Alfa's. Someone explain to me....

Alfa's. Someone explain to me....

Author
Discussion

Plipton

1,302 posts

257 months

Sunday 22nd March 2015
quotequote all
MarkwG said:
Bizarre, me too - must have been the same car, then...
Bu99er - me too - that's at least 4 duff Alfas that are stubbornly refusing to go wrong frown

MarshPhantom

9,658 posts

136 months

Sunday 22nd March 2015
quotequote all
errek72 said:
Oilchange said:
Trouble is mine was reliable and she never let me down. Must have been that one in a million I let get away...
Strange, same here. Imagine the odds.
I don't not buy Alfas because of reliability, just not sure what all the fuss is about. Seems like the attraction is all about what they look like and nice interiors. Driving dynamics and engines don't appear to cut the mustard.


Mound Dawg

1,915 posts

173 months

Sunday 22nd March 2015
quotequote all
You want a 75 then. Styled to look like a Turkish taxi, interior from a jumble sale but engines and handling to die for.

MarshPhantom

9,658 posts

136 months

Sunday 22nd March 2015
quotequote all
Always wanted a 75, went to look at a GTV6 and a 75 3.0. Drove both and came away loving the 75. A very cool motor.

MarkwG

4,813 posts

188 months

Sunday 22nd March 2015
quotequote all
MarshPhantom said:
Driving dynamics and engines don't appear to cut the mustard.
Is that your opinion, or based on your experience? All the Alfa's I've owned & driven have had superb engines, & the handling has been fine.

Mound Dawg

1,915 posts

173 months

Tuesday 24th March 2015
quotequote all
MarkwG said:
Is that your opinion, or based on your experience? All the Alfa's I've owned & driven have had superb engines, & the handling has been fine.
Me too, 30 years of the things. The diesel ones are a bit underwhelming in the noise/revs department though.

MarshPhantom

9,658 posts

136 months

Wednesday 25th March 2015
quotequote all
MarkwG said:
MarshPhantom said:
Driving dynamics and engines don't appear to cut the mustard.
Is that your opinion, or based on your experience? All the Alfa's I've owned & driven have had superb engines, & the handling has been fine.
The engines may be good, but the stats aren't great. 7 secs to 60 for the 3.2V6 260bhp Brera is hardly class leading is it, in what is essentially a fancy pants hot hatch.

My Merc could that 25 years ago with less power.

MLC166

70 posts

174 months

Wednesday 25th March 2015
quotequote all
MarshPhantom said:
The engines may be good, but the stats aren't great. 7 secs to 60 for the 3.2V6 260bhp Brera is hardly class leading is it, in what is essentially a fancy pants hot hatch.

My Merc could that 25 years ago with less power.
Fair point but cars have gotten heavier due to safety legislation. I think the Brera is nearly 1800kgs possibly more whereas my 166 from 2001 is 1450kgs which includes the V6. Safety measures are adding weight and bulk to cars. Just look at bonnet lines on cars, doesn't there have to be something like a 4 inch gap between the engine and bonnet. Sleek low bonnet lines are a thing of the past.

Stuart J

1,301 posts

256 months

Wednesday 25th March 2015
quotequote all
Everyone needs a day alone with an Alfa, only then will you know if you get it or not. It's a personal thing , it's just about how it makes you feel.

jboy72

375 posts

180 months

Wednesday 25th March 2015
quotequote all
When I went searching for a winter hack 18 months ago I chanced up on a one owner, proteo red, 1999 Alfa 156 2.4 jtd with black leather seats. Until then, I had not really considered an Alfa. It was a slightly mad ebay moment, I could not really believe I had won the auction, but there it was - £743 was the highest bid and it was my bid! The 156 whilst not contemporary is still modern by Alfa's historical standards and believe me it is a fine car - I don't get the diesel noise comment at all, this sounds better than my v8 - seriously. It also handles better than my old 330d did. It is not unique by any means in harking from a glorious age of mechanical driving but whilst my BMW jiggles its thin rubber, holds the wheels to gain traction, lightens the steering and shortens and lengthens the rack and shows me things via a computer I wish didn't exist the 156 has a firm clutch, a good manual gearbox, analogue clock, no buttons on the steering wheel and the most direct steering this side of an e39. I bloody love it.

Edited by jboy72 on Wednesday 25th March 14:43

MarkwG

4,813 posts

188 months

Wednesday 25th March 2015
quotequote all
MarshPhantom said:
MarkwG said:
MarshPhantom said:
Driving dynamics and engines don't appear to cut the mustard.
Is that your opinion, or based on your experience? All the Alfa's I've owned & driven have had superb engines, & the handling has been fine.
The engines may be good, but the stats aren't great. 7 secs to 60 for the 3.2V6 260bhp Brera is hardly class leading is it, in what is essentially a fancy pants hot hatch.

My Merc could that 25 years ago with less power.
Not class leading, maybe, but also not an Alfa engine...it's a reworked GM V6, which I have no personal issue. I didn't appreciate we're into a 0-60 sec p155ing contest, though: those numbers mean nothing.

Edited by MarkwG on Wednesday 25th March 15:13

Ali_T

3,379 posts

256 months

Wednesday 25th March 2015
quotequote all
You either get it or you don't. Mine have made me just...well.....happy. In isolation, they're just cars. Neither the Giulietta, nor my previous 33, were class leading cars, but I wouldn't have bought anything else at the time because nothing gave the same satisfaction to own, and they're far more about ownership than just driving.

They're not about 0-60, bhp, mpg or price comparisons. If that's your bag, buy a BMW, brag about it's vital statistics down the pub and carry on driving like a knob. But if you have to explain, in numbers, why your car is better, you bought the wrong car.

