Abarth 124 Spider review

The Abarth doesn’t feel a small car. I hate to keep harking back to the MX-5, but where the view down the Mazda’s bonnet is pert and shapely, here the broad, flat expanse reminds you you’re driving a car with more bodywork around you – and yes, the Abarth is a little wider, a little taller and a lot longer.

It’s also a lot more overtly sporting inside. A red rev counter, red band on the steering wheel, red stitching, alloy pedals and heavy use of alcantara do set a certain tone and make the most of the otherwise relatively plain cabin design: it's almost a direct carryover from the familiar Mazda.

The plastics are OK, the quality fine, but it’s not going to blow you away beyond being simple and relatively ergonomically friendly. It earns bonus points for the roof, which is so simple and fast to manually raise and lower without having to leave the comfort of your seat. This applies to the standard soft-top: the optional hard-top, on the GT, requires much unscrewing and probably an extra pair of hands to carry its 16kg bulk somewhere. You'll need somewhere big to store it, too. Luckily the soft-top is still part of the car's shell, so once the hard-top's off, you'll still have weather protection when you're out and about.

The boot is small, but you’ll cope because you’re buying a roadster and you know what you’re getting yourself into. More of an issue is the driving position. As is often the case, it’s too high, leaving the lanky feeling exposed and struggling with leg clearance under the steering wheel. It’s OK for the rest of us, but the seat isn’t the most supportive and in this day and age reach-adjustable steering isn’t too much to ask is it?

Couple of last little bits. Like the MX-5, the infotainment isn’t the most advanced graphically or functionally, but it’s easy to get to grips with via the pad on the console. There's a good old fashioned manual handbrake and just a joyous air of simplicity to operating this car. Like we say, not high-brow, but very charming.