My Brera & new Spider Review
Discussion
My wife has owned an Alfa Spider for several years now, she first had a Phase II 2.0 litre which she replaced with a 3 year old 3.0 V6 a year ago. As she likes to replace her car when it is 4-5 years old the forthcoming Spider is of interest to us and we are obviously potential customers.
Yesterday, we each drove the new Alfa Brera and Spider both with the 3.2 V6 engine. Were they a disappointment? Perhaps, certainly they didn’t set our pulse racing which a new Alfa should do. In order to get a direct comparison we drove to the Alfa Romeo corporate event in my wife’s 3.0 V6 Phase II Spider. As we approached the venue we saw several Breras and Spiders driving towards us – on the road and in movement they certainly look more visually striking than in photographs.
At the event there were 4 x Breras and 4 x Spiders – two each of the 2.3. and 3.2 models and so there was a good selection of colours to view, black, silver, red and a striking blue. Visually I would describe the cars as appealing but somehow bulk is the overriding impression not grace or style. Against the previous model Spiders and GTVs they simply looks too big!
Out on the road, first up was a 3.2 Brera with me driving, as I sat in the cabin I quickly felt as though I was diving a small saloon car, it was simply not nimble or sporty enough. The 3.2 GM engine felt less powerful than the 3.0 V6 Alfa unit despite it having 260 bhp vs. 218 and this lack-lustre feeling must be down to the weight of the car or the gearing?. At one point uphill on a dual carriageway I accelerated hard in 3rd and could only just out accelerate a well driven Alfa 155 2.0 Twin Spark which was really disappointing and this wasn’t down to me being in the wrong gear as we were accelerating from 40-70 ‘ish so 2nd was not on. On the plus side the car felt well built and solid but at a ton and ¾ so it should! Once final question about the Brera, why bother with the rear seats? I am 5’9” and with the driver’s seat in the correct position for me there was only just an inch or two of space behind me for someone’s legs i.e. not enough! For anyone taller the seat would be rammed right back so carrying passengers in the rear would be impossible. My view of the brera is that it will sell on looks alone because it is an attractive car but not my idea of an Alfa coupe and certainly not a replacement for the GTV. In fact the Alfa GT with the better engine and more room looks the better bet.
My wife drove the Spider because that’s what we were considering ordering. Again as we sat in the car it felt no more special than sitting in a 159 saloon. Inside it felt huge, in fact there are some air-vent controls up on the top of the dash that I defy anyone to reach whilst driving as they are about 3 x feet away from you! Given that it didn’t feel special inside it had to perform well to impress but sadly it didn’t. Again the car, which is even heavier than the Brera, felt bogged down by it’s sheer bulk. The engine didn’t sparkle or rev like the old Alfa V6 and it actually felt quite slow by 3.2 V6 standards. The smaller engine must really struggle. Yes it felt more solid than it’s predecessor and there was noticeably less “scuttle shake” and suspension rattles but that's about the only good things we could comment on, in fact it reminded me of the big convertible Lexus SC430, not an Alfa Romeo.
On the drive home it was so noticeable that our 3.0 V6 felt smaller, lighter and faster – for the record the new Spider is a whopping 7” longer, 2” wider and 1” higher and 100’s kgs heavier I don’t doubt. Will we be placing an order? No. The new Spider has better brakes and is more solid but… it’s not as pretty, it’s too heavy, it’s too slow, the interior is not that special and it’s too big. We were really disappointed because we wanted to be impressed but try as we did to view it with an open mind we weren’t. So next up, perhaps a second hand Maserati Spider???
Rich...
Yesterday, we each drove the new Alfa Brera and Spider both with the 3.2 V6 engine. Were they a disappointment? Perhaps, certainly they didn’t set our pulse racing which a new Alfa should do. In order to get a direct comparison we drove to the Alfa Romeo corporate event in my wife’s 3.0 V6 Phase II Spider. As we approached the venue we saw several Breras and Spiders driving towards us – on the road and in movement they certainly look more visually striking than in photographs.
At the event there were 4 x Breras and 4 x Spiders – two each of the 2.3. and 3.2 models and so there was a good selection of colours to view, black, silver, red and a striking blue. Visually I would describe the cars as appealing but somehow bulk is the overriding impression not grace or style. Against the previous model Spiders and GTVs they simply looks too big!
Out on the road, first up was a 3.2 Brera with me driving, as I sat in the cabin I quickly felt as though I was diving a small saloon car, it was simply not nimble or sporty enough. The 3.2 GM engine felt less powerful than the 3.0 V6 Alfa unit despite it having 260 bhp vs. 218 and this lack-lustre feeling must be down to the weight of the car or the gearing?. At one point uphill on a dual carriageway I accelerated hard in 3rd and could only just out accelerate a well driven Alfa 155 2.0 Twin Spark which was really disappointing and this wasn’t down to me being in the wrong gear as we were accelerating from 40-70 ‘ish so 2nd was not on. On the plus side the car felt well built and solid but at a ton and ¾ so it should! Once final question about the Brera, why bother with the rear seats? I am 5’9” and with the driver’s seat in the correct position for me there was only just an inch or two of space behind me for someone’s legs i.e. not enough! For anyone taller the seat would be rammed right back so carrying passengers in the rear would be impossible. My view of the brera is that it will sell on looks alone because it is an attractive car but not my idea of an Alfa coupe and certainly not a replacement for the GTV. In fact the Alfa GT with the better engine and more room looks the better bet.
My wife drove the Spider because that’s what we were considering ordering. Again as we sat in the car it felt no more special than sitting in a 159 saloon. Inside it felt huge, in fact there are some air-vent controls up on the top of the dash that I defy anyone to reach whilst driving as they are about 3 x feet away from you! Given that it didn’t feel special inside it had to perform well to impress but sadly it didn’t. Again the car, which is even heavier than the Brera, felt bogged down by it’s sheer bulk. The engine didn’t sparkle or rev like the old Alfa V6 and it actually felt quite slow by 3.2 V6 standards. The smaller engine must really struggle. Yes it felt more solid than it’s predecessor and there was noticeably less “scuttle shake” and suspension rattles but that's about the only good things we could comment on, in fact it reminded me of the big convertible Lexus SC430, not an Alfa Romeo.
On the drive home it was so noticeable that our 3.0 V6 felt smaller, lighter and faster – for the record the new Spider is a whopping 7” longer, 2” wider and 1” higher and 100’s kgs heavier I don’t doubt. Will we be placing an order? No. The new Spider has better brakes and is more solid but… it’s not as pretty, it’s too heavy, it’s too slow, the interior is not that special and it’s too big. We were really disappointed because we wanted to be impressed but try as we did to view it with an open mind we weren’t. So next up, perhaps a second hand Maserati Spider???
Rich...Gassing Station | Alfa Romeo, Fiat & Lancia | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff