Alfa Romeo Spider 2.4 JTDM Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: Alfa Romeo Spider 2.4 JTDM 20v
Prices: £30,395 – on the road
Insurance Group: 17
Emissions: 179g/km
Performance: 0-60mph 8.4s Max Speed 142mph
Fuel Consumption: (urban) 30.7mpg / (extra urban) 52.3mpg / (combined) 41.5mpg
Safety: Twin front, side and knee airbags, ABS, traction and stability control, ABS with brake assist
Dimensions: Length/Width/Height, 4393/1830/1318mm

SPIDER STRIKES OIL

Our Rating: 7.0 / 10

Diesel engines and roadsters don’t tend to mix well but Alfa Romeo’s Spider 2.4-litre JTDM might be an exception. Steve Walker reports.

It says something about how far the diesel engine has come that you can now get one in an open-topped sportscar from Alfa Romeo. The oil-burning Ferrari may still be some way off but the fact that those purveyors of effortless Italian cool at Alfa have given a diesel the box seat in their stylish roadster speaks volumes about how far the technology has advanced. Of course, the Alfa Romeo Spider 2.4 JDTM 20v could simply be a spectacular error of judgement on the manufacturer’s part. What’s not in doubt is that this is a car which provokes debate.

Alfa Romeo and the roadster go back a long way. The Spider name has been attached to a succession of chic, desirable and usually red open-topped sportscars since the original melted hearts in the mid ‘60s. The latest Spider follows on in that tradition but it’s also very much a product of the modern era. The car mixes its considerable beauty with a full complement of creature comforts and, in diesel form at least, maintains a focus on running costs as well as an environmental conscience.

The JTD common-rail diesel engines offered by Alfa Romeo and parent company Fiat since 1997 have carved out a good reputation in the marketplace and the 2.4-litre unit in the Alfa Spider is of the second generation JTDM variety. It’s what Alfa engineers call a MultiJet diesel. This means that it is capable of making multiple precisely-controlled injections of diesel into its cylinders during each cycle. It adjusts the timing and size of these squirts to maximise efficiency or performance as required. The result is a 210bhp power output and torque of 400Nm at 2,000rpm. That’s more low-down grunt that the Spider’s 3.2-litre V6 petrol engine but 0-60mph performance is over a second down at 8.4s. Regardless of the engine installation, the Alfa Spider isn’t as fast as its exotic styling suggests so the diesel’s languid style suits the car. A mild rumble gives the oil-burning game away and there’s none of the aural drama when you plant the throttle that roadster fans yearn for, but the diesel isn’t without its appeal on a sensible level.

The front-wheel-drive layout of the Spider 2.4 JTDM doesn’t lead you to expect a serious driver’s car and certified performance nuts would be better with the four-wheel-drive V6 model if they pick an Alfa Spider at all. The car handles sharply enough with inputs through the over-large steering wheel prompting quick responses with tight body control. The ride is firm and the absence of the extra bracing that a fixed roof would afford results in poor surfaces sending shudders through the car. If you give the Spider some pristine asphalt and some clement weather, it definitely qualifies as an entertaining drive. It’s not particularly at home on the UK’s rutted B-roads but do you really want to stick to the backwaters in a car that looks like this?

People thought the Brera coupe looked good but the Alfa Spider has to be even easier on the eye - especially with the fabric roof folded. That frontal treatment with the chrome bars across the raised triangular grille and those headlamps like jewels set against the darkness behind is fast becoming an Alfa Romeo trademark. The 159 used it as did the Brera but the Spider does so to even greater effect. At the back, the Brera’s rather bulbous rear disappears with the hood folded, thus illuminating the fixed roof car’s only major aesthetic Achilles heel. Actually folding the roof takes some 25 seconds, not quick by modern standards but it means more passers by will be able to witness the spectacle.

Alfa chose not to include the ludicrously-tiny rear seats that show up so frequently in modern convertibles. Instead, you have a pair of lockable storage bins built-in behind the driver that supplement the 200-litre capacity of the boot with a further 100-litres and are a far more practical solution. The amount of usable storage as a whole is on a par with the likes of Audi’s TT Roadster and the Nissan 350Z Roadster but you’ll still need to travel light. The interior can’t quite live up to the standards set but the Audi, despite some