Anyone considering the Fiat 124?

[stilletto_rebel]

Top Gear have reviewed the fiat 124.

[OurCognitiveSurplus]

Open diff is a bit weird - don't both the Mazdas have LSD?

[davekmoore]

LSD in manual MX-5s.

[OurCognitiveSurplus]

LSD in manual MX-5s.

As much as I like the idea of a Fiat turbo, the LSD is a killer feature in favour of the Mazda.

[Nevyn72]

The fiat is starting to get the full review process over in the US.

Here are some nice comparison shots with an ND.

[smy0003]

My word that Fiat is ugly next to the 5.

[davekmoore]

Just give us the highest powered version you can make of the turbo 1.4 and take away your "styling" please, Fiat/Alfa/Dodge/Chrysler/Daimler.

[pcmx5]

Just give us the highest powered version you can make of the turbo 1.4 and take away your "styling" please, Fiat/Alfa/Dodge/Chrysler/Daimler.

I understand that we are only to get the top of the range 124 Arbarth with lsd and more power and heaps more torque than the MX5 and better gearing so not sure why this is a relevant comparison .. However we may all be better to hold our opinions until the final AUS specs are released.AS always beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the Arbarth looks much more classical to my eye than the ND which is gimmicky and likely to age far more than any preceding MX.Just hate the front guard creases from the drivers seat and the stupid gearing that spoils the free revving mature of the engines by almost never letting them work in their true power bands.

Classical comment from a not so young NB punter on a recent Vic Club run who loudly complained about a 1.5 ND holding him up on an uphill run!!

Lovely cruiser but could have been an even better sports car.Having said all that a few of the ex Mazda ND's getting to be available for $28 driveaway are starting to be tempting!!

Peter.

[Lokiel]

My word that Fiat is ugly next to the 5.

+1
- the ND tail-lights look more "Alfa Romeo" and better than the Fiat's
- the Fiat's silver windscreen surround looks "chintzy" (I'm betting owners will colour-match them to the car ASAP)
- the Fiat bonnet's unnecessary sculpting looks shite (yes I know that the original Fiat had these but they serve no purpose other than upset the clean lines of the bonnet)
- the double bumper mouths look dumb (wy not one big mouth?)

[smy0003]

It looks so unashamedly America-centric, like it's already been treated to all the inevitable self-adhesive, plastic-metallic rubbish that will inevitably be released for the ND. It's American right down to it's 6250rpm red line.
They have barely changed the bits between the front and rear bumpers, so zero marks for effort and aesthetics.

Sorry about the rant, but fiat had a great opportunity to badge engineer a well received new car. And they've given us this.


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[93_Clubman]

Nothing against the NC, but the Fiat looks more like an NC than an ND - back to the future.

[Rocky]

It's amusing to read the comments about the styling of these two cars.
It's like just about anything in life - 50% are going to love it and 50% are going to hate it.
I think there are styling issues with both of them.
The Mazda is 'modern' looking but looks like a fish (not in a good way). I could see the younger drivers liking it.
The Fiat is maybe a bit too 'classic' looking for a 2001 sports car - although maybe appeals to older enthusiasts like me.
The different between good looking and great looking is often a matter of centimetres. I have done a few restyles on the MX5 and it looks a lot better to me with slightly smaller power-mouth, slightly bigger headlights and a complete restyle of the rear lights.
I wonder if the Fiat really needs the lower power-mouth. The indicator/spotlight style is also a bit unnecessarily complex. I love the bonnet grooves.
I still think the NB8B or the Honda S2000 takes a lot of beating style-wise.

[JayMo]

When they said that Fiat were going to mold a roadster out of an ND, and probably call it a 124 (one of my favourite looking cars), I thought no way they can create a 124 out of that...

In my eyes they did... and I would love a full blown Arbarth (without the blacked out bonnet and boot)... when I grow out of growing three kids, I will be looking forwards to dithering between the two cars.

So buy heaps of them (2 litre GT's or Arbaths ) so I can have plenty to pick from.

[mousemota]

Just give us the highest powered version you can make of the turbo 1.4 and take away your "styling" please, Fiat/Alfa/Dodge/Chrysler/Daimler.

I understand that we are only to get the top of the range 124 Arbarth with lsd and more power and heaps more torque than the MX5 and better gearing so not sure why this is a relevant comparison .. However we may all be better to hold our opinions until the final AUS specs are released.AS always beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the Arbarth looks much more classical to my eye than the ND which is gimmicky and likely to age far more than any preceding MX.Just hate the front guard creases from the drivers seat and the stupid gearing that spoils the free revving mature of the engines by almost never letting them work in their true power bands.

Classical comment from a not so young NB punter on a recent Vic Club run who loudly complained about a 1.5 ND holding him up on an uphill run!!

Lovely cruiser but could have been an even better sports car.Having said all that a few of the ex Mazda ND's getting to be available for $28 driveaway are starting to be tempting!!

Peter.

Some interesting points of view there !...........be a boring world if we all liked the same thing .....oh...... also maybe the ND was being run in ....just saying...... as I was not there

[bootz]

Hmmm... 28K for a used ND driveaway. Consider against 45K for the Abarth. Pretty tempting.