Alfa 4C Test Drive vs Porsche 981 Cayman S

My Cayman S in Monterey

Introduction

This is a rather long comparison review of the Alfa 4C coupe comparing it to my 981 Cayman S.  The car I drove was standard model (not the Launch Edition) but pretty loaded with leather, the Track Package and a few small other items like some Carbon Fiber bits and tire pressure monitoring.  First let me say I am not a professional driver or car reviewer.  The stuff below is just my personal thoughts and take on the two cars.  I've had my 981 Cayman S which I ordered to spec for a little over 2 years now.  By comparison my Alfa drive was about 5-10 minutes of which the saleman drove the first half and I drove the second.  The dealer also had some new Spyder models on lot but I was more interested in the coupe.  

One other note to make is when comparing these cars while mostly I compare it to the Cayman S, I have a small history with other Italian exotics.  Growing up in the 80's I was fortunate and blessed enough to have a father that went thru an assortment of Italian cars ranging from Ferrari 308, 328 and Lamborghini Countach, to F348, F355, F360, Diablo and eventually a Murcialago.  While I didn't have seat time in all of them I did get a chance a few times to take out the Countach (supervised of course).  While I have fun memories, they are just that, memories and probably seen thru a bit of rose colored glasses to be sure.

So why even test drive the Alfa?  Exactly the above.  While I love my Cayman I still have that yearning for something more raw and Italian from my childhood.  Plus, as a car geek...let's face it...we're always looking at other cars, just because.  It's just a part of being a car nut I think.  I had been mulling this car over since it was released but never got sure enough to warrant a drive.  That and the fact that dealers were asking over MSRP and not really handing out drives meant I was going to pass.  I was recently contacted by my local Alfa dealer and told things had changed.  Of course now they want MSRP...still not a great deal, but it intrigued me enough to check it out.  I've been yearning for more steering feel, less electronics, louder and such... my question was how would the Alfa seem in reality vs my fun memories of older more classic and raw cars.

Example Alfa 4C showroom model... not the one I drove but similar

Initial Impressions

I went to visit my local dealer.  I had been there once before when they had their first launch edition on site.  That was a while ago.  I was greeted by the entourage when I entered and promptly shook hands with the salesman who had emailed me.  I started looking at the coupe and spyder in the showroom.  We talked for maybe 1-2 minutes as we sat inside of their coupe.  After deciding to test drive he went to procure one of the cars while I continued to check out the floor models.

First off... the Alfa is not a Porsche.  Not at all.  I'm not sure what it is or how to define it.  Things like the switches and bits are actually not bad.  I'd say better than the Lotus's (Loti ?) I've been in.  Both the older Elise and Evora feel cheaper and smaller.  That said I don't know that the plastic bits, or temperature controls are really better (or worse) than my daily driver, an old Scion.  The Alfa actually feels pretty well put together by comparison to those cars.  The door is solid and doesn't rattle.  The carbon fiber tub and visible paint / door I actually love.  It just looks cool.  The leather has deviated stitching in red reminds me of the classic Italians and adds a great flare to the car on top of all the CF.  Seats feel nice and solid.  I don't think they were as tight fitting as my Cayman seats actually..so in some ways less "tight" side to side but felt deeper maybe even more comfortable.  However... and here comes the first of the "howevers" for the Alfa, the seat itself can only slide forward and back and has some other adjustment.  The vertical adjustment they do for you when you buy since it's an unbolt, raise, re-bolt thing.  I knew that going in.  Seriously.  Like I said...this is not a Porsche with 18 way adjustment.  The Steering wheel raises/lowers and telescopes.  Flat bottom... don't love it...don't hate it.  Top center is a mix of leather and alcantara.  Personally I hate alcantara.  Give me leather.  Again that was the classic covering growing up.  For me the rest of the wheel is rather a drawback.  Rather stiff and a little thick.  I prefer my Cayman.  I believe on 4c forum's some people have had similar thoughts.

