So, the Alfa has gone. For real this time, not a troll thread.
I thought I'd share my experiences of a new Alfa and maybe someone will find it interesting...
I had an Alfa Romeo 159 with the new 2.0 Diesel engine and in "Turismo Internazionale" spec which basically meant I got some really, really nice 19" wheels shod in RE050A rubber, red 330mm Brembo brakes with 4-pot calipers, sporty leather seats, bluetooth, auto lights/wipers, dual zone climate, lovely "Ti" sill plates, hill assist and... er... crappy mats. Pretty well specced really!
Delivery mileage was 55 miles and as I watched it disappear it had about 6900 miles on the clock, so I had done a decent number of miles in the time I had it.
First things first: What broke
Within a few days of picking it up, I noticed the carpet on the drivers side was coming away from the transmission tunnel. This turned out to be that the carpet was "too small" and so had to be re-carpeted. I got to bomb round in a MiTO Veloce for a day whilst they sorted it out.
Then there was the call to say that the gearbox might have been "the wrong one" - turns out it was some mistake in Italy and my gearbox was the right one.
After that was .... nothing. Thats it! I expected to spend most of my time hurtling about in courtesy cars whilst everything was getting fixed but no, quite reliable really expecially as I opened the taps wherever I could
The Good
I really liked driving it - from the weight of the power steering through the really rather small steering wheel to the way it gripped through corners it just felt great to drive. The 19" wheels compromised the ride a bit but not Audi levels of bad, although when really pressing on it could be a bit unnerving but never scary. At 1490KGs it was no balerina but it hid its weight better than I expected and never ever felt heavy.
The gearbox was absolutely superb. The throw was just right, the gate was just the right balance between precision and you needing to be a surgeon to get it in on a fast change. Gear ratios were diesely but perhaps a bit shorter than most which seemed to suit my driving style.
The engine... for a 2L 4 cylinder it diesel was actually quite refined and when fully warmed up sounded quite good from the drivers seat. Loved to rev, no ridiculous surge just a smooth delivery from 1500rpm (when the turbo started to spool) to 5,000 rpm when the fuel would be cut. If I was really, really going for it I would stay in gear that long if there was an advantage to do so, else I'd change at 4-4.5k.
The Bad
Well there isnt much that I can really say that was bad, but there are a few things to comment on...
The fuel economy was DREADFUL. The first motorway run I did was to the Southampton meet just 3 days after getting the car and I got an astounding 31mpg on the 200 mile(ish) motorway cruise there, without any shenanigans. That loosened up after a while, but basically cruising at 70mph I would expect to get no more than 39mpg. My long-term average over the entire 6,850 miles was 34mpg. What were they thinking?!
Unforgivablely terrible was the blue+me / entertainment system. Unforgivable because it could have been so, so good - but it would just do stupid stuff. Make a call from your handset? It would turn the stereo up to FULL VOLUME before making a horrendous noise and then connecting your call. Every time.
Plug in your iPod/iPhone and tada, there was all your music - just worked, no hassle (even with my water damaged iPod which was prone to misbehaving). Skipping a track was impossible for a passenger as it could only be controlled on the steering wheel - where skipping a track (or a track ending and a new one coming on) would show you what was playing for 15 seconds - during which you were unable to do anything at all. Incoming call? Cant answer! Make a call? Nope. Current MPG? Nope. In the middle of pairing your phone or in fact changing any settings? Settings gone.
What were they thinking?!
In summary
I loved it - the looks were stunning, the seats are quite honestly the best car seats I have ever sat in (MILES better than the leather sports seats BMW fit in the 320d M-Sport, I did a direct comparison) and it generally attracted admiring looks and the odd comment.
Would I have another? Not with that engine (unless it was another company car, for tax reasons) and only in the right spec and with a warranty.
Should you get one? If your fleet manager is on drugs or you are sleeping with him/her, absolutely. Stands out a mile from the usual BMW M-Sports and Audi S-Lines you see everywhere - it isn't the complete package by a long way but you'll love the experience
I thought I'd share my experiences of a new Alfa and maybe someone will find it interesting...
