Every time I click the link in one of these Read the rest of the story threads, it just takes me back to the top of the page. Every time, on every one.
It looks similar a Lotus. It screams loud like you wouldn't believe. It definitely calls attention to itself. But exactly how does this exotic stack up? We slid behind the wheel to find out.
First, I want to commend Alfa Romeo for coming back into this country and producing a car so intense. It almost makes a hardcore car like the Miata look like a car for non enthusiasts. In our world, the Miata is about the most hardcore car offered. Alfa, with the 4C, decimates that reality with a car that is more race car than civilized street car.
We have always used the Lotus Elise as a benchmark for cars that are more track day toys than civilized cruisers. On the other hand, a Boxster S is a car that does pretty damned well at that same track day. But if the track day were in Seattle and you lived in Miami, it would be considered a bonus and not a penalty box to drive a Boxster that far.
The Alfa takes the idea of penalty box and turns it into life in prison. The steering is stiffer than my Edsel wagon with no power steering. The ride is worse than my Triumph TR3 race car. The build quality and ingress/egress are as bad or worse than our Factory Five 818 kit car. The Alfa is nervous on the street, darting constantly. The shifting is terribly crude and should be by manual transmission in a pure sports car such as this. Hats off to Alfa for getting 237 horsepower out of a 1750cc engine. Based on how quick the car is, I believe that figure to be accurate. There are smoother engines out there, though, with better sounding exhaust notes.
While the Alfa styling is modern, in your face and strangely attractive, it is certainly similar enough to the Lotus Elise to make the folks at Lotus see red and not British Racing Green.
Ergonomically the Alfa is flawed too. Ingress and egress are severely compromised. This you would expect from a small, pure sports car like this. You might even expect the seats to be so uncomfortable that you couldn’t drive an hour without wincing in pain. What you would not expect, is the ergonomics to be so badly implemented that you cannot see the gauges through the steering wheel in virtually any seating position. Even the radio and switch gear looks like it is from an eighties car. Man, they missed the interior on this car.
The over $71,000 price tag of our Alfa 4C test car is supposedly largely because of the hand-laid carbon fiber tub. Carbon fiber is a good thing. Check the curb weights, and you will see the Alfa weighs about the same, if not a little more than the new plain old steel ND Miata, which sells for 1/3 the price. This bothers me somehow.
I wanted to like this car and I certainly like the idea of this car. Assuming the build quality and reliability are up to modern standards—and you have the scratch—this would make one heck of a track car, if you had a truck and trailer to tow it to local events. If not, I would look at the new Miata or a used Lotus Elise, and wait for version 2.0 to come out from Alfa Romeo.
According to our friends at Wikipedia, "A love–hate relationship is an interpersonal relationship involving simultaneous or alternating emotions of love and hate—something particularly common when emotions are intense.”
Thanks Wiki, as you’ve summed up my feelings about Alfa’s 4C Spider. With this minuscule Italian, there is no middle ground, no compromise, no concessions to comfort or logic. In a world of overly sanitized “perfect” automotive conveyances, the Alfa 4C shouts obscenities, gives you the finger, and is smiling the entire time. Does it love me, or hate me? The answer is yes.
Here’s why I love it:
It goes like stink. Seriously, 237hp has never felt this fast. I’ve driven 500hp cars that didn’t feel this explosive. Extremely light-weight can be wonderful!
From the burble at idle, to the raspy howl at redline, this Alfa is a vocal one. It pops, crackles and even farts loudly when you bang shifts by using the paddles. Yes, it’s only available in manumatic form.
I may not be in love with the way it looks, but bystanders sure are. Girls scream for rides, pickup trucks make way for you, and everyone cranes their neck to check it out. If anonymity is your thing, look elsewhere.
It grips like gum on hot asphalt. The 4C’s mission was clearly to dislodge heads from necks. This little bugger has limits way higher than most cars on the street. It’s actually foolish to even attempt to reach the limits on public roads. Throw it into a turn, and it just obeys. There is no drama, no slip, no squeal from the tires. It does things easily that would send other “sports cars” headed for the ditch. On track, it would be magic.
It has mighty brakes. The nice aluminum pedal is reassuringly firm, and while touchy, the brakes are awesome. No fade, great feel and strong deceleration. Nearly perfect for a sporting car.
And here’s why I hate it:
It’s cheap and built like crap. Seriously, it feels like a 4th grader put this thing together. The interior materials are cheap plastic, the radio looks like it came off the discount bin at Best Buy, and there were exposed wires hanging from under the dash. Also an incredibly cheap plastic lever broke off in my hand when I went to take the top off. I wasn’t man-handling it (Really!) the plastic was just that cheap. Overall the interior feels like it will fall apart within the first 6 months of ownership. This is a $70K car. Really?
