct steering hasn’t been messed with, either. Sure, the suspension is a little crashy, and the convertible chassis a tad rattly, but it’s all part of being that much closer to the road. It would be tough to ask to find a better transmission with its fast, short action and sensible ratios.
Ultimately, the 124 is just plain (literally) old-fashioned weekend fun, offering a challenging but rewarding drive.
Fiat 500
Fiat claims the 500e will dash from 0-100km/h is 9.0sec which is pretty handy, and in typical EV fashion it’s cheekily rapid around town.
Given the transmission is a single-ratio auto, the placement of buttons in the centre of the dash to control its operation makes a lot of sense.
Acceleration is impossibly smooth, whether that’s from rest or in the cut-and-thrust of city traffic.
There are three available drive modes. As the name implies, ‘Normal’ doesn’t place any performance limitations on the motor, while ‘Range’ shifts to more aggressive single-pedal regenerative braking and even slicker accelerator response.
Then, if you’re low on charge, ‘Sherpa’ limits maximum speed to 80 km/h and softens accelerator response while cutting the climate control and seat heaters to ensure you get to your destination in best Nepalese mountaineering fashion.
We tried a stint in all three, and Range proved the most effective around town, the regen braking being strong but never abrupt (and able to bring you to a complete stop).
The disc front/drum rear mechanical brakes are a bit sharp on initial bite but nice and progressive from there.
A note for left-foot brakers, though. Apply pressure to the accelerator and brake pedals at the same time and the car bogs down in a case of minor paralysis. A quick dab on the brake is required to get things going again.
Of course, noise levels are low, with the motor just a background hum. But Fiat has installed an unusual (mandatory) ‘Acoustic Vehicle Alert System’ warning for pedestrians at speeds up to 20 km/h.
Rather than the generic space-age tone favoured by many brands, the 500e plays the music of Amarcord by Italian composer Nino Rota. Wow. Turning the car on or off can also be set to produce a guitar sequence inside the cabin.
Suspension is strut front/torsion beam rear and over decidedly ordinary surfaces through inner Turin the 500e was impressively refined, retaining its composure over some nasty ruts and bumps.
A roughly 300kg battery under the floor makes for a low centre of gravity, and thanks to wide tracks for its size, the 500e feels well planted and stable even in sharp cornering manoeuvres.
Steering feel is good, the 205/40 Continental EcoContact 6 rubber is agreeably quiet and grippy and a 9.7m turning circle makes reverse parking or a 180-degree change of course pretty straight forward.
In terms of ergonomics, operating the car is stress-free with a sensible mix of on-screen and physical controls, although a minor black mark goes against small opening levers located low down in the door panels. Not exactly easy to get to.
Safety
Abarth 1246/10
No Abarth model carries a current ANCAP safety rating, although the MX-5 this car shares most of its underpinnings with carries a maximum five-star rating, as of 2016.
Feature-wise, you get dual front and side airbags, “active head restraints”, seatbelt pre-tensioners and something called “active pedestrian protection”. The regular suite of stability controls are also present, alongside a reversing camera and sensors.
There’s no auto emergency braking (AEB - which has now become an ANCAP requirement), active cruise or any lane-assist technologies, but the ‘Visibility Pack’ standard on the Monza edition adds Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA) and Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM).
Four airbags and rudimentary active safety is a let-down, but probably not one that this car’s target audience will particularly care about.
Fiat 500
The Fiat 500e scored four from a maximum five stars when it was assessed by Euro NCAP in 2021, thanks in part to relatively low ratings in the ‘Vulnerable Road User’ and ‘Safety Assist’ categories.
That said, it performed well in adult and child occupant protection, and active crash-avoidance tech includes AEB (with pedestrian and cyclist detection), a reversing camera with 360-degree overhead view, ‘Intelligent Speed Assist’ (with traffic sign recognition), blind spot monitoring, lane-keeping assist, ‘Electronic Rollover Mitigation’ (manages the brakes and motor power during “extreme manoeuvres”), attention assist, tyre pressure monitoring and auto high/low beam LED headlights.
If a crash is unavoidable there are six airbags - dual front, front side, and curtains, although the increasingly prevalent front centre bag is missing in action.
There’s a back-to-base emergency call function triggered by airbag deployment, as well as top tethers and ISOFIX anchors in the two rear seat positions.