Alfa 4C - "Without The Heart We Would Be Mere Machines"

I think the Porsche loving media was biased. You would see videos of the 4C having no problem corning fast around the same corner a Boxster was having a hard time keeping up with the 4C in. Then they would say it was a draw

 

You know why? Because I like the Mac 650s!

 

Just gotta say, I love the last two posts.

So tired of posts about sports cars' apply play and blue tooth and smooth auto shifting and blah blah blah. I have other cars for that. Give me a loud, raw, connected, simple sports car for "A to A" driving and the occasional weekend getaway and I'm happy. So many people want their so-called sports car to behave like a Lexus these days.

 

So coupe or spider?

 

Spider. No downside and ability to get even more in tune with experience when nice weather

 

after I go on a drive in my 4c, I'm tired, sweating and tachycardic. Just like in my 308. Only I don't smell like exhaust fumes. It's that kind of car.

 

Pretty much agree with all that has been said in the last round of posts.

Only have a couple hundred miles at this point, mostly 2 lane winding country roads that have been patched instead of re paved.

- the car is an event ever time u get in it
- very purposeful design
- she does not seem overly small, feels bigger than she actually is
- sight lines to me are pretty much a non issue, side view mirrors are good, rear view is fine unless backing up
- do not understand all of the negative manual steering comments. Unless u are attempting to turn the wheel at a dead stop which I was alway told that is something that u shouldn't do then then the steering is very easy to manage.
- the car is rock solid, no fenders or hood or suspension flapping around over bumps, very well damped. You will feel it but it's all one piece, impressed here.
- plenty of power and the torque is always available and I have yet to get on it
- fo me it's the perfect size, I'm 5'10" about 162, sometimes right butt cheek can get a little sore so I shift around
- have not noticed any drone, I have the race exhaust

She makes all the right sounds from the time u open the door and the fuel system starts to pressurize to the time u turn the key. DCT is pretty dam good IMO, must say I'm impressed, have not driven it in full auto mode yet as it's too much fun shifting. Love the downshift blip of the throttle. Finally listened to the stero utilizing my iPod, it's not great by any means but it is better than I initially thought. Can always have it upgraded but I'm content with it for now.

Complaints about the cheap interior are way off base, especially if u do the full leather pkg on the dash and doors. People also complain about the AC/Heat Fan controls, I mean really are we going to ***** about fan controls? You turn the knobs to what you specifically want to accomplish, so easy and no complication with icons and haptic feedback etc. Inside storage is pretty good for your insurance card and registration, but it's pretty tough to find a place for your non installed front plate.

Have received more comments and honks and people yelling "What kind of car is that" in the short time that I have owned her it's actually pretty funny. Coupe or Spyder...can go either way, I prefer the coupe because I just feel the overall lines are better but I do miss out on the open air motoring, but for me this car provides so much stimuli I can live without the removable top.

As the Mayor said, you won't see these built again. I think Alfa really took a flyer on this car and it's probably a once in a lifetime build for them with something so radical and purposeful. They had to know that there are just not enough diehards to actually make a sensible business case and yet they had the guts to build it. Bravo Alfa...

 

Wow! Excellent post!
I'm going to try and test drive one this week.
Thanks for the insight!

 

I should have added that it is just a toy for me, it is not my daily driver. In that regard I think she is perfect. My daily is an Abarth 500 now so maybe I just appreciate punishment, but my commute to work is only 12 miles. For comfort and quite it's the wife's car. Good luck...

 

Excellent post. Thank you for the review.

Robb

 

Thanks for the excellent review. I was able to briefly experience one as a passenger and came away impressed and excited. I haven't liked a car this much in a long time. Just sitting in it, wow

The British press was so negative about the car my expectations were low. As you said, the interior isn't half as bad as they say.

 

Me too, great car.

After the "first drive reviews" they seem to ignore it entirely. EVO for instance in their new/latest mag has yet another Lotus Elise test (which is a great car as well by the way), but the 4C stays completely out of sight. Even after all these years they still haven't done an Elise/Exige comparisons test for instance.

 

im pretty sure there was a comparison test with 4c vs elise in a british mag when 4c first came out. cant remember the result either

 

Sarcasm ?

But thanks, found the unicorn.

Alfa Romeo 4C vs Lotus Elise S vs Porsche Cayman (2014) review by CAR Magazine

But EVO ? Autocar ?

The times they've tested Elise's, Exige's, Caterhams and even Morgans though......

Ofcourse all very well build, practical, quality interiors, no rattles whatsoever, class leading inhouse made engines and gearboxes, great reliability. stunning design.....

Lovely chassis's though.....and manlove included if two normal sized men try to sit in it together.

