Alfa Romeo Spider 2.0 JTS

...husband and I bought our Alfa Romeo Spider (note spelling please Ciao) two years ago from our local Alfa Romeo dealer, Victoria Park Motors. We had decided that we wanted a new car that would represent our position in society. We are what could be referred to as DINKYs - Double Income No Kids Yet, and so wanted a car that we could cruise around in and really didn't care about practicalities.
We looked at lots of different cars, including a ...
...are etc.

Alfa have been building this new model of Spider since 1996. It is designed by Pininfarina.
It has 164bhp and will possibly go 150 mph, but that's more realistically 134mph.
0-60 is in 8.4 secs which is faster than the Audi TT.
It does 30.7mpg (gulp) and its CO2 emissions are 220g/km.

~Important Aimed-at-Females Bit~

It is a lovely shiny blue colour with a black material roof.
more

Do you buy a two-seater sports car like this expecting it to be steadfastly wonderful in all respects?
No. You buy it because you want everyone to turn their heads and say, 'Wow look at that car, it's FINE!' And you will not be disappointed.

My husband and I bought our Alfa Romeo Spider (note spelling please Ciao) two years ago from our local Alfa Romeo dealer, Victoria Park Motors. We had decided that we wanted a new car that would represent our position in society. We are what could be referred to as DINKYs - Double Income No Kids Yet, and so wanted a car that we could cruise around in and really didn't care about practicalities.
We looked at lots of different cars, including a Lotus Elise, but finally settled on the Spider. At £11, 000 (R reg) it was the best buy I have ever made....

~Boring Aimed-at-Males Bit~

Here's the boring bits for all you males out there who watch Top Gear, not for Jeremy Clarkson's wit, but for the 'vital' information about how powerful cars are etc.

Alfa have been building this new model of Spider since 1996. It is designed by Pininfarina.
It has 164bhp and will possibly go 150 mph, but that's more realistically 134mph.
0-60 is in 8.4 secs which is faster than the Audi TT.
It does 30.7mpg (gulp) and its CO2 emissions are 220g/km.

~Important Aimed-at-Females Bit~

It is a lovely shiny blue colour with a black material roof.

~My Experience~

Yes yes, it leaks. Through the damn roof. Apparently because Italian manufacturers who happen to be lucky enough to live in a very hot country don't have worries about such things. Problem solved: Buy a waterproof seat cover from Argos at about £9.99 for a pair, hey presto, dry seat.

Does it drive brilliantly? Well, good enough for Britain's roads. If you want to receive 3 points or more on your license, it's quite capable of providing you with them. With an extremely fine looking 2 litre engine under the bonnet, it will blow away all the boy racers in their K reg Ford Fiestas with alloy wheels and 'Idiot' engraved on the dash. It also has very good brakes.
'What Car' criticises it for being a bumpy ride and not having much room for luggage. It's a two seater sports car for goodness sake!! You don't buy it because you want to take little Maisie and her friends swimming. You buy it because you want to say firmly to your parents and the rest of the world..'I am NOT reproducing yet, I am happy without children and not ashamed of that fact!!!' It is quite a bumpy ride on the roads that the council haven't got round to fixing yet, but that really does not bother us.

Driving position is low and you feel like you are sitting on the floor, but not quite as low as the Elise. The seat are very comfortable (fabric, not leather). Vision around the car is not brilliant, but sufficient. People usually get out of your way anyway! Changing gears and use of pedals is easier than any car I have driven and everything is fully adjustable to ensure an easy driving position.

Inside, the car is perfectly comfortable. The cock pit is gorgeous. All the dash faces the driver, so your passenger doesn't know how fast you are going! Bonus! The controls are easily reached, including the stereo (very important). The steering wheel is small and leather bound and screams 'classic class'.

My husband and I travelled around Britain for two weeks in it, fitting a suitcase behind my chair and other luggage in the boot and on the box which hold the cd multichanger. Top down, it's beautiful, hair ruffling can be reduced by keeping the windows up and wearing a hat of some kind, and the music can still be heard at 70 mph.

The body, as you can see in the picture, is beautiful and deceptively large. I particularly enjoy the lock to the boot which is situated under the Alfa Romeo logo which flips down, very James Bond.

Security includes an alarm and immobilizer. Apparently, safety is not great, but I've not tested it out by rolling my car over or crashing or anything, so I can't really comment. There are front airbags, but not side ones.

We've got the old version, the newer one is even better! Our roof is manual. That's not a problem because it takes about 30 seconds to put up or down. However it doesn't look as good as the roof swooping down electronically I'm sure. New versions have the electric roof, air conditioning, heated mirrors etc, (and will set you back about £25,000), ah well, maybe soon...

There is very little to dislike about this car in my opinion. But I think it very much depends on what you are looking for...sexy, everything about you's so sexy!

 

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