I had an Alfa Romeo 159 with the new 2.0 Diesel engine and in "Turismo Internazionale" spec which basically meant I got some really, really nice 19" wheels shod in RE050A rubber, red 330mm Brembo brakes with 4-pot calipers, sporty leather seats, bluetooth, auto lights/wipers, dual zone climate, lovely "Ti" sill plates, hill assist and... er... crappy mats. Pretty well specced really!
Delivery mileage was 55 miles and as I watched it disappear it had about 6900 miles on the clock, so I had done a decent number of miles in the time I had it.
First things first: What broke
Within a few days of picking it up, I noticed the carpet on the drivers side was coming away from the transmission tunnel. This turned out to be that the carpet was "too small" and so had to be re-carpeted. I got to bomb round in a MiTO Veloce for a day whilst they sorted it out.
Then there was the call to say that the gearbox might have been "the wrong one" - turns out it was some mistake in Italy and my gearbox was the right one.
After that was .... nothing. Thats it! I expected to spend most of my time hurtling about in courtesy cars whilst everything was getting fixed but no, quite reliable really expecially as I opened the taps wherever I could
The Good
I really liked driving it - from the weight of the power steering through the really rather small steering wheel to the way it gripped through corners it just felt great to drive. The 19" wheels compromised the ride a bit but not Audi levels of bad, although when really pressing on it could be a bit unnerving but never scary. At 1490KGs it was no balerina but it hid its weight better than I expected and never ever felt heavy.
The gearbox was absolutely superb. The throw was just right, the gate was just the right balance between precision and you needing to be a surgeon to get it in on a fast change. Gear ratios were diesely but perhaps a bit shorter than most which seemed to suit my driving style.
The engine... for a 2L 4 cylinder it diesel was actually quite refined and when fully warmed up sounded quite good from the drivers seat. Loved to rev, no ridiculous surge just a smooth delivery from 1500rpm (when the turbo started to spool) to 5,000 rpm when the fuel would be cut. If I was really, really going for it I would stay in gear that long if there was an advantage to do so, else I'd change at 4-4.5k.
The Bad
Well there isnt much that I can really say that was bad, but there are a few things to comment on...
The fuel economy was DREADFUL. The first motorway run I did was to the Southampton meet just 3 days after getting the car and I got an astounding 31mpg on the 200 mile(ish) motorway cruise there, without any shenanigans. That loosened up after a while, but basically cruising at 70mph I would expect to get no more than 39mpg. My long-term average over the entire 6,850 miles was 34mpg. What were they thinking?!
Unforgivablely terrible was the blue+me / entertainment system. Unforgivable because it could have been so, so good - but it would just do stupid stuff. Make a call from your handset? It would turn the stereo up to FULL VOLUME before making a horrendous noise and then connecting your call. Every time.
Plug in your iPod/iPhone and tada, there was all your music - just worked, no hassle (even with my water damaged iPod which was prone to misbehaving). Skipping a track was impossible for a passenger as it could only be controlled on the steering wheel - where skipping a track (or a track ending and a new one coming on) would show you what was playing for 15 seconds - during which you were unable to do anything at all. Incoming call? Cant answer! Make a call? Nope. Current MPG? Nope. In the middle of pairing your phone or in fact changing any settings? Settings gone.
What were they thinking?!
In summary
I loved it - the looks were stunning, the seats are quite honestly the best car seats I have ever sat in (MILES better than the leather sports seats BMW fit in the 320d M-Sport, I did a direct comparison) and it generally attracted admiring looks and the odd comment.
Would I have another? Not with that engine (unless it was another company car, for tax reasons) and only in the right spec and with a warranty.
Should you get one? If your fleet manager is on drugs or you are sleeping with him/her, absolutely. Stands out a mile from the usual BMW M-Sports and Audi S-Lines you see everywhere - it isn't the complete package by a long way but you'll love the experience
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