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4C vs Cayman

11K views 25 replies 13 participants last post by  Dario Calandra 
#1 ·
Thought I would post my opinions on the '16 4C Spider vs a '14 Cayman. I owned the Cayman first and just swapped if for the Spider. They are very different vehicles but similar in pricing, when new anyhow. I intend to come back and add more if I notice anything as I drive the 4C more and more.

I'll do a compare and contrast of what I've noticed so far.

Interior: Winner 4C
Cayman all around nice. With leather interior and PCM option very handy having all that available to you.
4C better quality for the most part. That radio? Ugh why Alfa, why? Other than that, 4C wins easily.

Interior Sound: Winner Cayman
Cayman pretty loud at higher speeds. 4C much louder at all speeds. Loud enough you don't notice the radio is garbage, because you can't hear it anyhow.

Smoothness of Ride: Winner Cayman
Neither like bumps. I mean they really don't like bumps. Cayman is smoother, but not by much.

Engine Sound: Winner 4C
Cayman sounds great. The 4C, I hate OMG, but OMG!

Acceleration: Winner 4C
Cayman is decent, you know you are in a sports car. 4C you feel you are driving a race car. Close to Gallardo performance and feel. You really notice in the 40+ mph when most cars acceleration is significantly reduced. That 40-60, is amazing in the 4C.

Handling: Winner 4C, seemingly
Porsche makes a hell of a car, but the 4C seems better. More to follow. This is close.

Launch Control: 4C by default
Base Cayman's won't have this. Jump up to the Cayman S, to get that option. Plus a $8k+ bill to go with it. Winner by default.

Driving Style Options: 4C
Base Cayman with PDK has regular automatic, sport automatic, the tap up and down on the "stick" manual, and F1 style paddle shifters. Which are actually little push clicky things that are not really paddles, but operate the same.
4C has regular automatic (N), (A) all weather - haven't used, (D) dynamic - kind of like sport mode, (R) race mode, must use paddle shifters, and manual with the paddle shifters.
Both can override with a bump on the paddle shifters and then go back to manual.

Trunk: Cayman
4C has the teeniest tiniest trunk I've ever seen. I mean like satchel sized. Weight limit of 33lbs.
The Cayman's frunk (front trunk) and trunk as pretty large. The frunk can hold a fully loaded US Army Molle II ruck sack. Yeah, its that big.

Well, that's it so far. I'll come back and add if I think of anything else pertinent.
 
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#3 ·
AR seems to think the American market won't buy a car that doesn't hava a radio. Given the choice, I would not have a radio in the 4C or any car of this type. The real music is right behind you. But, you did get the better Alpine radio. My LE has the terrible Parrot.

Some of what you describe sounds like you have the standard suspension and exhaust. The racing suspension and exhaust is much better, in my opinion. The good news is there's plenty of good after-market choices out there.
 
#4 ·
I got the $500 exhaust upgrade not the $3k one. It sounds great. I really couldn't tell the difference between the two during test drives. The 3k exhaust was on a coupe. I think I got the racing package 3? which comes with the stiffer suspension. It does have the alpine radio. It's not awful, just cheapy looking. Surprising considering how beautiful everything else is in the car. Optioned heavily the MSRP was like $80k+ but they were itching to off load it so I got a substantial mark off.

I basically can only hear the radio at red lights. I drive mostly with the targa top off and I don't blast the radio. So it's all vroom vroom elephant fart vroom vroom puff puff. It sounds amazing. Upshifting and downshifts sound great. Inside my parking garage at work is really insane when in dynamic mode. Echoing off all the concrete. Even at 5-10mph.

Loving it.
 
#5 ·
Exterior Style / Attention: 4C
The 4C is probably the best looking car you can buy for less than $300k IMO. I think the Ferrari 488 GTB is a better looking car, but that is way out of my price range. It attracts an enormous amount of attention. I've had other drivers taking pictures of it while going down the highway, scary. People scream out "I LOVE YOUR CAR!" Never got much more than a "oooo a Porsche," in the year that I owned the Cayman.
 
#10 ·
Pensacola Fiat/Alfa. And, from my conversations with my father, who was a huge Alfisti in the 60's -90's talked about the price gouging by the dealers, the horribly unreliable cars off the lot, and the horrible service of the dealers. Not to mention the use of Russian steal. Also, the continued reluctance of Alfa to modernize the Spider, all they did was just add body kits.

At any rate, a 4C for $50-60K is awesome, one for $80K, no bueno.
 
#12 ·
Now that I thik about the $80

Price gouging would entail added fees to the MSRP. I don't recall hearing anyone complain about that when Alfa was selling cars during the time period you mentioned. If there were any added fees, it's no different than any other dealership has done when demand is high and supply is low, especially when a new car is introduced.

I always had great service at the Alfa dealerships when I owned my Alfetta. As a matter of fact, when I was in college in Columbia, Missouri, I could call the dealership in St. Louis (Archway Motors) and get in for service with no problem. The wrench who worked on my car would even do so on his day off, which was Saturday. While living in Dallas in the nineties, I got great service from Lipshy Motors.

The stuff you're talking about is 40 year old news and has nothing to do with the cars and dealerships of today. ARI is gone as is all of that Russian steel. Porsche didn't do much to modernize the 911 during the eighties and nineties. So, why is Alfa getting pointed out for not updating their Spider?
 
#14 · (Edited)
"Porsche didn't do much to modernize the 911 during the eighties and nineties. So, why is Alfa getting pointed out for not updating their Spider?"

You may want to look into this.....

