Why not try an accurate comparison to start with. You guys are doing this all over the net...You compare a base 124 with a club MX-5 with a limited slip rear end. Why not compare a club spec MX-5 with an Abarth 124(which has a limited slip rear end) and cutting out the obvious bias....Then you will have a believable comparison....
One word, price. The Abarth is £7k more in the UK. Even the newer spec 184bhp (which is actually 190bhp according to BBR GTI) MX5 in highest GT Sport Nav spec is £4k less than the Abarth.
@@AliTaylor777 Weird, over here the abarth start at about $39k, the base miata starts at $42k and a the highest specced one at the moment is worth $58k.
The Fiat 124 Spider Abarth can be found here in the US for $25,000 with incentives. Incredible bargain. I have a 124 Spider Urbana on order in Red with a manual and it cost me $21,000 brand new for 2020 in November 2020. :)
@@mod.ts76 It is fantastic. The Urbana Edition borrows some of the styling from the Abarth version plus the leather and suede seats are fantastic. I had a 2016 Mx5 Grand Touring a few years back and couldn't stand the body roll... This car sticks to the pavement on the turns. It also feels faster than the Mx5 especially when in the power range of 3,000 to 5,000 rpm in 2nd to 4th gear. The exhaust sounds much better than the Miata as well... I definitely recommend the 124 Spider BUT only in manual. The automatic I test drove a year ago felt rather sluggish.
Looking at both I am so pleased I bought the MX5 Sport Recaro. The Fiat is over styled, heavier, smaller engine with a turbo and no LSD. Plus, whilst the 124 could be called "more luxury", the plastics are still all black (aka MX5) which I think clashes nicely with the tan interior of the Fiat. Just a mishmash.
That. I have the Recaro/Sport-pack version myself and I couldn't be happier with the way this little car handles. I did look at the 124 before buying, but I didn't much care for the styling or the fact that both the 124 and the Abarth are way more expensive than the MX-5. Plus I've had turbos for the last 12 years now and really wanted another naturally aspirated engine for a change.
@@kaiwenli3432 Different trim-lines for different markets. There is no "club" MX-5 in Europe. Not sure about the UK, but in Germany, you get the LSD in the two highest trim-lines (there are four trim-levels altogether).
@5putput: the Abarth Spider was around £32k when it was on sale. You want to add £3500 to that price and THEN spend more money tuning it? Assuming the multiair unit doesn't fail. That makes the Mazda £10,000 cheaper than your Abarth before you mod it and a stage 2 upgrade at BBR is far less than that, and that gives 300bhp which you'd be very unwise ever tuning the Abarth to.
I was driving my US version 2016 MX-5 Club, on I-95 in Virginia last week, and came upon an Abarth. The owner passed me in the right lane, a little smirk on his face. Soon thereafter, I passed him on the left, and at first he challenged, but ended up behind me, and never caught up. . . I realize this wasn't on a track, and all, but still . . . I was left smiling, and at last glance, he was not. Zoom zoom.
shift intohigh What you did proves absolutely nothing, the Abarth is faster on paper and in the real world, it has even more torque. He probably didn’t even care about you to be honest.
Grazie, ma il confronto se prendi il 2litri mx5 lo devi fare con la versione Abarth! La 2litri ha differenziale e sospensioni più sportive della 124 base
If the objective here is to prove at any cost the MX5 is better, even with an unfair advantage - apples to oranges comparison. Then I guess it is ok. But ideally to give the real world consumer a good comparo you should compare like to like.
Fiat Spider sure looks a lot better although I it is handy to have Mazda repair and sales stores a lot more available. I have owned a 77 Fiat Spider , which as far as reliability, it has been fantastic, far better than american cars of the same era that I have owned . I always have been concerned with finding competent mechanics to do the maintenance such as changing timing belts and adjusting valves.
