Ciao everyone, here it's Marchettino.
As you might remember, last summer I test drove the Alfa Romeo 4C,
honestly one of the most fun cars I have driven so far.
I'm pretty excited to be driving another Alfa model, this time the 4C Spider.
I thought it was kind of the same thing as the coupè but after having driven it for a couple of days
I found out more positive but also negative sides so
let me tell you 5 reasons to love and hate the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider!
The first thing that is impossible not to notice or mention, is the style.
Whenever you're not driving it, probably you simply want to stare at it because
with its unmistakable sexy lines and curves,
the 4C is undoubtedly one of the hottest cars on the market!
As much as I think that this car belongs to racetracks and twisty roads,
I wouldn't mind to see it showcased in museums because this, is simply art to me!
I guess it's time to shut off the background music because
even though the 4C is powered by a small 1.75L 4cyl engine,
the sound it makes is simply amazing!
The driving experience is one of the keys if not, the main key of the 4C
and as you may imagine, it's pretty exciting to hoon around the track.
Needless to say that the 4C loves to oversteer and if I had one,
I would be definitely the best friend of tire shops!
Behind the wheel, it feels like to be driving a gokart.
It's very comunicative and easy to handle,
the lightweight makes it also very agile in the corners by proving that you don't need much power to go fast or to have fun.
After having spent the whole day at Autodromo di Modena with the 4C, I think that my smile says it all!
You know, when I get to drive flashy supercars like Ferrari or Lamborghini,
I know that it's inevitable to attract of the people
but I didn't expected to attract so much attention and interest of the people with the 4C.
It's a car that costs 3-4 times less than the most conventional supercars but at the same time
I think that this car attracts a lot more attention and interest because
I don't know how many times I've been stopped while parking or at the traffic light by people
that asked infos about this car!
It's a car that you don't see very often and it has a very strong " wow factor " !
They're looking!
They're looking as well!
One thing that you really have to learn behind the wheel of the 4C, is to make a poker face
otherwise you will look like a dumb idiot that smiles all the time!
But yeah, it's a car that makes everyone smile!
Please, be green!
Everyone stop watching me!
One of the reasons why I love this car well, is because it's italian.
As italian, I find rather exciting to see the comeback of a brand such as Alfa Romeo in the making of sports cars.
It's a car that shouts italianness and passion from any angle and well,
there's no self-respecting italian car with also defeicts so,
let me tell you also 5 things I dislike in the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider.
The cockpit of the 4C Spider is a rather nice place to be in.
I have to admit that there's some good improvement in terms of quality over the coupè.
The carbon fibre tub and the yellow stitching are the icing on the cake,
however I think that for 75.000€
the overall quality should be improved more because let's face it,
some parts are literally the same as you would find on a Fiat Panda and perhaps,
the contrast between high and low quality materials is pretty noticeable.
Whereas the lack of power assistance makes the 4C very pleasant to drive around racetracks and winding roads,
forget about driving it around the city.
The first time I drove the 4C I thought there was something broken but it's just
the steering wheel that is bloody hard!
But that's not all because
you always need to keep both hands on the steering wheel,
otherwise whenever you hit a pothole, the car simply changes direction!
You see!
And you may understand that it's not that hard to find potholes in Italy!
As much as I like straight piped cars,
I have to admit that cruising with the 4C Spider is quite ehm, tough
because as you might hear, there's no soundproofing at all!
You have the engine right behind and you hear this noise all the time!
You can't have a normal conversation inside the 4C!
But I'm surprised actually because
with the 4C Spider, having a soft roof,
I was expecting to hear more wind noise, compared to the coupè
but the thing is that this car is so loud that you can't even hear the extra wind noise!
It's a good thing that I still keep my F1 earplugs!
Much better!
You may realize that travelling with the 4C is not very practical.
The boot of the 4C coupè is quite terrible, even worse with the Spider
considering that when you unfold the roof well, you gotta throw it somewhere
and that becomes a problem if you already store something.
Alfa Romeo has been kind enough to provide me also a useless bag with tire chains
that I had no idea where to store but the good thing is, surprise surprise..
you can store a coin down there!
But that's not the only issue cause by the roof because the disassemble and reassemble procedures
are that annoying that they just make you want to throw the roof away and wait for the summertime
or for the most hasty ones, grit your teeth and enjoy a cold day.
So let's face it, the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider is even less practical than the coupè
but after having driven it about 3000km I thought, who cares?
It's a car built with no compromises for the maximum driving experience
and with the roof off, I find it even more enjoyable.
Spending most of my time with the wind in my hair and the intoxicating 4cyl shouting behind my ears made me get flu and headache
but at the end, it was damn worth it. Grazie Alfa Romeo!
No, come back!
Cut!