Alfa 4C review...by someone with a bit of passion

[rossyl]

http://fortyonesix.com/news/1850/ro...m_content=Alfa&dm_i=1QLU,26T6Y,BF3442,7X42F,1

 

[BennyD]

Pretty, capable, fast but flawed and expensive, much like the 8C. However, I'm sure it will sell quite well.

 

[Andyk]

Pretty, capable, fast but flawed and expensive, much like the 8C. However, I'm sure it will sell quite well.

Spot on Ben.....As with all Alfas...Promise much but never fully deliver....I love Alfas so please don't take this as negative its just......well....the truth......

 

[BennyD]

That's the essence of brand loyalty. However, the problem is getting new buyers into the marque and what is considered to be 'character' by the aficionados may be considered to be flaws by 'uneducated' people in the market for a near £50k car. Maserati are in a similar boat but the only way to prosper is to produce as near a flawless car as you can whilst retaining the indefinable character of the marque. The Germans, to date, haven't managed it but lets hope the Italians can.

 

[dem maser]

I went into my Fiat Alfa dealer today, was told 4c is planned for 500 a year!

 

[Contigo]

Common as muck then....

 

[Andyk]

I went into my Fiat Alfa dealer today, was told 4c is planned for 500 a year!

Sure they will sell all they make....Not to me mind you...but 500 ain't many...

 

[dem maser]

500 just UK

 

[Elliott653]

For a few quid more, you can have an F type coupe. I know which one i'd buy. And its not the alfa.

 

[Andyk]

Same here Elliot...Best looking new car on the market...F type Coupe

 

[BennyD]

For a few quid more, you can have an F type coupe. I know which one i'd buy. And its not the alfa.

I made the very same observation in another thread. Sadly, it's a no-brainer.

 

[dem maser]

F for me

 

[Maser Sod]

If we bought the *best cars* every time, then we would all be driving Porsche's, not Maserati's!!!

My 3200 certainly wouldn't have set any 'best car' records in terms of handling, power delivery, reliability, etc. but it's the most fun I've had and I miss it more than any other.

 

[zagatoes30]

I love Alfas but wouldn't buy a 4C, however I would rather buy a 4C secondhand than an the Jag F. It's not about which is the better car it's which has that something special, that bit of character that make you say thank you.

 

[BennyD]

Personally I'd take the Jag drop-top second hand over a 4C. I'm afraid I never got the Alfa thing and I've never felt moved to buy one. Having driven the V8 F Type I would put it somewhere between a 4200 spyder and a Cali. I would put the 4C between an Elise and a 911 so not my kind of thing.

 

[zagatoes30]

Fair point but if you get Alfas they become very addictive (I think nearly 100 at last count )

 

[BennyD]

Fair play. Judging by the number of Alfaholics on here it would seem that Alfa ownership is a stepping stone to Maserati ownership. I kind of slipped and fell headlong into it but, however we got here, we all ended up in the same sorry state!

 

[dem maser]

If we bought the *best cars* every time, then we would all be driving Porsche's, not Maserati's!!!

My 3200 certainly wouldn't have set any 'best car' records in terms of handling, power delivery, reliability, etc. but it's the most fun I've had and I miss it more than any other.

You going for the 4C?

 

[Maser Sod]

Really, they are all Fiats now!

The 4C is made in Modena, as I believe was the 8C, which essentially had a Maserati V8 lump. The Ghibli, conversely, is made in Turin?

Meanwhile, Alfa is given twin clutch technology, first seen in Ferrari, whilst Maserati still has to wait for it ... go figure.

All very confusing. But I'd rather be in an Italian car than anything else.

 

[BennyD]

I couldn't agree more and another reason I wouldn't buy a Porsche (apart, perhaps, from a GT3). FWIW, the 8C also had the 4200 floor pan so no surprise that handling wasn't the strongest suit in its hand!