Paul.
For the record the Spider 2.0ts gets from 0-60 8.4secs.However outright performance alone is not the point of a Spider.As Scudetto says you can enjoy a Spider when just chilling.The sound and sweetness of the motor,directness and feel from the steering,nice gearshift all give you something to savour even when you are say driving at 7/10ths.With a 172 you need to be bloody brutal with it to enjoy it and how often can you do that on todays congested roads?
The Spiders more about subtlety, involvement and the intangible stuff than bold on paper performance stats.
Different cars for different reasons.
Scudetto probably wont like to admit it here,but I know for a fact he still yearns for a GTV V6!