Maserati Spyder (02-05) - Review

Although the Spyder is meant to be sports car, it's a shame that the Coupé version's surprisingly roomy rear seats couldn't have been integrated here. The chairs in the back of a Jaguar XK or Porsche 911 cabrio might be small but they can be useful, particularly if you have children. But accept that the Spyder is fun for two only and there's a lot to like with good head and legroom and a fully electric hood operated by a button on the centre console. It's marked down here for the clunkiness of both manual and Cambiocorsa transmissions although post-2003 Cambiocorsas were smoother than earlier cars.

There is one upside from Maserati's decision to make the Spyder a two-seater and that's the huge boot. The folding roof mechanism barely impinges on luggage space at all leaving a massive 300 litres of volume, enough for two golf bags. A Mercedes SL has 10 litres more with the roof up, but fold its retractable hard top away and that drops to just 206 litres. In the cabin there is a useful full length pocket on each door and a lockable cubby located behind the seats between the roll bars and the boot which – handy if you want to leave the car without raising the roof.

None of the Spyder's mainly German rivals feels quite so special from behind the wheel. The cabin is awash with rich leather covering the seats, doors and the attractive curving dashboard whose six instrument dials look as exotic as the trademark clock in the dash centre. It all looks suitably well screwed together too, but it's not uncommon to find loose trim. The distinctive seats look great but aren’t the most supportive either; the shapely steering wheel however feels perfect. Cambiocorsa cars have two paddles behind the wheel and no gearstick. The small T-shaped lever on the console is only used to select reverse.