The little one, a bit old Fiat 500 must now be very strong: its position as the women's car of the Italian brand is in danger. The threat does not come from outside, but from within. The Fiat 23.990 Spider, which has been available since the beginning of July and at prices starting at 124 euros, is preparing to assume the position of woman-understander.
Unlike the Cinquecento, the Spider does not play the "oh how cute" card, but instead relies on its well-trained body when it first gets to know it. His well-formed and muscularly drawn sheet metal dress meets the classic norms of an open two-seater. Even if the vehicle with a length of 4,06 meters is not a giant, women like to risk a second and third look at its long snout, the low roofline and the striking rear part. If, as with our test car in the Lusso configuration (from 26.490 euros), chic 17-inch alloy wheels please the eyes, so much the better. The fact that the small sports car is closely related to the Mazda MX5 can only be seen to a limited extent.
But the racy Italian doesn't just want to convince with his looks. A 1,4-liter petrol engine with 103 kW / 140 hp is used under the long bonnet. Unlike the Japanese colleagues, the Fiat engineers do not rely on naturally aspirated engines, but on turbo support. And the little turbo proves its temperament even with gentle accelerator pressure. Its liveliness is flanked by a sonorous sound that escapes in the Lusso version of the standard double exhaust system. The Spider does not put on thick pants, so it does not acoustically promise what it cannot keep with the motor. On the contrary: the turbo is easy to play - literally, you only have to move 1.125 kg empty weight.
This is how the 140 PS feel even after much more power. The engine revs up willingly. The crisp six-speed gearbox encourages shifting so that the 240 Nm can be called up precisely. In autumn dirty weather with a lot of rain and sleet showers as well as wet leaves on the streets, we were only able to experience its cornering properties to a limited extent, which is partly due to its rear-wheel drive and low center of gravity. In the few dry test hours, the Spider was just in a good mood on winding trips. He is fed up on the road and he and the driver cannot get upset so quickly. Even looking at the fuel needle does not raise your pulse. We surpassed the standard value of 6,4 liters, but 7,5 liters are fine for such a fun mobile. Theoretically, you can reach the top speed of 217 km / h on the freeway. In bad weather practice, we did not experience the top speed.
Speaking of rain: the soft top was not impressed by the downpours. It always stayed tight. Its simple manual operation scored well, especially in bad weather. Opening and closing is traditionally done by hand. Simply unlock, throw the fabric hat back and then a short push to fix it in its recess. And when it starts to trickle again? Closing the convertible top happens almost as quickly. So the few minutes of sunshine could be used easily.
But not everything is idle sunshine at the Spider. This is particularly noticeable to people who are longer than 1,85 meters. The headroom ends very quickly when the roof is closed. In addition, the seat rails are not very large due to their design, so long legs are compressed. The advantage is clearly shorter drivers and co-drivers. But these also need supple joints and, best of all, a Pilates course so as not to flop onto the seats. Not only is space for passengers restricted. Storage is scarce. A larger handbag has to be in the luggage section if two people are using it. That holds at least 140 liters. Purchases from the supermarket are best stowed away loosely so that they can be reloaded into a transport box at home.
Regardless of whether it is rain or shine - the Fiat 124 Spider puts you in a good mood. The beautifully designed interior also contributes to the Lusso equipment. The dashboard in leather look looks classy, there are leather seats and the automatic climate control ensures pleasant temperatures. For further customization requests, Fiat also offers LED headlights (in a package with cornering lights: 1.500 euros, navigation system with reversing camera (1.000 euros) or a Bose sound system (700 euros). Who wants to call the racy Italian in a chic metallic color his own , has to invest 520 euros, but good looks are part of the Spider after all (Elfriede Munsch / SP-X)