Getting in and out is ridiculous.  It's hard to get into. The sill is super wide.  Remember the Countach?  It's pretty much exactly like that.  Hard to get in...It's even more impossible to get out of.  I'm pretty sure my wife would hate that.  I didn't mind... I mean it would be a weekend car.  This is definitely a throw back to a true Italian sports car and mentality.  A/C etc basic knobs and dials ... I didn't bother to turn it on.  The air vents and plasticy bits don't feel special or any nicer than my Scion.  The radio I know is a piece of junk.  The "Parrot" radio that is stock is so bad.  I think Alfa knows it since the new models coming in have newer Alpine units instead.  It has a display on it that shows Alfa so I'm not sure how easy or not it is to swap out.  I've read forum stories of cars that are wired wrong and lose their program presets every night.  Oh and the radio speakers suck.  No sub.  But forget a sub.  Speakers are just horrible.  It made me appreciate the Bose sound system in my Cayman.  I mean the base radio in the Porsche isn't great either.  The Porsche Bose sounds fairly poor as well in my opinion (lacks good midrange) but is a slight improvement.  This Alfa setup...the sound is worse.  My Scion speakers sound vastly better.  Really.  And of course no navigation, or such.  Actually biggest surprise was not even a digital input... no USB etc... just a 1/8" mini jack somewhere....somewhere...  

I say somewhere because, there is no glove box in this car.  There's two circular holes in the center console way back in the center that pass as some example of what is a cup holder.  That's about it.  I tend to shove my water bottle into the door pocket of the Cayman, along with sunglasses.  I have my bridge toll for NorCal in the center, and an assortment of items from business cards to handheld radio and such in my glovebox.  Not sure where that goes here.  There is a small pocket in back between the seats that could maybe hold some of it.  But not much.  Maybe business cards and breath mints.  Again this is a race oriented car, ergonomics and pleasantries are forgotten.  Ok that's about it for the interior except for the digital display.

Example dash with CF surround

Display wise it's really nice.  They did a really good job with the digital display read out, how it looks etc... very nice.  Very modern and fun.  I don't know why Porsche doesn't have a full on digital display and only our small right side MFD.  There's an optional carbon fiber surround to the display... looks cheap to me... for some reason it looks like the fake carbon fiber to me vs. the real stuff...but maybe because it's less shiny probably so it doesn't reflect... or maybe it's cheaper CF than I'm used to looking at on say my friends R8.  I adjusted my wheel down so I had a hard time seeing the top of the display which was bad because its where the rev counter mostly is.  If I had a higher properly set seat maybe it would help.   

I totally spaced on asking about storage in the back.  I know there is a decent size chunk in the rear for a duffle bag and maybe a backpack...but not much else.  This is not a Cayman with its generous front and rear trunk.  On the Alfa the front hood and it's hood lines...are fake.  It doesn't open.  Really.

So after rubbing elbows with the salesman a bit more (literally...there is a LOT less room in this car than the Cayman, especially side to side) we were off.

Driving

As I mentioned we split the test drive meaning the saleman took me out for the first half of the drive and showed me what the car could do and then I drove it back on freeway and side roads.  I still had a normal seat time.  At least enough to do what I needed and get a feel for the car.  And it was good because he pushed it a bit more than me.  I'm always leery of pushing cars that I don't know the feel of too much especially on a first drive.

Sound

First off, the car sounds really good.  The Alfa I drove was fully loaded with the track package and options.  So that means sport seats, different wheels and more importantly a stiffer suspension AND muffler free racing exhaust.  Has cats...that's it.  Basically it's like not having a muffler.  Sounded amazing (and loud) even idling.  When I got back into my Cayman (which has the Porsche Sport Exhaust/PSE) I was like...where's the sound...seriously it was a horrible silence in the Cayman. My car felt practically electric once it started idling.  The sound for me is a clear win for the 4c.  Until you're cruising and get drone that never goes away I suppose....lol.  When I started my car I was like...where's the noise?  Wheres the sound at Idle?  I felt like a wimp. I wanted to cry.  The Alfa made me feel like man...with a mustache.  I felt strong.  I felt excited.  I smiled...wide.

