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

[zygalski]

Ok so Jeremy Clarkson likes them. So does Hammond & May. Super.
Are they really an aspirational brand for an enthusiastic daily driver to own? Looking at some of the specs they seem bloated, slow & from various owner reviews still fragile with more than their share of niggles.
Nice interiors though. Very nice. I'll give them that.
Please explain the allure of the modern Alfa to someone who's never owned one, preferably without mentioning Top Gear as I have done. Twice.

[zygalski]

4C is a bit too much of everything.
How difficult can it be to get a modern 2.0l Alfa coupe which weighs around 1300 kg, does 0-60 in around 7 seconds, top speed 140 and so on. Brera for instance - 2.2l engine, 180+ bhp but 0-60 of over 8.5 seconds.
How do they manage to extract such little power out of a 2.2 litre petrol engine? Mind-boggling.

[zygalski]

davebem said:

When it was sourced from GM it only produced about 145hp, Alfa heavily modified it...

Gotta laugh at that.
My 24 year old GM engine is a 2.0 & 156 bhp, 150 lb/ft
Still, I only get about 30 mpg on a good day.

[zygalski]

So apart from the electrics, the only thing to really worry about are the mechanicals?