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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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| DRIVING RATING: |
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Slip into the cabin and the Alfa starts to show its age. The seating position is old-school Alfa and forces you to adopt a long-arm/short-leg stance. The steering wheel doesn't adjust as much as you would hope for and the pedals are severely offset to the left. The controls are light and easy, and the revised centre console looks smart with its silver-faced detailing, but the steering lacks feel and the brakes, although strong, feel a touch remote. The JTS Spider makes do with a manual roof, the V6 with an electric unit. Roof down, cruising in the convertible is relatively buffet-free. But getting that roof tucked away is a bit fiddly on the JTS - attaching it to the windscreen header rail can be tricky. It still has a plastic rear window, too, so reversing visibility is blurred when the hood is in place. The Alfas are some way off providing the thrills of a Mazda MX-5 or the sophistication of a Mercedes SLK. Resist driving flat-out, and both cars are truly enjoyable. The V6 is a delight to hear and makes a real rocket of the car - for many, this is more than enough to erase the Alfa's many faults. Turn off the straights and on to the twisties, and the potent engine shows up the tired and slow-to-respond chassis. This is not a car for Max Power antics - drive it too hard and understeer sets in early, the tyres start to squeal in protest and it all feels rather ragged and dishevelled. The trick is to drive around the chassis' shortcomings - with smoothness rather than aggression. The 2.0-litre feels better balanced through corners - with less weight in its nose, it's keener to change direction.
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Introduction Alfa's GTV coupe and Spider duo has been about for quite a while now. ... |
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