Designed for selfish weekends and no kids

Whether it is an old MG, a restored E Type or the latest Mazda MX5, pottering through the countryside in a thoroughbred open-top sports car with a convivial companion is one of motoring’s great pleasures. And so it was with some anticipation that I picked up Alfa’s ‘soft-top’ Spider for a spring-time road test.

It was not the two-litre version but the top-of-the-range three-litre Spider. Alfa is not renowned for bland designs and the Spider is no exception. I loved the curvaceous snout but found the rear ‘rather slabby’ and much preferred the package in the hard-top GTV version.

My test car came in metallic green that complemented the delightful fawn interior and Momo leather seats.

Early one Sunday morning I drove from Canberra to Cann River, on to East Sale and then to Phillip Island.

The car is a feast for jaded motoring eyes with its shapely body hiding the thumping 162 kw V6 engine. Expect 0-100kmh in less than seven seconds.

With little traffic the drive to Cann River was a delight. The combination of a well-tuned chassis, superbly weighted power steering and an exhaust note to rival a V12 Ferrari puts you in motoring heaven.

It is only when you run into a broken road surface that the Spider gets unsettled. You can feel the kick back through the steering rack during vigorous driving, never dangerous, just an awareness that this car was built primarily for the high-speed autobahns of Europe. And when the beefed-up discs apply the stopping power to the huge rubber boots, braking is a rapid affair. Just watch out for following traffic!

Without doubt this was one of my most pleasurable drives until I was 20kms from Phillip Island. I noticed a light drizzle but pressed on assured that the airflow at 100 kmh would keep me dry.

Criticisms are minor — there is no cruise control and the controls on the sound system are too fiddly.

Forget about family responsibilities, the Spider is designed for selfish weekends for two. And for that it does the job superbly.

As with all Alfas this one in particular is a joy to drive and taps into your senses like few other cars. It’s just that you can’t take a set of golf clubs as well as your favourite companion’s luggage and it is an indulgence at $72,950!