Top 5 modern Italians to enjoy right now

The dream of an Italian classic often collides with the reality of finding a garage to store the car and shield it from the harshness of everyday driving. Yet it doesn’t have to be this way – you can have a coppa di gelato without the sticky fingers if you opt for a modern Italian you can use every day. They don’t even have to bust la banca to own and run as our pick of five cracking Italian modern classics shows.

Maserati Quattroporte

Keeping our purse strings reasonably taught means the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini are out of the picture, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up on parking an exclusive bit of Italian engineering on the drive. Maserati has long offered the same bespoke lines and finish of other supercar makers but often with prices that are more off-the-peg. So it is with the Maserati Quattroporte V built between 2003 and 2012.

This elegant saloon will waft you down the motorway or sprint across deserted country routes with equal aplomb. Only a Jaguar XJ can rival it for the way it tightens around you when the pace picks up to make it feel more lithe and able than a car of this size has any right to. There’s also the wonderful sound of its V8 engine to accompany this, plus an interior that’s decked out in all the leather and luxury you could wish for.

Find a Quattroporte V made from 2007 onwards and you dodge the earlier cars fitted with the troublesome DuoSelect automated manual gearbox. In its place, these later cars have a much more robust ZF six-speed automatic transmission that is well suited to the car’s luxury leanings. There are plenty of these Quattroportes around for £10,000 in great condition with full service records and less than 80,000 miles on the clock that are ready to menace the other parents when you drop off the kids at school.

Abarth 500 

At the opposite end of the size spectrum for swift modern Italian classics is the Abarth 500. It was the original hot hatch version of the retro Fiat 500 launched in 2007, with the Abarth arriving a year later with a 135bhp 1.4 turbo petrol engine. That might be a modest combo in power and capacity, but in the compact 500 it offers 0-60mph in 7.9 seconds and 128mph. It also delivers more than 40mpg combined economy, affordable insurance for all but those who have only just passed their test, and road tax that won’t drain your account.

As well as keen running costs, the Abarth 500 is also just a hoot to drive. Its tiny size compared to most modern cars means you can make more of the available road to pick a line and enjoy its grip like spaghetti flung at a wall. The five-speed manual gearbox is just the thing for extracting the most from the turbo engine, which makes noises like something with a much bigger sting to have you laughing on every drive when you know you can have this much fun from £4,000.

Fiat Panda 100HP

Fiat pulled off the same trick earlier on with the Panda 100HP, which is rising fast as a modern classic to have tucked in any discerning garage. You’ll pay more for this pumped-up Panda than an Abarth as prices go from £5,000 for smart examples with lower miles. It’s money well spent however, as you won’t lose anything financially and the 100HP is every bit as good to drive as its appearance suggests.

Don’t get hung up on the straight line speed from the 1.4-litre naturally-aspirated engine – this car is all about the corners thanks to its 15-inch alloy wheels with chunky tyres, firmer and lowered suspension, and upgraded brakes. In true small car style, you learn to carry momentum in the Panda 100HP, conserving it and carrying it through to the next stretch of road. Fortunately, the engine loves to rev, which adds to the sense of a car you can drive flat out without risking a brush with Johnny Law.

Fiat 124 Spider 

For some, the Italian car experience has to come with fresh air in the mix, and this is where the 124 Spider comes into its own. We don’t mean the long-running 124 Spider that was last built in 1985. Nope, we’re talking about the more recent model offered between 2016 and 2018 in the UK. Like the Barchetta before it, the 124 Spider was not a huge seller over here, yet it was based on the massively successful fourth-generation Mazda MX-5. That is a good starting point and Fiat made the Spider its own by fitting the 1.4-litre turbo engine used in the Abarth 500 hot hatch. The standard model got a 140hp version, while the 124 Spider Abarth came with 170bhp.

Even with the less powerful of these two engine options, the Fiat was a perkier drive than the 1.5-litre MX-5 of the same age. Acceleration sees the 124 Spider cover 0-62mph in 7.5 seconds (6.8 for the Abarth) and it handles with the same crisp rear-drive neatness of the Mazda. Best of all, the Fiat’s prices have fallen a bit further and faster than its MX-5 cousin, so you can now pick up a low miles 124 Spider in pristine nick from £9,500.

Alfa Romeo MiTo 

If that’s a bit too much outlay for you, there is another rare and attractive Italian option that will work very well as a car to enjoy right now with little to worry about. Say hello to the Alfa Romeo MiTo. From £1,500, you can be driving a distinctively styled compact Italian hatch that delivers handling and peppy performance. Go for the 170bhp 1.4-litre turbo petrol and it will nip off 0-62mph in 7.1 seconds and carry on to 136mph. All that while providing 52mpg if driven with a little moderation and it’s Euro 6 emissions means you can drive into city centres without worrying about low emissions zone charges.

Choose any one of these modern Italian classics and your daily drive will be brighter, brisker, and you don’t need to sell the family’s da Vinci to own any of them.