Buyers can choose from two petrol engines, a 185bhp 2.2-litre and a 260bhp 3.2-litre V6. The 2.2 isn't especially quick, but has a lively character as you change up through the gears. The flagship V6 is brisk rather than blistering but, like the 2.2, it picks up revs eagerly. The V6 also comes with four-wheel drive, so has no trouble putting its extra power down. There's a 2.4-litre diesel, too, which is a touch quicker than the less powerful petrol version.

Quick steering and good body control mean the Spider brings a smile to your face on a smooth, winding road. However, chopping off the roof has reduced stiffness, so body flex blunts its responses on rough roads, and bumps send shudders through the steering wheel. The ride is also overly firm, particularly at low speed.

The Spider's suspension clonks noisily over bumps, but both engines provide an appealing soundtrack and wind noise isn't overly intrusive. Even at the national limit you can hold a conversation without raised voices. With the roof down and side windows up, there's little in the way of wind buffeting, thanks to the standard rear deflector.

You pay a premium of around £1400 over the equivalent Brera coupe, so prices start at over £25,000. That puts the Spider up against BMW's Z4 roadster and the drop-top version of Audi's TT, but its resale values won't match either. Running costs for the V6 will be high.

The cabin is made from appealing materials, although it's not as classy as an Audi TT. Alfa Romeo's performance in recent reliability and customer satisfaction surveys has been disappointing, so the Spider needs to make an improvement in these areas.

Every Spider has stability control, twin front and side airbags, and a driver's knee airbag. There are also twin roll hoops behind the headrests, but it's slightly disappointing that you don't get curtain airbags. Deadlocks and an in-car boot release that doesn't work when the engine is off are useful security features for a convertible.

Cowled dials and metallic trim give the cabin a sporty feel, and the centre console is angled towards the driver, so the controls all fall nicely to hand. To help drivers make themselves comfortable, the steering wheel moves for reach and rake, and you can adjust the height and angle of the seat base. However, taller people will be short of headroom with the roof up.

The all-but useless rear seats from the Spider's Brera sister car have been ditched, and in their place there is a pair of small, lockable bins. Soft bags can be stored on top of these, giving an extra 100 litres of load space to supplement the modest 200-litre boot. The standard electric roof takes a lengthy 26sec to fold away.

There's just one trim, and it provides plenty. All cars have a leather steering wheel, electric windows and mirrors, rear parking sensors, cruise control and dual-zone climate control. V6 models add leather upholstery.