The ergonomics. I can take a few quirks, but a seat-back that is bolt-upright and has no rake adjustment? The steering wheel feels nice, but although it tilts and telescopes, it always blocks the top 1/4 of the gauges. This happens regardless of the driver’s size. There is literally no way to see the top of the gauges without slouching down—and I’m 5’8”. It gives you the impression that this part of the design was concocted at 4:30pm on a Friday, and they just said "itsa good enough!"
She’s a nervous Nelly. Although the 4C’s steering is accurate, it’s variable weighting feels unnatural. The light-weight and aggressive alignment tuning make for an extremely nervous ride on the highway. Wind blast from Semi-trucks push it around, and the Alfa darts, squirms and feints without provocation. This is a two-hands on the wheel car—at all times. Sometimes extremely low weight can be less than wonderful.
Tick, tick, tick. Although the 4C is fun, fast and incredibly agile, it also feels like it will explode and catch fire at any given time. The lack of attention to detail, and lousy materials employed give it a very fragile feel. I’d love one as a track-day car, but would I be able to get home?
I love that Alfa has returned to the U.S. I hate that this car still embodies the negative traits that drove them from our shores a few decades ago. I love the way it goes, stops and sounds, but I hate the dumb ergonomics and lousy build quality.
Love it, hate it, or both, this Alfa 4C Spider is never boring.
On paper, the Alfa 4C is everything we want in a car: lightning-fast reflexes, plenty of power and giant brakes. The Alfa also delivers drop-dead sexy looks and, in this case, open-top motoring. It’s just the right size, too.
It’s a winner, right? In reality, the Alfa is so high and mighty that it doesn’t care much about its occupants.
It doesn’t care about those giant blind spots found over each shoulder.
It doesn’t care about being quiet.
It doesn’t care about space for your left foot.
It doesn’t care about easy egress or ingress.
It’s basically a street-legal track car, which is both good and bad. First, the good.
Wow, it’s fast.
I can’t remember the last time I sampled steering this responsive. It makes my 911 seem kind of dull.
The brakes are amazing. Amazing.
Outward front visibility is fantastic.
But the rest of the stuff that makes up a street car leaves much to be desired.
The steering wheel blocks the top of the gauges. Didn’t anyone notice this earlier in the development cycle?
Sure, the steering is razor-sharp, but it’s also heavy as hell at anything less than 30 mph.
And above 30 mph it can also be called twitchy. Take your eyes off the road for a second and you might be making a drive-thru out of someone’s front yard.
Either you like the seat angle or you don’t.
Getting in and out of the car will introduce you to muscles that you forgot you had.
I also wouldn’t call this an heirloom-quality machine. The interior bits feel flimsy. In fact, one of the latch handles for the convertible top broke while the car was in our care. Know what those handles are made from? Lightweight plastic. I like the lightweight aspect of those handles, but what is going to break next? I don’t expect the world for $70k, but a 25-year-old CRX has a nicer-feeling interior.
As a street car, I think it would also wear me out. I recently covered 1100 miles in a new MX-5 over the course of two and a half days. Upon arrival, I felt fine. After a 45-minute drive in the Alfa, I was ready to get back home. I simply got tired of feeling every pebble, hearing every exhaust note, and constantly wondering how many 18-wheelers were hiding in my blindspots. Plus my hips didn’t love the offset pedals.
I applaud Alfa for giving us the most hardcore machine since the Lotus Elise. As a track car, the Alfa wins. As a street car, at this price point I’m getting a Boxster or Cayman. The Alfa might be faster and prettier, but I see the Porsche serving up more miles.
Every time I click the link in one of these Read the rest of the story threads, it just takes me back to the top of the page. Every time, on every one.
Me too, you have to hit the "View original review" text.
Yeah, it looks like that link is messed up. Go here instead:
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/new-cars/2015-alfa-romeo-4c-spider/
I think a fourth opinion is needed. Please send the car to 4401.... 
This paragraph was the money shot for me: Just how light is this car? I was expecting under 2000lb for sure. Here in Canukland the car would be over $100,000 by the time it hit the driveway.
"The over $71,000 price tag of our Alfa 4C test car is supposedly largely because of the hand-laid carbon fiber tub. Carbon fiber is a good thing. Check the curb weights, and you will see the Alfa weighs about the same, if not a little more than the new plain old steel ND Miata, which sells for 1/3 the price. This bothers me somehow."
Personally, I think an Elise is prettier. As much as I want to like it, I just find something awkward about the front and rear. It's no 8C.
I still would love to drive one just for the experience.
Aren't these mid-engine?
I suspect that these will be a little like the $8,000 titanium mountain bike that spends most of its time in the garage... The guys who can afford them will largely be a little afraid of them, and unhappy that the missus doesn't want to come along. Too bad because it's sex on wheels.
Yawn...pass the C7 Z06 please
It's Italian, what did you expect? 
Seriously, that describes almost every Italian car I've owned, well, except for the really fast part.
Displaying 1-10 of 54 commentsView all comments on the GRM forums
You'll need to log in to post.
