Days before Michigan’s weather drifted from autumn to winter, a week-long test drive of the 2019 Fiat 124 Spider showcased this roadster’s fun factors. It’s a blast to drive with nimble handling and only 2.7 lock-to-lock steering turns for a 30.8-ft turning diameter. The soft-top’s open and close transitions -- manually done by one-person -- are simple and blazingly fast. And while the roadster is not a speed demon, even a 65 mph cruise “feels” faster. The 6-speed manual transmission makes a beep sound inside the cabin whenever the driver puts the car in reverse. (It’s a thoughtful that feature helps eliminate unintentional shifts into a forward gear.) The two-seat 124 Spider is offered in 3 trims: Classica, Lusso and Abarth.

Powering the tested 124 Spider Abarth is a 1.4-liter turbocharger 4-cylinder that produces 164 horsepower at 5500 rpm and 184 lbs-ft of torque at 3,200 rpm. The 124 Spider is the engine’s first application in a rear wheel drive vehicle. Engine mates to either a 6-speed automatic or a 6- speed manual transmission. The 124 Spider Abarth kicks up the sportiness with a number of performance features, including a mechanical limited slip differential, front strut tower bar, front and rear Bilstein sport suspension, and 17-inch gun-metal aluminum wheels. The 90.9-inch wheelbase 124 Spider Abarth with manual transmission collects estimated mpg of 26 city/35 highway and carries a MSRP of $29,290.