2018 Fiat 124 Spider Classica

A cure for the Monday morning blues, well for any day really is a sweet little Fiat 124 Spider convertible sitting in your driveway.

The Monday morning this car was delivered happened to be my grandmother’s 89th birthday so you can just imagine what came next.  YES, I went to pick her up and take her to lunch. I was a little concerned as to how low the car sat but holding my hand, she was able to get in and out with zero issues.

Grandma has been in many new cars as of recent as I seem to cart her around more often these days. She liked everything about the Fiat, for starters it was “Rosso Red,” grandma’s favorite color is red. Grandma might just have a little Italian blood in her.

The Fiat 124 came with a 1.4-liter, four cylinder turbo charged engine that produces 160 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque. It was nice to have the six-speed automatic transmission with grandma in the car but any car enthusiast would much prefer the six-speed manual transmission for a slightly more aggressive drive. Still, this little Italian sportster is an engaging car to drive.

Longer trips may prove to be a little more tiresome, as the Fiat 124 does not swallow bumps as well as one would hope, but it does keep a steady course. It is lively and quick to accelerate and yet gets better gas mileage than most. Fuel economy for the Fiat 124 comes in at 25 mpg in the city and 36 mpg on the highway for a combined 29 mpg overall.

With the top up, the Fiat is surprisingly quiet, but visibility is somewhat limited. As for the rest of the interior, the Fiat 124 Spider calls for a party of 2. Like many sports cars, there just isn’t a lot of room for storage, not even a glove box. There is however, a small cubby that sits above the armrest in between the seats. Cargo space is highly limited, but this car isn’t for road trips anyway.

The infotainment system as most of the Fiat’s interior is acquired from the MX-5 Miata, including the knobs, buttons, and vents. The cabin has soft-touch surfaces, leather and classy trim on the upholstery. The seven-inch touch screen is convenient and easy to use.

The three trims offered are the Classica, the Lusso and the Abarth.  The Classica begins around $25,000. The Abarth begins around $28,000. The main difference being that the Abarth comes with performance suspension.

The Fiat 124 Spider offers over 35 safety and security features. Safe enough to take your grandma to lunch.

The 2018 Fiat 124 Spider Classica that I drove was priced at $28, 635 and came equipped with the technology package.

Tabatha Chovanetz is the Motor Mistress.  This article is syndicated and reproduced with permission, all intellectual property belongs to The Motor Mistress.  Original Article:  http://www.themotormistress.com/1658-2/