The Alfa Romeo Spider 3.0 V6 24 valve breathes a breath of fresh air into the Spider. This car goes ! no turbo is required above 3500 revs it just keeps on accelerating until you have to change gear at 7000 rpm. The car has real Italian flair, the handling is excellent although with some scuttle on rough roads and a little torque steer if you put your foot down in low gears. The steering is very direct through the power steering, but the turning circle is quite poor.
The V6 engine is faultless, the engine note is superb and it drives in town just as easily as it does when driven hard.
The car does not have traction control, 4wd or any other fancy gizmos other than ABS. In my opinion it does not need them either and manages to put the 220 bhp down on the road quite effectively.
The interior finish in my car is very good, but the momo leather seats are just a bit hard and the seats not quite supportive enough latterly. I’m still not sure about the silver centre console, its just down to ones one taste I suppose. The interior does suffer from the odd squeaks and rattle especially with the roof down.
The electric hood fits well and stows away nicely. I have had one problem with getting the hood back up again which relates to a sticky motor. This is a known problem give the motor a tap and it all works again. This car would not be Italian if it did not have some quirks!!
For a car in this price range the Audio Equipment provided is very poor, come on Alfa fit it with a proper multi changer.
I looked at a lot of cars of this type before committing to the Alfa. Any two seater convertible is not a practical car, so comparing the practicalities between them as the motoring press do is in my opinion rather senseless. The boot is quite small (It’s a convertible) but is very deep and I have no problem at all fitting a large golf bag and trolley into it with room to spare. You can also easily get two standard aircraft cabin trolley bags in there albeit not with the golf clubs. There is also a hand storage bin behind the front seats.
All in all this is not an Audi TT and is not an efficient German sports car. It does have class great performance and looks that have not dated since it went into production. It has Italian quirks to it; before you buy your Audi just go and test drive it and then make up your mind.
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I love the Alfa spyder. It's a sexy little number. I want one!!
sarsons 28.10.2002 22:04
Good op, and enjoyed reading it, but would like more info about the car and its package - eg electrics, performance, insurance, service costs, drivability, roo etc before Icould go VH. If you ever redo this, let me know and I'll reread your op.
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