What's not to like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN9EC3Gy6Nk

 

No sarcasm at all and thats the article I saw

would like to see a gt4 compared instead of cayman though

 

Pardon the unabashed love of the 4C Spider....

I had the opportunity to take a 4C Spider on a 15 minute drive this past weekend. I am a long time Alfa Spider(s) owner. And over the last 5 years I had picked up a couple of Ferraris (308 & 355) to enjoy. This car connects me back to the Alfa brand. It is an amazing car to drive.

I am 6'4 and a big buy and amazingly, I fit in the 4C better than I do my 355 or 308. Seats are comfortable, more so than my 355. Leg position is much better in the 4C than my 355F1 Spider. Plenty of leg room too. I was able to gracefully enter the car (top off of course), and exit too without flopping out the door like a beached whale. I was actually very pleasantly surprised with my exit and entry skills considering the wide rocker. If you are on the fence about getting in and out of the hardtop version, the spider makes entry a fairly easy task providing the top is off the car. Top can be pulled down from inside the car, and replaced too. And if the car had the space to put anything in the 308 style trunk, you could go on a road trip comfort wise.

Like my 308, the top of the 4C gauge cluster is hidden behind the steering wheel. The interior is nice. This example had the full leather seats and dash. It also had the optional larger phonedial wheels. The 4C going down the road feels very solid. No cowl shake when hitting rough spots in the road. You felt the thump, but not as hard as like in a track car. Air conditioning....works.

Performance. She has got it. Faster than my 355. Quite a bit faster seat of the pants feel. Car felt very stable with aggressive acceleration. Of course I had the thought of telling my friend I backed this car into a fence, so I was just feeling the acceleration after she was well hooked up and moving. No idea how fast it might get away from you if you are getting aggressive pulling out of a side street. I was left with the impression that the car is plenty fast enough to get you in trouble quickly.

Driving the car, its hard to describe. Its something to experience. Its great. Handling is precise and you feel the road. Steering is of course heavy unless you have a little wheel roll. But easy enough with a little motion. Uneven roads do transmit through the steering, but not so much as to pull the car off track. Shifts are quick. Clutch pickup is a little different from a F1, but it something just to get used to.

Lots of different sounds out of that engine. You can definitely feel and hear when you get on turbo. I suppose it was a blow off valve that was tooting frequently when I was just cruising her along and coming of the gas. Probably my only criticism I would see in this car is the cruising drone noise that seems to be found at certain RPMs. The car is loud in the cockpit. And that drone might get under my skin on a long journey.

To sum it up, this 4C Spider will have to be in my garage at some point. I see it as the modern day reincarnation of a 308. If you haven't driven one, you should. Now to get them to make one in Azzuro!

 

great review

 

My first impression of the turbo sounds were that of an 80's rally car.

The one thing about the Alfa is that it's 100% honest. They didn't try to manipulate the exhaust note (there's no muffler to do it with!) or add sound deadening (and power losing) by-pass values. If you listen with the window open you can hear the sucking sound of air going into the functional air scoop behind your left ear.

It is what it is. You either like this kind of thing or you don't. Today car's are so "perfect" we forget that a Countach goes 0-60 in 6 seconds while 4c does it in almost 4. I'm not equating the two experiences but it's difficult to judge the Alfa with modern cars. If it were made in the 80's it would be considered "normal" in many ways and "exceptional" in others.

The carry over from older cars is that the radio's have always sucked in older Italian cars. They have always been noisy. They have always had uncomfortable seating positions -- and they have always had a unique character.

Thank heavens Alfa hasn't forgotten what Ferrari has.

 

On turbo, you could hear the air rush like a spooling jet. Amazing sound on turbo. A brutally fast, very pure sports car that delivers promised smiles. I bet it would be quite a blast on the track with a set of DOT competition tires, rear end sliding out around the corners.

This Alfa has it going on. I stepped out of the 4C trying to decide which car to sell to pay for the purchase.

 

Next week Saturday I'm taking mine on a road trip. Vegas to Reno to Tahoe to Mammoth lakes finishing in LA for about a six weeks.

Its a fun car to travel with as long as you are alone!

 

Why alone?

 

2016 Alfa Romeo 4C Spyder vs. 2017 Audi TTS - Head 2 Head Ep. 77

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Blf7FM3UvHo

 

These videos are the best! They should be top gear show

 

Some of the lines about the 4c are really funny.


I agree very much (not too sure about "a lot" of turbo lag) but it's not a good daily driver. It is a ton of fun.

I'm taking mine on a 2000 mile road trip on Saturday. The trick to doing that in a 4c?

1) Pack light
2) Do it alone!

 

Why alone?