Alfa 4C - New Owner
Discussion
What a car... What an absolutely epic car...
Only way I can start this thread. I am blown away by the 4C. It's an incredible machine and has surpassed all expectations I had of it.
First of all, for credibility / comparison, I have had a number of cars over the years - Five Elise's, an Exige, an Evora (mrs daily driver), a JCW Cooper S, E46M3, Cayman S, F430 Spider, Two Aston V8V coupe manuals and One Aston V8V roadster sportshift. The 4C is an itch I have wanted to scratch for a while and the opportunity came up a few weeks back which I jumped at.
Exterior - What a beautiful looking thing. This car does not take pictures well. It's stunning in the flesh - and this comes from someone who thought it looked average in person. The lines and the styling of it has been considered so well. Every line tracks from the front right to the very back and it looks different from every angle as well. Even the lights which I weren't sold on look incredible in person.
Interior - Really nice place to sit. And incredibly spacious. It's bigger than the Evora inside and even feels pretty much the same as my F430. I think the width is what does it. Seat position is a little high to me but only because the dash is so low. Think it's just about getting used to it... Other than that; the plastic dash doesn’t bother me at all and actually feels much more solid which I prefer. The carbon inside looks incredible and even the door shuts and hinge plates are all carbon. So much work has gone into it.
Performance - Open the boot and full carbon engine bay with a 1.7 turbo sitting in the middle. It's incredibly quick. And it pulls no matter what speed you are going. Turbo noise is quite nice as well and definitely not too intrusive. Gearbox is lighting quick and nice to use as well. This would easily outpace the Evora on an open road. The Aston feels slow compared! Brakes are incredibly responsive as well and the car doesn’t feel light to drive. I've barely felt the understeer when pushing hard on an A Road, but it's not really noticeable.
Bad bits - the suspension is made of jelly and it's already had some replacement parts. It's going in for another few in a couple of weeks time. It's wide and it's low - and I mean it's really really wide and really really low! I love the look of it but it's not incredibly practical. Depreciation? Who knows if this will be an issue or not but I'm hoping the bottom of the market is around £40k. In fact I can't quite believe you can buy this car for £40k. Full carbon tub, the looks, the gearbox, the performance, not many about... How is it this cheap?
I'm sure you can tell I'm really happy with it. I found it hard to find good reviews and in particular good pictures so here is a couple of my own. It's had pretty much every option ticked and I genuinely feel like this is 'THE' car.
Questions welcome!
Only way I can start this thread. I am blown away by the 4C. It's an incredible machine and has surpassed all expectations I had of it.
First of all, for credibility / comparison, I have had a number of cars over the years - Five Elise's, an Exige, an Evora (mrs daily driver), a JCW Cooper S, E46M3, Cayman S, F430 Spider, Two Aston V8V coupe manuals and One Aston V8V roadster sportshift. The 4C is an itch I have wanted to scratch for a while and the opportunity came up a few weeks back which I jumped at.
Exterior - What a beautiful looking thing. This car does not take pictures well. It's stunning in the flesh - and this comes from someone who thought it looked average in person. The lines and the styling of it has been considered so well. Every line tracks from the front right to the very back and it looks different from every angle as well. Even the lights which I weren't sold on look incredible in person.
Interior - Really nice place to sit. And incredibly spacious. It's bigger than the Evora inside and even feels pretty much the same as my F430. I think the width is what does it. Seat position is a little high to me but only because the dash is so low. Think it's just about getting used to it... Other than that; the plastic dash doesn’t bother me at all and actually feels much more solid which I prefer. The carbon inside looks incredible and even the door shuts and hinge plates are all carbon. So much work has gone into it.
Performance - Open the boot and full carbon engine bay with a 1.7 turbo sitting in the middle. It's incredibly quick. And it pulls no matter what speed you are going. Turbo noise is quite nice as well and definitely not too intrusive. Gearbox is lighting quick and nice to use as well. This would easily outpace the Evora on an open road. The Aston feels slow compared! Brakes are incredibly responsive as well and the car doesn’t feel light to drive. I've barely felt the understeer when pushing hard on an A Road, but it's not really noticeable.
Bad bits - the suspension is made of jelly and it's already had some replacement parts. It's going in for another few in a couple of weeks time. It's wide and it's low - and I mean it's really really wide and really really low! I love the look of it but it's not incredibly practical. Depreciation? Who knows if this will be an issue or not but I'm hoping the bottom of the market is around £40k. In fact I can't quite believe you can buy this car for £40k. Full carbon tub, the looks, the gearbox, the performance, not many about... How is it this cheap?
I'm sure you can tell I'm really happy with it. I found it hard to find good reviews and in particular good pictures so here is a couple of my own. It's had pretty much every option ticked and I genuinely feel like this is 'THE' car.
Questions welcome!
Thanks guys.
