RE: Alfa Romeo 159: PH Carpool
Discussion
Cracking car, and in 2007 I so very nearly bought the 2.4 diesel estate... Loved the test drive, loved the seats and interior layout (didn't have time to find the heater control foibles), agree with you completely on the sound, but then Alfa curse kicked in: the handbrake failed (wouldn't ratchet up) and the driver's door refused to open from the inside. Both in a half hour drive. This really dented my confidence in the whole thing as it was to be the family holdall, and the icing on the cake was that every local dealership was closing, too 
.
I just wasn't brave enough, and ended up with a 330i, which was a better drive in every possible way, but not as special by any means. Still smile when I see a 159 estate, especially the 2.4 or something a little fruitier!
Really hope the Giulia has a 5 pot diesel option, and carries some of the Alfa magic over!
. I just wasn't brave enough, and ended up with a 330i, which was a better drive in every possible way, but not as special by any means. Still smile when I see a 159 estate, especially the 2.4 or something a little fruitier!
Really hope the Giulia has a 5 pot diesel option, and carries some of the Alfa magic over!
driftingphil said:
just notice your insurance premium is a bit expensive for £60mth that would equate to £720 a year, do you have convictions, accident history or live in a bad area?
I also have a remap 2.4L ti with ERG delete by AHM, age 26 and pay £400 a year, so around £33mth
I've just had renewal quote through - its £640 for the year, but you always pay a little more for monthly direct debit. I managed to get a cheaper quote for £530 with Tesco but it doesn't cover me to drive other cars except for "emergency situations". The other quotes don't have the level of legal cover its I'd like, so I'm sticking with my current provider for convenience.I also have a remap 2.4L ti with ERG delete by AHM, age 26 and pay £400 a year, so around £33mth
I've one SP30 (speeding in a 30 zone) from August 2013, but that's about it. I live in an Ok area, I certainly don't consider it dodgy. It's not exactly privately gated detached houses but it's no council estate either.
driftingphil said:
Not sure what the complaint about getting into the boot is all about? The boot release can be set in the menu, no need to press any other button than the badge on the back (if the cars unlocked) or the button on the keyfob.
Unfortunately my car is pre-facelift (although the styling never changed) so I don't have the boot release on the boot - just on the keyfob and roof switch. I don't really know what else they changed for the facelift actually. The boot release and a slight change to the buttons on the AC unit.driftingphil said:
Tyre Choice the 235/40/19 (not the 235/45/19 as referred to) are expensive as they aren't a usual size, but the Accelera PHI (link bellow) work really well on the TI 19" rims and are recommended by many on the forum, a Substituted especially on the 2.4 where the extra weight up front helps them grip and at only £56 absolute bargain for how well they work.
My car came with brand new accelera's on the front (MOT advisory item). They were OK in the dry but an absolute liability in the wet - and that was before the remap / EGR treatment! One of the first things I did was stick on the MPSS's and it really did transform the car.Indecently, I run 245/40/R19 as they are a more common fitment, and about £20-30 a tyre cheaper (insurer made aware, didn't care.) They clear the arches fine on full lock so no rubbing etc, but do fill the arches just that little bit better from when I took the photos posted.
neil-935ql said:
What a great looking car , you defo the right colour as well , just need the 3.2. V6 up front........ !
I'd have loved to go with the V6, but I drove one and it didn't actually feel that fast. The 4WD system weighs it down a bit, and obviously being N/A you don't get the surge of torque that famously gives the impression of speed.I'd already looked at remap options - mine's running a reasonable 260BHP - any more and you start to risk the internals / turbo. What I was really after was to add more progression to the power delivery, which my remap company of choice really delivered on. This is my first diesel I've owned, and I really enjoy the sheer amount of torque available for day to day driving without having to rev the nuts off it.
Obviously you don't get the sound of the lovely V6, but as others have said it's not a "true" Alfa V6 anyway, and I couldn't live with the woeful MPG!
Anyway, the M3 will be filling the role of the "N/A screamer" sometime soon..!
I recently picked up a 159 v6 Q4 in black as an eBay 'bargain' (its an Alfa- so the jury is still out on that 
) for £3k (!)
Its done 100k and needed about £1200 spending (clutch, front discs and pads and a good service) but so far I love it. Black and tan leather so looks the business.
As a veteran of a couple of Busso v6 powered Alfas (166 Super, 166 sportronic, GTV v6) i'm going to stick up for the GM v6 in the 159. I can honestly say pulls at least as well as those cars, and the noise is sublime and to my ears indistinguishable from the Busso.
Build quality is light years ahead of my previous Alfa experience and is a relaxing and comfortable mile muncher.
Re: economy however, truly dire. I reckon well below 20 mpg in town and 25 tops on a run. I couldn't even consider it if I didnt do all my daily commuting by train. Its on a par with one of my other previous little eccentric purchases, a 1995 Maserati Quattroporte IV which I could write a book about if anyone is interested. Fabulous and terrifying in equal measure.
) for £3k (!)Its done 100k and needed about £1200 spending (clutch, front discs and pads and a good service) but so far I love it. Black and tan leather so looks the business.
As a veteran of a couple of Busso v6 powered Alfas (166 Super, 166 sportronic, GTV v6) i'm going to stick up for the GM v6 in the 159. I can honestly say pulls at least as well as those cars, and the noise is sublime and to my ears indistinguishable from the Busso.
Build quality is light years ahead of my previous Alfa experience and is a relaxing and comfortable mile muncher.
Re: economy however, truly dire. I reckon well below 20 mpg in town and 25 tops on a run. I couldn't even consider it if I didnt do all my daily commuting by train. Its on a par with one of my other previous little eccentric purchases, a 1995 Maserati Quattroporte IV which I could write a book about if anyone is interested. Fabulous and terrifying in equal measure.
