1800 miles, two people, four driving days in this, a Fiat 124 Spider. People say you can't do that.
It's too small a car. Well I beg to differ and on today's episode of Tony's Ford's
and Mustangs I'll cover what went right, what went wrong, and maybe give you a few tips to make
your potential road trip in one of these cars just that little bit better. Our trip started
in central Pennsylvania where we live. We had two destinations one was Ford's Performance
Racing School in Charlotte, North Carolina. If you're going to Ford Racing School it's best to
take a Fiat correct? The second was Tybee Island, Georgia and the school put us relatively close.
Tip number one and this is an important one. You should take the proper luggage. Shortly after
purchasing and driving the Spider it was determined that we should be able to road trip this car if
we did it correctly, and luggage space is a big concern with this car. There's a company called
Roadster they make a custom set of luggage for the Mazda MX-5 and it fits well into the trunk
of the 124 Spider. These are soft case bags that hold a considerable amount of stuff. They do not
have wheels or frames. Which makes it a bit more difficult to carry in and out of places. When it
comes to maximizing space in the trunk of the car, they can't be beat. The larger bags hold more
than my standard carry-on and the bottom bag does almost as well. Since they're soft it makes it easy
to move around inside the trunk and I always carry my camera gear and a laptop when I'm on the road.
So stuffing those pieces in the trunk as well isn't too difficult. We like to travel the back
roads and while you can cruise down the interstate the Spider I don't recommend it. Our route was
planned with this in mind. So after roughly 90 miles of interstate we jumped onto Skyline
drive in western Virginia. This route allowed us plenty of opportunities to get out of the car
for scenic overlooks and points of interest. My wife even talked me into hiking to a waterfall.
That's not something I typically do as I prefer to drive places. Dark Hollow falls, Skyline Drive,
It's about a mile and a quarter something like that but pretty cool. But this ended up being worth
the effort. Even saw some native trout swimming in a stream leading to the falls and it isn't
something you see every day. Our route allowed us plenty of opportunities to get out and stretch our
legs. This is tip number two and something else I highly recommend. There isn't a lot of room to move
about in the cabin of the Spider. So you end up in one position with not a lot of room to move around
which can lead to muscle fatigue over long periods of time. We finished the day in Pulaski, Virginia.
After 11 hours we had put 421 miles behind us and were more than good spirits. Certainly not what an
over the road trucker would consider a productive day but we enjoyed the sights along the way and
hadn't punished ourselves in the process. Day two we were heading into Charlotte but we were not in
a big hurry to get there. My school's reception dinner wasn't until 5:30 that evening. We made
our way 50 miles to Mount Airy, North Carolina again over the back road as this is where the car
really excels. Mount Airy is home to former movie star and television star Andy Griffith.
We visited the Andy Griffith Museum and a section of town that's set up as Mayberry from the Andy
Griffith show. Once again this allows us ample time to get out of the car and walk around. We next
journeyed to the gravesite of Eng and Chang. The duo traveled the world as the famed Siamese twins
in the early 1800s and then we ventured on to Fort Dobbs Historic Site this was an 18th century fort
that was reconstructed on the exact site where it once stood in 1761. After that a stop at Ass Clown
Brewing Company they have an awesome Hibiscus Rose Blonde if you're ever in the neighborhood,
and then we're off to the reception dinner. Many of the Mustang folks in attendance had positive
things to say about the Fiat. Miles traveled that day we're 174. We added gas for the second time
during our trip. Our first fill up of the trip was in Maryland and this one was just outside of Mount
Airy, North Carolina. We had driven a total of 343 miles on 9.7 gallons of fuel. That's 35 miles per
gallon, which seems extremely high but it's math so I can't really argue with it. The following day I
attend driving school and the Spider was used for transport back and forth so not a lot to report
on that day. The following day we made our way to Tybee Island. I had not researched the route and
we had wanted to see our friends and reconnect so it was 285 miles of interstate with one stop at a
rest stop and another just outside of Savannah for gas. Our mileage wasn't as stellar this time
but still not awful at 31 miles per gallon. I would have thought we have done better on the
interstate. The trip took roughly five and a half hours. The next two days the Spider remained parked.
Apparently golf carts are the preferred mode of transportation in Tybee Island. It's a barrier
island off the northern coast of Georgia. We decided our return route would take us to Richmond
Virginia. This time I was planning a route that for the most part would keep us off the interstate. We
did our farewell tour to Tybee Island in the Spider making sure to stop at locations we discovered
over the last couple days and hit the road. Our first destination was Forrest Gump's house. Which is
in South Carolina not Alabama as it is portrayed in the movie. I did do the run out of the driveway
but unfortunately a camera malfunction lost the footage. Sorry about that. Next was a stop at what
was described as a UFO Welcome Center. Apparently not many UFOs have been stopping in as it wasn't
exactly kept in pristine condition. I made the decision to drive straight through to the house.
That would put the day at 12 hours on the road and 779 miles. That seemed like a rational decision
at the time but it turned out to be a mistake. We made it home with no issue but make no mistake the
Spider's a bit cramped. You're comfortable but your movement is restricted by the size of the passenger
compartment. The days prior we had made many stops at points of interest and the miles really didn't
bother us but at the end of this day we had known we put in the miles. In fairness it was easily the
furthest we had driven in one shot but when we stopped for gas in Fredericksburg, Virginia
around midnight crawling out of the Spider was a chore and driving straight through didn't seem
like a wise decision. So in conclusion, yes you can road trip in a Fiat 124 Spider. The thing you need
to do is not be in a hurry to really get anywhere. Stop off and get out, take the road less traveled.
Make it more about the journey and less about the destination. Your legs will appreciate it as
will your back and I think the car does too. Our mileage was considerably less on the interstate
than it was on the back roads. Hopefully this helps somebody out there. If you own a Fiat 124 Spider
and you think you need an oil catch can maybe check out this video over here. That's going to
talk to you about how to service the Oil Air Separator. Acts like a catch can just drains
the oil back into the oil pan. Pretty good tip. Thanks for watching until next time we'll see you