Sweet! Looks alright.. I have an X1/9, I love it (I'm biased). Least expensive mid-engine Italian car you can buy! I've owned mine for 28 years. https://www.flickr.com/photos/myronsamila/albums/72157632195864101
I have a LE coupe. With the windows up and cruising you can talk to passengers no problem. Windows down and driving hard and it is is loud. Should be concentrating on driving any way rather than talking. The suspension does make you focus. Tire pressure/road camber all make a difference. The trade off being that you can feel everything that car is doing. I thought my boxster was a communicative car until I drove the 4c. Boxster whispers. 4c speaks loudly.
Tom and Umsneeze, thanks for the perspective. Can anyone with a spider comment on the window sealing and noise level with the top on?
One aspect I like is that with the non-assisted steering, the load increases dramatically in the hard slow speed turns. You can feel the tires grip and fighting back through the wheel. If you've driven a go kart, its the exact same feeling. With the advent of power steering it's a feeling that went away. You are part of the vehicle again, not just riding in it and pointing the wheel. Also, the brakes are the same way. Awesome feedback in a rock hard "racing style" pedal feel.
i have a spider, and it is LOUD!!! wind noice is not inbearable. but if you lay into it . a conversation cannot be had. but then again this is a car to drive, and enjoy every sound it makes ...if comfort is even a consideration , look elsewhere. As far as window seal for water and such, i have not had an issue with any water getting thru.
If you want a review on the spider go on Youtube and search for Marchettino's. He said it's pretty loud and he was also wearing earplugs lol. If you want reviews on the coupe, Seen through glass owned one and has plenty of videos. I love the 4C and keep thinking about one but one thing I don't like is that farting exhaust...just can't get over it when I hear them pass by.
A lot of people seem to not know this, but it only does that when you drive it a bit spiritedly/aggressively. I often commute in mine, and if I just drive casually along as you would any daily driver it does not do that. However, when people go test drive them they naturally lean into them a bit, and then you get that "farting" on up-shifts. Anyway, you can drive it along mellowly and not have any of that if that is your desire, or you can accelerated with fury when that tickles you
I have a 16 4C coupe, non race suspension but with the race exhaust. For me the car is an absolute joy but it is very much a weekend toy. Yes the car gives a very firm ride but it is all so very well damped and solid feeling, no rattles that I have found or cowlshake, just a very solidly built car. Most of my driving is two lane back roads, highway driving is minimal and for me not what the car was built for. Manual steering is a pleasure and I do not find it hard to handle at all. Backing up...forget about it, dont do it! Rear sight lines are actually not that bad while underway. Speed/pickup for me is more than enough and highly entertaining but again I am mostly on back roads. The DCT I also find to be highly enjoyable, I am usually a 3 pedal guy but this trans setup to me is just about perfect and I am not sure I would prefer a manual in this car...that's how good it is. The sounds the car makes are just crazy and it just pleases me to no end that Alfa Romeo had the balls to actually build and deliver a car so raw to the public. I do not think we will see something like this again. Good luck...
Thanks to all for your comments. Informative. I watched the STG and Marchettino's videos. Helpful. I'll post some comments once I have driven the car. And yes, kudos to AR for building the little road rocket! Philip
I agree about the DCT. I prefer manuals but the DCT fits the character of this car. And with the power delivery being a bit peaky there is no way I could shift a manual fast enough to keep the boost and revs up.
I drove a 4c Spider tonight. It was equipped with the standard (17/18) wheels and sport exhaust but without the track suspension. The steering, straight line tracking and so forth were fine. Not to say absent, rather, manageable. The presence of the car is great. The ride was okay. The car is not refined but consistent and honest with its design. I have no real feel for performance. The roads were wet and busy. My disappointment was twofold: - first he gear shift was slow. I was in dynamic mode and was not using fistfuls of throttle but was expecting more. - the car is always shouting at you, even when using 1/2 inch of throttle. For me, way too loud. I may go back to drive a coupe. All in all I was excited but it was a let down. Philip
Has anyone driven the coupe and the spider so that they can comment on the relative noise level? Also, same model, standard versus sport exhaust?
I've only driven the coupe but to be honest with you, from what you're saying regarding your Spider test drive, I'm not sure you'll like the 4C Coupe either. They're both really raw cars, don't expect the coupe to be a luxury cruiser.
This car is not for you. If you don't like the rawness of the exhaust and pop off valves you'll never like it. The gearbox reminds me a lot of an F 430. Very similar but you can't shift to neutral.
The 4C has a minimalist theme and the experience is consistent with that. You just can't expect the same level of refinement as cars that weight several hundred pounds more. However, this purity will make the car timeless IMHO. What you are paying for is a raw super lightweight sports car--and that is what you get. If you want the creature comforts and "refinement" a Boxster is a much better choice for similar money. In fact there are a ton of them--you could buy a fantastic depreciated used one and save yoruself some money. Taking nothing away from the Boxster, is a fantastic car for what it is trying to accomplish. Those who buy a 4C are likely doing so precisely to avoid the modern highly refined sports car driving experience that is more the norm these days and can be found in pretty much any other sports car out there. Incidentally---this is why I am bullish on the collect-ability of the 4C. Namely, it offers something unique in the market. Further, 10 years down the road collectors will care less about the electric gimzos or storage space that go missing in the 4C---in fact, on the contrary, they will likely appreciate the consistency of the theme and lack of electronics that will look junky in 10 years. In other words, there will always be a better more refined car with more gizmos--however a pure raw sports car like this offers something that is timeless.
You can hit the "N" button (instead of pulling both paddles)... Though, personally, unlike my Ferraris, I never put it in neutral when rolling up to a red light.
Yes but you have to take your eyes off the road so I never do that. I miss hitting both paddles at the same time.
I think the 4c is a 100 yard car. You'll know you'll like it after driving 100 yards. If not, it's not for you.
Thanks for the inputs. On the sophistication versus luxury point, of course I don't expect luxury given the ethos of the car, spartan interior etc. I know the comments are well intended and you are reacting to my thoughts on loudness but please know, i have owned a variety of sports cars, raced for a few years, had loud motorbikes on road and track etc so I think it's hard to judge from what I have said if something is right for me. Anyway, back to regularly scheduled programming. If one of you has driven a coupe and a spider and has a perspective on the cockpit sound level I'd like to know and, second, if anyone has a race to standard exhaust comparison, I'd like to hear your perspective too. Many thanks
Most of my friends figure that out while attempting to get inside the car. That is quite comical at times.
Yes, access and egress can be quite comical if you are large framed (I am 5'9" and in reasonably good shape). On the 100-yd question, I tend to know I don't like something after a 100-yards (that was my experience with the "sport" Guilia [rather than the QF]). I don't know that I like something enough to buy it.
I haven't driven one, but the 4C strikes me as the next evolution of the Lotus Exige/Elise line, which is no longer availbable in the US. I have an Exige 240S, and while I no longer track it, do to a vision problem, I will never sell it because they won't make anything exactly like it ever again. But the 4C is a nice evolution of the concept.