Nice car and good colour combo (though red and tan would be my preference).
On the tyre wear - speak with Autolusso about their power flex bushes and geo set-up, it's supposed to make a big difference.
On the insurance - it does seem high. I am in my 40s, clean licence, no claims, reasonable area ... and paid just over £150 for comp this year. Oh, on a V6
Get yourself over to alfaowner.com if you've not already found it. Lots of helpful people there.
On the tyre wear - speak with Autolusso about their power flex bushes and geo set-up, it's supposed to make a big difference.
On the insurance - it does seem high. I am in my 40s, clean licence, no claims, reasonable area ... and paid just over £150 for comp this year. Oh, on a V6
Get yourself over to alfaowner.com if you've not already found it. Lots of helpful people there.
Had to laugh about the boot switch. Basically they've put it where the electric window switchgear was on the 75! I want a 159 every time I see one, this example is no exception, but my elderly Scooby hasn't put a foot wrong in over two years and I'd kick myself if the Alfa broke on the way home from buying it!
Had a 2007 2.4 JTDm for a while myself. Sold it on with 115k miles, still drove beautifully. Without a shadow of a doubt I'd have another over any German saloon but I bought it to tow and it wasn't very good at that.
Found the Italian quirks part of the character of owning an Alfa. If you wanted to change the air temp then make sure you were in 2nd 4th or 6th. And no matter what you did it would turn the air con on whenever it felt. Air filter location was also an interesting choice - behind the RH foglight...
But with looks like that I really didn't care
Found the Italian quirks part of the character of owning an Alfa. If you wanted to change the air temp then make sure you were in 2nd 4th or 6th. And no matter what you did it would turn the air con on whenever it felt. Air filter location was also an interesting choice - behind the RH foglight...
But with looks like that I really didn't care
The Ti's still look absolutely beautiful - nicer and more stylish than many more modern saloons. I had a 1.9 Ti some years ago and totally agree with what you say about the interior too, you cannot appreciate how sumptuous and comfortable they are unless you are in one.
After that I got a 2.4 Spider. It was crap out of the box - really wallowy and the turbo lag was ridiculous as it was the older 200bhp unit, not the improved 210bhp one they put in the Tis. Some Eibach springs really improved the handling, though it was never quite as good as my 159 Ti. At first I was cautious about remapping it as a previous remapped GT JTD kept eating clutches and DMFs. Having been assured this was a freak occurrence and that a proper remap would not put strain on the drivetrain I went ahead and within a week the clutch was slipping! I changed it and also added an uprated DMF at the same time designed for remapped cars. About a year later I sold the car and the new owner called me soon after to report the clutch had failed spectacularly whilst in motion with a loud 'bang' and taken the DMF with it.
It was certainly enough to put me off remapping diesels again. It actually encouraged me to move to six cylinder petrols instead actually as I realised the cost of replacing clutches and DMFs was more than the extra fuel cost! That said a lot of forum members never reported any issues, so maybe I was just particularly unlucky... Hope yours stands up better to it than mine did.
After that I got a 2.4 Spider. It was crap out of the box - really wallowy and the turbo lag was ridiculous as it was the older 200bhp unit, not the improved 210bhp one they put in the Tis. Some Eibach springs really improved the handling, though it was never quite as good as my 159 Ti. At first I was cautious about remapping it as a previous remapped GT JTD kept eating clutches and DMFs. Having been assured this was a freak occurrence and that a proper remap would not put strain on the drivetrain I went ahead and within a week the clutch was slipping! I changed it and also added an uprated DMF at the same time designed for remapped cars. About a year later I sold the car and the new owner called me soon after to report the clutch had failed spectacularly whilst in motion with a loud 'bang' and taken the DMF with it.
It was certainly enough to put me off remapping diesels again. It actually encouraged me to move to six cylinder petrols instead actually as I realised the cost of replacing clutches and DMFs was more than the extra fuel cost! That said a lot of forum members never reported any issues, so maybe I was just particularly unlucky... Hope yours stands up better to it than mine did.
I bought a 156 2.4 20v JTD to replace a 156 2.5 V6.
The diesel has been pretty good.
Being a 156, it isn't burdened with a DPF and mine has an Alfatune remap and the EGR blanked.
Being somewhat lighter than a 159, it is really pretty quick.
I have covered nearly 70,000 miles in it and it has been totally reliable. It is still on it's original DMF and clutch.
It only has little wheels with 205/60/16 tyres. It will chew through a pair of fronts in 7000 miles. At least they are less than £70 each to replace.
It has averaged 43mpg.
The car is now on 95,000 miles and it is on it's third set of top arms, second set of bottom arms, second anti roll bar, second set of drop links, second set of drive shafts, second set of front discs and third timing belt and water pump.
All of that little lot is just routine maintenance on an Alfa and makes it an expensive car to run.
I've enjoyed it, but the next one will have a petrol engine.
The diesel has been pretty good.
Being a 156, it isn't burdened with a DPF and mine has an Alfatune remap and the EGR blanked.
Being somewhat lighter than a 159, it is really pretty quick.
I have covered nearly 70,000 miles in it and it has been totally reliable. It is still on it's original DMF and clutch.
It only has little wheels with 205/60/16 tyres. It will chew through a pair of fronts in 7000 miles. At least they are less than £70 each to replace.
It has averaged 43mpg.
The car is now on 95,000 miles and it is on it's third set of top arms, second set of bottom arms, second anti roll bar, second set of drop links, second set of drive shafts, second set of front discs and third timing belt and water pump.
All of that little lot is just routine maintenance on an Alfa and makes it an expensive car to run.
I've enjoyed it, but the next one will have a petrol engine.
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