Edited by Ali_T on Wednesday 25th March 15:14

Ali_T

3,379 posts

256 months

Wednesday 25th March 2015
quotequote all
Plipton said:
Bu99er - me too - that's at least 4 duff Alfas that are stubbornly refusing to go wrong frown
My 33 was a bit of a dog, but my GQV is, currently, third equal in the "most reliable car I've ever owned" stakes. Matching a 1992 Civic VTi and 2006 RX8.

MarkwG

4,813 posts

188 months

Wednesday 25th March 2015
quotequote all
Ali_T said:
They're not about 0-60, bhp, mpg or price comparisons. If that's your bag, buy a BMW, brag about it down the pub and carry on driving like a knob.
Indeed - I also have two BMWs & soon a Ford; I tend not to mention them unless pushed...

Ali_T

3,379 posts

256 months

Wednesday 25th March 2015
quotequote all
It's Clarkson's old definition of cool. If you have to explain why your car is good,especially if it's resorting to pointless numbers, it just isn't cool. And the whole Kristen Scott Thomas argument. I guarantee she'd be happy being picked up in an Alfa....

MarkwG

4,813 posts

188 months

Wednesday 25th March 2015
quotequote all
Ali_T said:
It's Clarkson's old definition of cool. If you have to explain why your car is good,especially if it's resorting to pointless numbers, it just isn't cool. And the whole Kristen Scott Thomas argument. I guarantee she'd be happy being picked up in an Alfa....
biggrinwink - off topic, Civic Vti owner too? Loved ours, great engine, beautiful handling, pretty car with a practical side! Reminded me of an...Alfa, maybe...? Would still have it, were it not for some old f4rt in a Clio frown

errek72

943 posts

245 months

Wednesday 25th March 2015
quotequote all
MarkwG said:
MarshPhantom said:
MarkwG said:
MarshPhantom said:
Driving dynamics and engines don't appear to cut the mustard.
Is that your opinion, or based on your experience? All the Alfa's I've owned & driven have had superb engines, & the handling has been fine.
The engines may be good, but the stats aren't great. 7 secs to 60 for the 3.2V6 260bhp Brera is hardly class leading is it, in what is essentially a fancy pants hot hatch.

My Merc could that 25 years ago with less power.
Not class leading, maybe, but also not an Alfa engine...it's a reworked GM V6, which I have no personal issue. I didn't appreciate we're into a 0-60 sec p155ing contest, though: those numbers mean nothing.

Edited by MarkwG on Wednesday 25th March 15:13
Did anyone say pi55ing contest? Can I bring my willy extension? biggrin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ocsBImq3eQ

Agoogy

7,274 posts

247 months

Wednesday 25th March 2015
quotequote all
Alfa has some tasty history, that's part of it.
Italy has always had more emotional flare than other automotive nations, andthey play/market on that.
Alfa appear to love dividing the critics and public alike, with boxy creations like the 33 and the SZ, as well as curvaceous ones like the 8C and Mito, and are always up for a bit of designer coachbuilding...
Aside from the fact they got things very wrong quality wise (rust) in the 70's, I think the reason they give off a feel-good factor is that they don't shout, and they don't get chosen by most.
The majority of the car buying public are image/CO2/tech/status driven sheep, who don't really care. Thats my opinion, and it's a sad fact that to survive Alfa will have to (or already have) enter this battle...

I don't look at VAG or BMW or MB cars at all these days, their desperation to make the whole range the same is dull, and weirdly the fact that they are SO accomplished and successful means they are everywhere. Familiarity breeds contempt.

I'm not Joe public, I'm not a suit, I don't 'compete' that way. I prefer a path less trodden, even if that means I pay more, or in some instances get less of a 'product' at the end of it...because I get more staisfaction from choosing something a smidge different... even if it's only skin deep.

My last car a Volvo C30 T5 (a softer Focus ST in a dress) is a case in point. Not entirely left field....but enough smile
That's been replaced now.


With an Alfa. One of those slow V6 ones..... a car which I took for drive just for the sake of it last weekend. I haven't done that for over 10 years...

Plipton

1,302 posts

257 months

Wednesday 25th March 2015
quotequote all
errek72 said:
Did anyone say pi55ing contest? Can I bring my willy extension? biggrin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ocsBImq3eQ
White ones are faster than black ones (even the ones with the steering wheel on the passenger side). Red ones are faster still ... especially when they are not actually moving wink

Oilchange

8,422 posts

259 months

Wednesday 25th March 2015
quotequote all
...and this pretty much nails it. I don't 'run with the pack'. As far as I'm concerned the pack can clear off in whatever direction it likes with their white goods, I'll go elsewhere!
I'd rather buy a Kia C'eed than a BMW 1 series/Audi A3/VW.Seat godknowswhat. hateful things!
I don't care if Alfas (or Lotus', my other pride and joy) get slated, they have the history, the passion, the 'je ne sais quoi' that the white goods company's can't get near because they are bland and dull and grey. And I will still drive to work in the Lotus when the snow is compacted on the roads...


Agoogy said:
Alfa has some tasty history...
I'm not Joe public, I'm not a suit, I don't 'compete' that way. I prefer a path less trodden, even if that means I pay more, or in some instances get less of a 'product' at the end of it...because I get more staisfaction from choosing something a smidge different... even if it's only skin deep.

My last car a Volvo C30 T5 (a softer Focus ST in a dress) is a case in point. Not entirely left field....but enough smile
That's been replaced now.


With an Alfa. One of those slow V6 ones..... a car which I took for drive just for the sake of it last weekend. I haven't done that for over 10 years...