The truth is that Alfa will have a black eye in the world for their past performance (and lack of) and needs to overcome this with extra effort towards buyers.
 
#16 ·
Well, for a start, FNA could clamp down on their dealers.
Yes, they have a right to sell at what ever price they want, but Fiat should protect their brand and investment.
One may imagine that the German car companies just market their products better than the Italians, but their customer service, engineering and quality cemented them in the US market.
 
#19 ·
I am sure it is a great car and Racer Z I bet you love every minute of it. However, not everyone can afford a $100,000 car. A $60K car I can afford, but paying $80K for something that should be $60 is unreasonable. I walked away. Did I wish I could have bought it? Yes, but I still have to be practical.

As far as the dealers from the 80's and 90's: Where I grew up the dealers where apparently not so accommodating as Oklahoma. I remember my dad telling me when he went to go look at a Verde new and it actually caught on fire at the dealership. He also told me about his '76 GTV seats having a defect and the dealer making no attempt to rectify.

I've had many Alfas and I've loved them all (mostly 71 spider and 84 GTV6), but I'm also a realist. These cars are high maintenance, but create a stir like no other car. The sound of the 1750 spider or the 2.5 GTV6 are just awe inspiring. I remember clearly driving I35 from Austin to San Antonio coming up on a 944 darting through traffic. Came up on his *** and he just pulled to the right and waved me on. Didn't even try to intimidate him, just the look of the lowered GTV6 front end put fear in him. I've loved my Milanos, my spiders, my GTV6's and even my dad's GTV's, but I know that Alfa and its dealers did not do their Alfisti justice. I remember taking my first GTV6 to the Alfa mechanic and he told me to get rid of the car. I was shocked. He told me it was a money pit and would leave me stranded, but he said, if you keep it, you'll love it like no other car. He was right, and I did love that car.

Long story short. I know Alfas. I know the grief that is replacing a driver's side head gasket on an '89 Milano Gold. Lying on my back where the front seat was just to squeeze my arm into the pedal box to free seized allen head bolts. I've bloodied many a knuckle in an engine bay and suspension pieces.

The 4C is something I wish to drive, but I've paid my dues to Alfa, but I'm not willing to pay an extra $30 -$50K. All the loyalty I've given the brand, at least they can do is sell me a car that's at least what its supposed to be valued at.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Why not get a used 4C? I see a lot of them in the $50K range. This is a very low maintenance car from what I gather. No timing belt and waterpump problems at 30K. I think it's more expensive to own a Milano a 24V 164 which will cost you quite a bit when the time comes to change the t-belt.

The performance level is unbelievable for a $50K car and you still get 24 mpg. Lookup Tom Burgess Alfa 4C on Youtube. Greg @ Eurocompulsion can boost it to > 275 bhp and some insane amount of torque. No need to bolt on this or that. At 275 bhp, you will be able to give a F430 a good run for its money on almost any type of road.
 
#21 ·
Used 4Cs are available with ultra low mileage. I'm one of the few that put big miles on a car of this type.

The market is saturated now. This is a niche car and now they're sitting around on the dealer lots with huge discounts. Getting 10k off sticker won't be that hard to do.

I was in a unique position when the 4C finally arrived. I was on a waiting list for eleven months and waited over a year to get on that list. My father is an old Alfa guy from way back and a member of the local Alfa Club. I too have bloody finger stories wrenching on hot Alfa engines on race day. Just the thought of new Alfas in the USA again was to good to be true.

I was not allowed to test drive a new 4C, nobody was back then. I had driven many a mile to see a few at a car show, sat in one and heard a third start and idle. Then the day came that my local dealer called me and, "It's here!"

They wanted $120,000 and I had a few choice words for them. Three days later they lowered the price to me. As I said, I was in a unique position and was able pay cash and then test drive it. My first Alfa and my first new car :grin2: My biggest fear was that if I turned it down, AR would pull out of America once again before the price could drop to something reasonable. This would put me in the place of having missed my only opportunity. So, I went for it.

My wife and I put 200 miles on her that first day. 18,000 miles that first year. That first drive on that first day brought back memories of being a young child driving with Dad in his 356 Speedster through the twisties. She's such a raw driver. A true sport car of the type that hasn't been made for 40 years. The early 911 was probably the last real sport car.

It's all about the driving experience and the emotions that the car invokes. Few cars stir the emotions and fewer still are 'affordable'. I didn't try to justify my purchase. I bought her with my heart.
 
#23 ·
I love nearly everything about the 4C, but as a person over 6'4'', I just don't see it as a viable option for me. I'm used to squeezing into tiny cars (drove a Honda Beat recently that felt roomy!) but the 4C was down right claustrophobic. Felt like I was looking out of a pill box. Any one else feel this way after owning it for a while? And yet...I'd still take one over the comfortable Cayman! Alfas 4 Life! :)
 
#26 ·
I was lucky enough last year to be invited to visit a new race track on Vancouver Island called the Vancouver Island Motorsport Circuit. I drove the 4C and then the Cayman S back to back. The Alfa was very nibble and handled great around the track suspension was sightly on the stiff side but worked well on track. The shorter wheel base made the car seem to turn really fast and with the undulations of the track made me feel woozy.

The Porsche Cayman was near perfect. The balance was so right my lap times were faster. It had more power and was a lot of fun to drive.

I think both cars are great. Porsche has had almost 2 decades of development on that platform and have improved a lot since the first Boxster. Now that Alfa have axed the 4C coupe they wont get the chance to develop this chassis anymore. too bad.......
 
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