Overall the car handles like I would expect a mid engine car to handle. I didn't get a great sense of true handling since I wasn't on twisty roads and certainly wasn't going to find the limits of the car on a test...  But the salesman taking some turns for me showed me it's basically similar to my Cayman.  Nice, light, small, darty, and capable of some nice G force.  Here's the rub...the steering.

Steering

The steering... oh the steering... I thought this was going to be a game changer.  I thought I was going to be like this is what I've been missing.  I was thought it was going to be like my old 986S.  Well no.  Not exactly.  It does have feedback.  Remember the Alfa has -no- power steering.  At all.  At a stop... it's not actually horrible but it does take some arm strength.  Well ok it's semi-horrible.  My wife, probably wouldn't even be able to turn the wheel.  Parking would be annoying.  At any sort of decent side street speed steering is light and easy.  Same on freeway.  But even street driving is pretty easy to do.  Until you get to 90 degrees or so... then the steering get progressively heavier.  I wasn't expecting that... I was expecting more constant resistance.  I don't remember the Countach getting heavier as it turned but maybe I am wrong.  I suppose the more you ask of the car, the harder it gets.  So the steering was different.  I don't actually know that I'd say it was better.  I liked the feedback.  But even taking a left hand turn from one road to another...you're going to be using some arm muscles.  I better keep up on my weight training.

On the freeway, small little movements on the wheel were magnified more so than my Cayman.  Afterwards I felt like my Porsche steering had "slop" in it.  Which is saying something. The Alfa steering is that much tighter and more precise feeling.  Seriously.  Would I want it all the time...mmmm.  I'd have to think about it.  Is it better...? Define better.  If you want raw feeling at the expense of an arm workout then yes.  But I came to realize that my Porsche steering even electronic is pretty good.  Like really good.  I'm also just not a paddle shift guy.  There is no manual transmission with the Alfa.  I'd have to change my steering habits a bit and get used to flipping the paddles.  I tend to use the shifty-hands method when steering as opposed to the Zaccone of keeping one hand in the same spot...so I'd have to deal with that.  Since the paddles move with the wheel (like the R8 or Porsche PDK) you can get lost with where the paddle is... of course you probably shouldn't be doing too much shifting when the wheel is turned super far.  Plus the reality is....turning the wheel for anything more than a simple lane change...my goodness...you better be holding on and using your arm muscles.  I'd be scared to let a hand off to do a shift.  Because steering is such a deal I actually think the flappy paddle here is a win when mixed with no power steering.  It's still pretty engaging because the steering requires so much attention and you do get to still shift.  Who knows...when I got back into my Porsche I did appreciate the 6MT.  And the clutch.  The Porsche gear box is simply one of the best out there right now for manual die-hards.  Just a great feeling setup.  But there is no question that PDK or the Alfa style auto is faster.

Sample Alfa 4C Spyder

Engine

Speaking of paddles.  The shifting and the speed.  Wow ok first this car is quite fast.  Has a bit more torque for sure.  Did it feel super different?  Uhhh ok so second big surprise.  It's maybe a second faster than my Cayman?... maybe?  Car and Driver puts them at about the same 0-60 times...well for PDK Cayman at least... so it is probably less than a second difference.  So I didnt get a huge difference in overall "wow factor".   Yes it feels faster.  Yes it feels like it has a bit more torque.  Gearing is better  It has a lot more urgency I'd say.  But no... I don't know that my Porsche car speed vs. Alfa car speed is as big of a deal as I thought.  Overall this reminded me of an Evora test ride I was in where the Evora had that extra oomf and torque.. It was noticeable.  With the Evora I was like -this- is what I've been missing.  The 4C was somewhere in-between. It didn't feel like quite as extreme as the Evora...but it wasn't near as slouchy slow feeling as the Cayman is.  The Cayman is smooth and slow.  Hampered by long gear ratios especially for second gear...you end up with a long slow increase in speed.  The Alfa does have a bit more in the seat push feel.  Is an extra 3/4 of a second faster or so noticeable?...yes... does it matter that horribly much... maybe...  I suppose it is enough to make me want to mod my Cayman.  Because...what car nut doesn't want to mod their car anyhow...  I sort of want to go back and compare again.  All that said tho the biggest memory for me though...

