Category: Convertibles 
Price Range: £26,895 to £32,395
Great looks, stable handling, high level of kit.
Limited dealer network, high running costs, offset driving position.
A great looking addition to the Alfa range - but just make sure you find a decent dealer.
Convertible Alfa Romeos have been around since the 1930s, but the most famous model is the 1966 Duetto, as driven by Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate. Forty-odd years on, the drop-top Italian tradition is carried on by this Alfa Romeo Spider, replacement for the rather forgettable GTV-based model which left showrooms in 2006.
The Spider shares much of its underpinnings with the Brera coupe, though it has unique suspension, and it is a little shorter and lower. The engines are the same, however: 2.2-litre and 3.2 V6 direct-injection petrols, and the 2.4 JTDm multiJet diesel.
The 3.2 V6 uses Alfa's Q4 four-wheel-drive system, which splits the power between the front and rear axles; the smaller engines come with front-wheel-drive only. A QTronic automatic gearbox is available with the 3.2 V6, with manual paddleshifts as an optional extra.
