Well I want a hobby car, so I made a list of wants and needs, then did research and test drives. No need to dive deep into that list but here are the top categories.
FUN
Fun to own, fun to drive, fun to work on. As far as driving, I wanted something engaging, a car I could push and not end up in jail. A car I could get to know the limits in the real world. No reason to go down this path either, enough has been said about both cars. Both are great in this respect. Having owned a couple Triumphs in high school, then an X1/9 then the first gen GTI, I believe they formed what I consider fun now. Small, light, quick, good handling. A friend of mine pointed out to me that my old GTI had the same 0-60 time as a Prius! Sobering indeed!!! But also telling, in that here was a car that seemed super-fast and handled great and was a blast to own. In fact it was so fast VW almost didn’t release it, deeming it too fast for the public. Also what sent me in this direction was a test drive of a C7 up some mountain roads, yes it was FAST but nowhere could I go for it, mostly just an exercise in feathering the gas pedal and letting the car do its’ thing.
DESIGN
As others have pointed out “to each their own”. For me any design that pulls from classic cars to base its’ design language upon, drive the emotional connection, and builds that foundation, will age MUCH better. While the Mazda (IMO) has lost that connection in design while it’s’ heart and soul are still very much classic. The fact Mazda can and will change it up again and the fact the ND has very little from an ID perspective in common with the older generations it will not age well. The Fiat on the other hand has created its’ own design box. Fiat is very limited in what it can do without trashing all that went into this design. As such, it will age very well. Since I plan on keeping the car for a long time this was VERY important to me. Similar strategies have been utilized by Mini, Porsche 911, etc.
I feel the Abarth is very masculine, has presence, and a soul the Mazda can’t match. The Tin Man if you will, Fiat gave it the heart.
Another chance to use the C7 as an example. I have never been a Corvette fan honestly, but I admit I was taken by the C7. But as great a design as it is, it will look like yesterday’s news when they bring out the next gen. mid-engine.
TUNING
Support and options are the keys here. The great thing about Miata is all the available tuning, tweaking, and customization options. The Fiat can leverage most of this as well. The Fiat engine (which did concern me at first until I researched) already has many options and more coming since it is the same engine used in the 500. So between the two, so many options. But having options is not enough when there is so much crap out there. With research and this forum though two vendors/developers stand out as outstanding options; Goodwin Racing and Eurocompulsion. Between these two, as far as performance mods go, you pretty much have your bases covered. Both have passion, vision, and seem very upfront and easy to deal with. Both are active on the forum which to me provides that connection to us, the users / customers. So many businesses lose sight of this once the reality of making money and staying in business suck the passion out. Bottom line, in the end the Fiat with the turbo has more accessible tuning options to make it truly outstanding. Plus for me, living in Colorado the turbo is a good thing in general.
AUTOCROSS
Same reasons as “fun”, just a REALLY fun car to push around the cones. Plus I would love to get my daughter into it when she is old enough, and this car is a great option for that. It will make her a better and safer driver.
