When choosing my very first car, I narrowed my selection down to four 2-door convertibles—a Triumph TR6 or Spitfire, an MGB Mark IV and a Fiat 124 Spider. I ended up buying a used MGB, but it was a tossup between that and the 124 Spider.

Fast forward three decades and current car buyers can decide if the new 2017 Fiat 124 Spider will make it onto their shortlists.

Back then the 124 Spider was made in Italy by Fiat, now it’s made by Mazda at their Hiroshima Plant in Japan and assembled alongside the MX-5. One of the major differences between the two cars lies beneath the hood. The 124 Spider has a 1.4 litre in-line 4 cylinder turbocharged engine supplied by Fiat and the MX-5 has a Mazda built 2.0 litre naturally aspirated inline 4 cylinder engine. The 124 Spider turbo generates 160 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque vs 155 hp and 148 lb-ft of torque for the MX-5. Our 124 Spider was equipped with a 6 speed manual transmission which is one generation old, the MX-5 has the next generation manual. Ours worked very well with short throws and a real throwback sports car feel.