The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Alfa Romeo 4C’s faults make it an endearing ride
Want to buy a new car that’s both exclusive and a bargain?
Alfa Romeo has your answer: the 4C Spider.
Where else can you buy a midengine, rear-wheel-drive sports car built with a carbon fiber monocoque tub for less than six figures? And, oh yea, it’s powered by a direct-injected, intercooled, turbocharged 1.7-liter four-cylinder engine that’s paired to a sixspeed dual-clutch transmission.
Weighing less than 2,500 pounds, this little roadster scoots to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds. And it certainly sounds fast, with its evil snarl barking and rasping its evil intent. The problem is there’s no way to calm it, which can be a nuisance to your neighbors when you’re leaving your cul-de-sac at 6 a.m. Just remember, you were warned.
It also looks unlike most cars on the road. It’s not some overfed, bulky suburban crossover. Nor is it some sleek sedan trying its best to look sporty rather than the sedate slug that it is. Instead, the 4C looks exotic and it is.
The Spider was not bred to be boring. It is a performance machine, one that’s filled with issues that turn off the majority of car buyers.
For openers, just try getting into the car. It’s low. And while falling into the seat is the easy part, getting out is much trickier, especially for those with long legs. Once inside, you’re greeted by firmly bolstered-but-flat bucket seats sheathed in beautiful leather. The instrument panel is as well, although the plastics used are surprisingly flimsy. It’s too easy to activate the turn signal when all you want to do is turn on the high beams.
At the front of the center console are four transmission buttons: first gear, neutral, reverse and one for switching between automatic and manual mode. There is no park gear; just put the car in neutral and set the enormous parking brake lever. There are also two cup holders that are best used for holding smaller items as there is no glove box, only a small cubby near the driver’s right shoulder.
You’ll find other things absent as well. There’s no automatic climate control, or infotainment screen with navigation, or cruise control, or driver assistance electronic safety nannies, or rear backup camera, or power seats, or power steering.
Yes, you read that right: no power steering. This makes maneuvering the car either excessively challenging or the best upper body workout you’ll get outside of a gym.
The 4C Spider also lacks a muffler, and its cabin lacks carpet or any other form or sound insulation, ensuring you won’t hear the Alpine sound system. It’s just as well. It doesn’t sound very good anyway and features impossibly Lilliputian buttons and a USB connector that loosely dangles down from under the instrument panel.
This may sound dreadful, but it’s the 4C’s imperfections that make it so endearing.
This welterweight is one big mess of hysterically fun immediacy, with razor quick steering, a torquey powerplant and short gear ratios that burp out the shifts instantaneously. Clearly this is a car that demands driver involvement. Its suspension — doublewishbones up front with rear struts and a rear aluminum subframe — keep the car flat in corners, although it will wander off on it own as it follows a crowned road surface. This might call for some corrective measures, but it merely adds to the joy of driving this alert, alive sports car. Similarly, the brakes require some heft to actuate and pedal travel is