This review seemed to be a bit bias for the Mazda. I've watched 4 so far (including this one) and idk. It's 50-50 between them all. I'm favoring the fiats higher horsepower, torque and style. Also it is cheaper. If I were to go too trim on and Mazda and too trim on a fiat the fiat is a few grand cheaper. And it's lighter.. more style. More power. Better handling and has a lot more tuning capabilities. Apparently there is a way to get just over 200 horsepower by simply tuning the fiat and still keeping the warranty. That I'm trying to look into. Definitely learning towards the fiat. Plus everyone in my town either lifts jeeps or tunes old Mazdas. So I'm trying to change it up. Also just some context. I'm looking into buying this because my other 2 cars are way too high in maintenance and I'm looking for a change. I have a 1987 Mercedes 300SDL Turbo and a 2002 S430 AMG (sports package) I'd like to get into tuning a small cheap car. With the 2 cars I have now I can't lmao too expensive for a 19 year old. Please do comment any other research some of you may have found between the 2 of these cars. Definitely would like to discuss them.
Fun video guys! From what I've seen, if you are pushing the car 9/10 to 10/10, the MX-5 seems to be the better performer. However, for normal driving, where you aren't driving the wheels off the thing, the Fiat's midrange torque is awesome and makes the car much more livable. Looks are in the eyes of the beholder, but I love my 124 and I love the looks of it, especially the rear. I like the MX-5, but am not a fan of the look of the rear of the car. Honestly, anyone else notice that the rear of the 124 is similar to a NB Miata?
Main issue with the mx-5 is it looks too soft and toy car like. I know the mx-5 is the car I should get, I really do, but I just can't bring myself to sit in something that looks like a hairdressers car.
95% of people who drive these cars haven't and won't go anywhere near a track, so this test is a pile of crap. I'm also sick of reviews constantly comparing these two cars. So they share components and are built in the same factory, but for fuck's sake STOP COMPARING THEM.
My 1.5 Sport Nav was putting out 143 from factory - now 158 at 7550 rpm -( limiter at 7700) thanks to BBR Brackley. - I love it for its soft suspension - you can really lean on it on the terrible UK roads and it only weighs 975 kg. Perfect for me.
The Spider has the Fiat Abarth engine, which suits the driving experience, its more of a long distance cruiser, when the Mazda is more of a track day car.
@@deadmoldable Different engine setup I guess. The 1.4 turbo has been around for a while and is still being offered in all sorts of configs. For example: The very first (modern) 500 Abarth also had the 1.4t and made 135hp. The thing with both the 124 Spider and 124 Abarth in Europe is that they are substantially more expensive (massively so in the case of the Abarth) than the Mazda. When I was shopping for my ND in 2017, I was also looking at both Fiats. The Abarth would've been over €40,000 with options that the MX-5 has as standard. The regular 124 with all the options the MX-5 has as standard (most options? some aren't even available for the 124) would've been over €35,000 - and it had 20 hp less than the Mazda. The fully loaded 2.0l MX-5 I ended up buying was €31,000 list, but I paid much less thanks to a healthy rebate - which I wouldn't have gotten for the Fiats.
Actually as some others have said, the Mazda looks like a catfish from the front with that "big mouth". Put some curb feelers on either side of the front fender and it would look like one for sure.
Strong words against what might have been badged as an Alfa Romeo. Looks are subjective. Each is different. I owned a NB and deciding between the Abarth and a 2019 Miata. More HP.
So many people commenting "why did you not use the Abarth?" Simple. It's £7,000 more than a 2.0 MX5 Sports Nav. And it's not actually as good, or as powerful (170 vs 184bhp now). Spend that £7k difference wisely at the nice folk at BBR GTI and you have a 300bhp MX5.
Alistair Taylor It absolutely compares, price is the last part of the equation. Suspension, LSD, power and tune make it on par with the 2.0 liter, without considering that the more power of the new MX5 don’t mean it’s better or faster, the Abarth has a lot more torque with stiffer suspension, and that’s why it costs more and it’s plain better and actually faster than any MX5. Looks and sound is also preference but the MX5 really isn’t great on that regard compared to the 124 for my taste.
Driving a little death machine with no roll bar and no helmet has got to be the most idiotic thing I've seen. Twice in that video I saw the car lean dangerously and no safety equipment in sight.
