Nothing turns heads and attracts attention quite like the Alfa Romeo 4C Coup, says Jeremy Clarkson in The Sunday Times. "Think of it as a Ferrari puppy." Sadly, there are "a few issues". The plasticky interior. The fact you need a shoehorn to get into it. That the boot won't shut. A draught blows in under the doors. You can't see out the back. And it's so wide that once you've parked in a standard bay you won't be able to get out again.
"Realistically, you'll get into this car once, and then that'll be that." It's not even fun to drive: it's loud, the steering's inert, the braking totally lacking in feel, and the car has an alarming tendency to swerve off and follow the camber of the road. It's just terrible. "And yet I completely adored it." For all its faults, it's a "wonderful little package ofdeep, deep joy". As a car, it's a two out of five. "But as a thing, I'd give it a six."
If you're after a grown-up, finished sports car, the Alfa is really no match for the Porsche Cayman (see below), says Steve Cropley in Autocar. But frankly, the 200 Britons a year who'll be buying an Alfa won't "care a damn" for any of that. Because they will be Alfa 4C owners one of those rare cars that "truly stands apart from the rest".
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Price: £51,500Engine: 1.7 litres, 4 cylinders, turbochargedPower: 237bhp at 6,000rpmTorque: 258 lb ft at 2,200rpmTop speed: 160mph0-62mph: 4.5 seconds
What you could have for similar money
"We love the look of the Alfa, but the all-round abilities of the Cayman make it one of the best sports cars money can buy." It has "perfect handling" and is a "reasonably practical two-seater" for everyday use. It "won't cost a fortune" to run either.
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