Up Shifts...

It's like a kick in the pants.  Every time.  Flick the paddle... Pow.  You get a jolt of noise, and a physical push/jerkiness as the gear changes.  Crazy town.  Would take some getting used to but I think i'd like it.  It's harsh... raw... fun.   Also with speed... turbo.  So this is a 4 speed turbo... Is there Turbo Lag...heck yes.  I've never driven a turbo before...first time the turbo kicked in I was like... oh ok...that's turbo lag. Not a huge deal... not a big difference like omg it's gonna kick in and I'm gonna lose it...but more of here's the rev's going up and oh now you have more torque and power and the speed comes on a bit faster.  Sort of like staying in the higher revs of the Porsche.  It's there, it grows... but just not linearly... there's a point where it ticks on... ok... half the time I didn't notice it as I was still getting used to the car... plus just downshift and boom power... But those upshifts... unbelieveable.  That and the sound with it combined were the most memorable part of this drive.  Just wow.  Downshifts were ok, not as loud of a rev match as I might expect...doesn't have the Porsche loud rev and pop and sound but probably because the sound is always loud in the Alfa.  What is louder than it already is?.  But wow...driving it...you remember...every...moment...you...upshift.  If you think of Fast and Furious movies where they do dramatic sound and cuts on racing scenes with upshifts...this is basically that...in real life.  It's that visceral.

Visibility

Now... let's talk about:  Visibility.  There is none.  Seriously...well forward there is.  Anything else... ha. What visibility?

Rear view mirror is a joke... sort of in the way the rear view in a Lamborghini Countach is a joke.  It's about the same amount of view.  So I guess..hey...throwback to the old Lambo.  Rear 3/4 view.  Wow again... I thought Cayman might have big B pillars.  Nope.  The Cayman is a house of glass compared to the Alfa.  There is nothing to see here.  All you see is the firewall or engine looking over or the air scoop.  You are left with using the side view mirrors (which are a decent size and quite usable), and accelerating faster than anything that might be to the side of you to avoid it.   This is definitely Italian design first and usability second.  I guess why would you need to look behind you?  Other than flashing red and blue lights?  

Brakes

Speaking of driving fast...which I did... Brakes... if I had to sum up the brakes in one word... HARD.  That's how it felt... remember these pedals are floor mounted..but the brakes felt hard to use.  Like you better put your foot down and hope that you stop.  Very firm.  Very little play.  I didn't like the response or feel of it at least at first.  The Cayman brakes by comparison seemed leaps and bounds ahead for "normal" drivers / usage. The saleman managed to brake pretty hard when he drove me...and I know in reality the Alfa is very good at stopping distance...  but I think the initial Cayman feel is easier to get used to.  Maybe on the track or getting used to the car long term I'd feel differently.  But it would take time to learn how hard to push, how much and to get stopping distance figured out.  Again the reality is the brakes on the Alfa are truly Race inspired in feel. No give.  Extra firm.  You can do a search for a nice Car and Driver article on brake feel in the 4C which explains how and why this car is so unique.  You might like it.  You might not.  I'd need more time to decide.

Waiting...

Summary

                      

That's about it... So overall...

Interesting.  It is what it is...a race inspired track toy with Italian heritage.  Raw and unrefined but with some fun characteristics.  I think I'd hate the radio, speakers etc..which I have to say are important to me.  And no navi.  I have my phone...but...one can lose cel coverage.  I am used to blutooth in the Porsche not to mention it's built in Memory drive etc...  A phone call in the Alfa would be pointless..engine noise would be too loud anyhow.  Radio probably similar...  But radios...can be changed.  I love the interior feel.  The CF...the stitching.. with the exception of the cheaper plastic bits.  Tho again even classic Ferrari's are sort of a mix here usually.   By comparison the Porsche is still in another level of quality though.  From build solidity to ventilated/heated seats..or even just adjustable seats for that matter.  And a glove box... I don't know where all my junk would go in this car...really.  It's certainly NOT a car to take on a long shopping spree.

