Quote:
Originally Posted by vgr02
"Loved the look of the 159 too, but surprisingly the engines were a major disappointment, unless you go for the absurdly overpriced AWD V6....Poor old Alfa - they come so close but never seem to get it quite right!"
You buy the Alfa from the heart and not the head. The 159 is a great car only let down by -:
1. it's importer - Ateco as they don't have the best of reputation for honoring warrenty.
2. General perception by stupid wholesalers who don't want to know about them. This in turn effects depreciation.
My E90 is my 5th BMW to date and while I've loved them all, only the Alfa 156 has the closest spot to my heart. The engines are "sweet as", rev wildly to the redline with a sound track only an Italian car maker can give.
There are 3 things you buy in Red -:
Roses for the wife
Lingerie for the mistress
Italian cars for yourself
Cio
|
Agreed - except for the engines. The 159 is I think around 150kg heavier than 156, which really blunts the performance. It's 4 cyl petrol is - I think I am correct in saying - not the same unit as the 156. It's a modified twin balancer shaft GM ( Saab?) thing thrown together while Alfa was engaged to GM ( as is the v6 - a destroked Holden with Alfa heads!). Regardless, the petrol 4 in the 159 sounds
nothing like an Alfa engine should, and sadly is pathetically gutless, which might be forgivable except that it is also
astonishingly unresponsive.
The other engine I sampled was the JTD, which sounded even worse, had truly massive turbo lag below 2000rpm ( and it's a diesel for heaven's sake!!), and a rev limit of about 4500. Certainly the narrowest power band of any modern car I have ever driven....
Other than that, it's a lovely car!