Alfa Romeo Spider review
by Tom Stewart (23 June 2006)
Although Alfa Romeo's new Brera coupé has been described as a "concept car come true", its avant-garde silhouette and vaguely van-like proportions are apparently a little challenging to some, at least to those with a more traditional, conservative view of how a coupé should look. However, this most recent Alfa, the Spider - essentially a Brera convertible - is, from a styling perspective, likely to please even the most critical and conservative of onlookers.
Now you'll have to trust me on this but, roof either up or down, the Spider looks even better in the metal than it does in photos. So, praise to both Pininfarina and Alfa's in-house styling team as its desirable, clean-cut appearance has been achieved without resort to trendy, short term gimmickry, excessive reliance on retro pastiche or indeed any "over-styling".
In short, the new Spider looks terrific, seemingly without even trying, and so stands as a lesson to most of its two-seater competitors, many of them German and sporting heels too high, skirts too short and make-up too thick.
The Spider is due to go on sale in the UK in February 2007 at a price of approximately £1200 over that of the equivalent Brera, namely from £24,000 to £28,700. It will be offered in two specification levels (confusingly named Spider and Exclusive) with the same pair of petrol engines as the Brera - a transversely-mounted 2.2-litre, four-cylinder JTS petrol unit with 185bhp and 170lbs/ft of torque running through a six-speed manual to the front wheels, and a 3.2-litre V6 mated to a six-speed manual delivering power to all four wheels which pumps out a wholesome 260bhp and 237lb/ft.
As with two previous Alfa Spiders - the most recent dating from the mid 90s and before that the iconic Duetto series, (remember Dustin Hoffman's car in The Graduate?) - the new model makes no pretence at being a 2+2. Behind the seats is a pair of lockable stowage bins and space for some light luggage (or even quite heavy luggage if you drive with the seats well forward).
Bucking the current trend for complex, fold-away tin tops, at the touch of a button (no levers or catches) the Spider's five-layer cloth roof collapses at a leisurely pace into a separate storage area between cockpit and reasonably-sized 235-litre boot.
The cabin itself is well-equipped (a driver's side knee airbag will come as standard equipment) and well finished (especially when in the leather of the Exclusive version) and, though not quite as impressive as the exterior, the dash and interior are subtle, easy on the eye and appear well-built. Small point; for us northern European males who prefer not to carry a handbag, a little more stowage for phones, iPods, keys, sunglasses, fruit gums etc. would certainly be appreciated.
With driving position adjusted to suit (gone is the awkward, long-legged, short-armed Alfa posture of yesteryear, unless you so choose), the 2.2 fires on the button and settles into a mellow but barely discernable burble. Clutch action is very light and takes a little getting used to when moving away from stationary, but the six-speed gearchange action is a delight.
The steering is also light, and quite direct, and so requires little effort or movement at the wheel to initiate substantial directional changes. An exuberant or ham-fisted cornering style will provoke understeer, especially on the polished and dusty roads of the Sicilian press launch, but with the electronic traction systems engaged it's no big deal. Fortunately that dreaded downside of torsionally less rigid convertibles, scuttle shake, is barely noticeable except when driving on particularly rutted roads, and even then it remains acceptable.
The four-cylinder JTS motor is smooth, flexible and, though quiet, sounds pleasantly fruity. It's not too thirsty either, returning a reasonable 30.1mpg combined. All well and good then, except that even when driven hard the smaller-engined Spider doesn't feel quick. Of course, 185bhp, 0-62mph in 8.8 seconds and a 135mph top speed potential is ample for most duties, but if you reckon a sports car should pack a proper punch then you'll likely prefer the bigger V6 version.
With quoted performance figures of 0-62mph in 7.0secs and a possible max of 146mph, the 3.2 V6 is no slowcoach but on the road it doesn't feel particularly quick either. Due to its relaxed power delivery, tall gearing and near 1.7-tonne weight, the V6 Spider isn't a point and squirt sports car.
Naturally, it sips a little more fuel (24.6mpg combined) but it's even smoother than the 2.2, and more flexible, substantially more powerful and, although also a little too muted, it sounds sweeter still. But despite those 260 horses and all-wheel drive it really doesn't encourage frisky, spirited driving.
Rather than neck-snapping acceleration the Spider instead delivers the sort of forceful gathering of momentum also provided by long-legged, sports saloons, and so the V6 Spider would probably be more at ease on a long stretch of open autostrada than a sinuous Sicilian B-road. That said, maintaining a straight course at high speed on a less than perfect surface requires a tad more driver input than it would, say, in a big Merc.
Despite the fact that Alfa claims the Spider can complete a recently standardized lane change test at 135km/h compared with the class benchmark Porsche Boxster's 130km/h, and achieve an impressive 1g lateral acceleration in corners, what we have here is a great-looking Italian roadster that drives more like a good four-seater cabriolet. That's no bad thing, unless you expect your sports car to be genuinely sporty.
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