Driving wise...wow it's hard. They're just so different.  The Porsche is an amazing car to drive...and it's not going to kill you to do it.  The Alfa is super classic feel but requires that extra bit of work.  But in the end it's not just a bit of work... it's a LOT more work imho.  From steering to braking.  I'm sure I'd get used to it but the delta between the two was a lot more than I was expecting.  That was the big surprise for me.  I knew that the car was going to be more work and thus more involvement to drive...but I didn't quite get how wide that gap was until I drove it. I've been wanting more work, more involvement... I'm just not sure I want that much of it.

The visceral feel even of the sound alone and the upshift... OMG.  That...might be worth it.  It felt like a Ferrari when upshifting and sounded pretty freaking amazing.  Like loud obnoxious I'd hate it after 10 minutes... but I loved it.  I'd probably want an off switch at some point.  I believe there will soon be an Akropovic exhaust for it.  Could be good if it is valved.  What this drive did do is prove to myself that I definitely definitely DEFINITELY want a fracking loud exhaust.  Soon.  I hope...please.  I'm accepting donations  Maybe part of it too is the 4c doesn't isolate the engine sound and stuff as much as the Cayman.  But goodness... I... miss... that.... volume....  I feel like the Cayman engine has a better tone.  The Alfa was lower, rumblier... not as refined as I expected or as high as I thought it might be, way less Ferrari than I anticipated.  The Cayman has that higher flat 6 whine.  Just nicer tone... which is why I am picky on aftermarket Cayman exhausts.  The Alfa...sounds good because it was loud...and only ok tone wise I think.

At the end of the day driving back it made me appreciate my car for what it is.  How easy it was to drive but still had a good feel and could be fun.  Not as fast but still decent.  With some trunk space ...and nice looks...and a glove box.  Porsche There Is no substitute.  Still stands.  One can take it to work.  Can track it.  Can get groceries.  Can listen to a radio and turn on your heated or ventilated seats.  My brother always says: German cars are the best cars.  Built well.... BUT.......

The biggest wins for me with the Alfa was that amazing feeling when Up Shfiting... and the sounds/volume.  That right there gives me pause and makes me want to test drive for longer.  Where does that leave me... I am curious about the upcoming Evora 400.  Not sure it will be worth the money and at that point why not a GT4?  I would now have a significant depreciation loss on my car.   Does the Alfa make it worth a switch...for me and what I want I am not sure.

I don't know...I feel like I hated a lot of the Alfa when I was driving home.  I was like...hmm didn't really care for it... but sitting back after writing all this...it was a lot more engaging and different to drive.  It has a lot of throwback to the old exotics...poor visibility, poor ergonomics, rough raw ride, loud, visceral, difficult to drive and manage and steer.  I don't know that the fond memories I have make that better or more liveable or not... but I do miss my test drive a bit. I don't know why all those "negatives" actually are what makes me think about how it was fun... tugging at my heart strings.  I mean I felt like wow if I was driving with my friends on twisty roads...would I get tired?  Would I keep up?  Would the brakes work?  LOL.  There was something both exciting and terrifying about it.  The Cayman felt ...safe...which I appreciated on the drive home.  But the Alfa felt alive, like some beast you better respect lest it bites your head off.  And thus a lot more rewarding in the end of the day.

As I went to bed I realized the question to ask myself was which car would I take to Cars and Coffee, or on a short few hour drive, or an a longer day or overnight drive?  Those...are good questions...  which I can't yet answer.  What I will say is if you get a chance, it's worth experiencing what both manufactures have to offer.

Bye bye!