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| Road Test: Alfa Romeo GTV and Spider (2003-) |
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| Affordable Sports |
by: Ben Whitworth |
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| COMFORT AND EQUIPMENT RATING: |
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Alfa claims to have softened the ride quality of the JTS in response to UK customer feedback - and it shows. Both four-cylinder Spider and GTV models are slightly softer over broken tarmac, but the V6 is still very firm. Scuttle-shake is the Spider's biggest problem. The less-than-rigid structure means that over faster roads, the body and suspension often feel out of sync with one another, causing the dashboard to shudder. It's best to treat both Spider and GTV as two-seaters. Boot space is pretty mediocre as well - the Spider's roof bites severely into its luggage compartment, while the GTV's is only marginally bigger. Front passengers fare better, but the Alfa's cabin is still a fairly cramped place to sit. The large central transmission tunnel robs those in front of foot room, there's not a great deal of headroom (unless the roof is down in the Spider) and elbowroom is limited. In the GTV, the narrow windscreen and high shoulders add to the claustrophobic feeling, while the Spider's high rear deck creates a hemmed-in feeling. Both Spider and GTV are fitted with powerful CD/radio sound systems that are well up to scratch - the Spider's in particular can easily deal with open-top motoring. Final UK specification has yet to be confirmed, but expect a sat-nav system to be a (relatively) cheap option - perhaps standard on the V6 cars.
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Introduction Alfa's GTV coupe and Spider duo has been about for quite a while now. ... |
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