The interior quality to me is actually very good. A leather dash looks nice but actually just creates problems, otherwise I dont see anything wrong with it. In fact I probably prefer it to other cars I've had. The seats are comfortable, the wheel and leathers that you do have feel very luxurious and there is no bare wires to note. Everything very neatly tucked away actually. I have seen one without the leather seats however and they look very tacky. Not a fan. The interesting part I find - the Cayman S I had didn't have a leather dash and the air vents were the same material...
I hope prices dont drop and current owners dont talk them down either. But I've watched for the last 12 months and they have held fast. I genuinely think that's because people that buy them dont want to give them up - and that's certainly how I feel.
It speaks volumes when you instantly bond with a car. Lotus are the only other brand that have managed to make me feel that way.
The interior quality to me is actually very good. A leather dash looks nice but actually just creates problems, otherwise I dont see anything wrong with it. In fact I probably prefer it to other cars I've had. The seats are comfortable, the wheel and leathers that you do have feel very luxurious and there is no bare wires to note. Everything very neatly tucked away actually. I have seen one without the leather seats however and they look very tacky. Not a fan. The interesting part I find - the Cayman S I had didn't have a leather dash and the air vents were the same material...
I hope prices dont drop and current owners dont talk them down either. But I've watched for the last 12 months and they have held fast. I genuinely think that's because people that buy them dont want to give them up - and that's certainly how I feel.
It speaks volumes when you instantly bond with a car. Lotus are the only other brand that have managed to make me feel that way.
SFO said:
what has gone wrong with the suspension?
what was the mileage when suspension bits needed attention?
is it being covered by warranty?
does your car have the racing suspension?
It's had suspension mounts all round and new ball joints. And it's knocking again so back in on the 15th for what would appear to be another ball joint. what was the mileage when suspension bits needed attention?
is it being covered by warranty?
does your car have the racing suspension?
Yes - all covered
Yes it does. But the standard will be the same wish bones / track rods / ball joints I imagine.
Quickmoose said:
Lotus Elise
Lotus Exige
Lotus Evora
Mini JCW Cooper S
BMW E46 M3
Porsche Cayman S
Ferrari F430 Spider
Aston V8V coupe
Aston V8V roadster
And this Alfa has the nicest cockpit of them all?
Well I didn't quite say that... But I would now that you mention it. Mini interior was quite funky but felt like a normal car. BMW interior didnt feel special - same as every BM I've ever been in. Lotus is, well, very basic! Ferrari was nice but wasn't that well built (it rattled and the soft top plastic window left a lot to be desired. The Aston is bar far the nicest to sit in and look at - but have you ever driven one? They rattle like they are made of ten thousand loose screws. Google it and you'll see its a very common problem and by far the single worst thing about the Aston.Lotus Exige
Lotus Evora
Mini JCW Cooper S
BMW E46 M3
Porsche Cayman S
Ferrari F430 Spider
Aston V8V coupe
Aston V8V roadster
And this Alfa has the nicest cockpit of them all?
The Alfa is solid. The carbon is beautiful. The peddle position is perfect (another thing that's crap in the Aston) and it just works.
Having read a bit more through the good old interweb I still find it amazing when people say they think it's expensive for what it is.. If it had an F badge on it people would be saying £100k was a bargain!
I had the wheel arch liners off last night for a few mods and my word the quality of the tub is incredible. Fresh carbon absolutely everywhere and didnt appreciate how much of it you can see under the car. A new Exige is the same price and I'm astonished that this car is not £20k more!
I had the wheel arch liners off last night for a few mods and my word the quality of the tub is incredible. Fresh carbon absolutely everywhere and didnt appreciate how much of it you can see under the car. A new Exige is the same price and I'm astonished that this car is not £20k more!
I would have agreed before I bought one. The engine seems a little lame and would prefer a V6 / V8 NA but the 1.7 turbo shifts. And I mean it shifts!
Like you say it's the heart value of a bigger NA engine compared to the stats / emissions value of the smaller engine. In saying that I put £35 of fuel in it four weeks ago (a full tank) and it's still got over half a tank left haha
PS - it's 240bhp stock. £399+VAT will turn it into 280bhp and you can remap the gearbox as well. A more expensive map (around 1k) would appear to take it to 300bhp but ECU needs to go to the states.
Lot of speed for under a tonne in weight...
Like you say it's the heart value of a bigger NA engine compared to the stats / emissions value of the smaller engine. In saying that I put £35 of fuel in it four weeks ago (a full tank) and it's still got over half a tank left haha
PS - it's 240bhp stock. £399+VAT will turn it into 280bhp and you can remap the gearbox as well. A more expensive map (around 1k) would appear to take it to 300bhp but ECU needs to go to the states.
Lot of speed for under a tonne in weight...
Gassing Station | Alfa Romeo, Fiat & Lancia | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff