We say Another curio from Alfa Romeo. The Spider isn’t the best in class to drive, but it looks great and has plenty of character.Performance The 2.2-litre and 3.2-litre V6 petrol engines and 2.4-litre turbodiesel are all lively and offer up plenty of power, but extra weight of the roof mechanism slows it down a bit.Emissions Not the best, emissions are some of the highest in its class and fuel consumption in the Spider is only around 40mpg in the diesel; it’s a lot less in the petrols.Driving The Spider is quite heavy and as such the steering feels unresponsive and the car is slow to turn in. The ride and handling is unsettled by the lack of structural rigidity.Feel The Spider’s engines sound impressively raspy in the cabin, and wind noise is kept to a minimum despite the drop-top thanks to a wind deflector.Space As expected of a sports coupe, space in the Spider is not great, but the deep boot has enough space for everyday bags. The folding roof doesn’t affect boot space.Equipment Entry level Alfa Spiders come with air conditioning, electric windows, CD player and remote central locking – decent kit levels for standard spec.Price Residuals aren’t great, but nowhere near as poor as previous Alfa models. Buying price and running costs are middling for the sector.Quality The interior is suitably luxurious and all the materials are high quality. Reliability issues are not typically Alfa either, which is a good thing.Safety Five airbags, ABS, ESP and traction control as well as twin rollover hoops in the event of the car rolling over.Pros Hugely desirable and a big step forward in reliability and build quality.Cons The drive is not engaging and the rivals are cheaper to run.Alternatives Audi TT, Mercedes SLK, Nissan 370Z, BMW Z4, Porsche Boxster
