Alfa Romeo Recommendations
Discussion
Alfa Romeo gurus of PH it is time to offer your advice to a potential future Alfa Romeo owner.
Within the next week or so my 2006 Mustang GT will go up for sale (I want to fly more and to be frank £200pcm on fuel alone is not helping that), however I don’t want something that is totally humdrum. Yes I will miss the power of the Mustang, the effortless big V8 and the dynamics of a RWD car but I will manage I am sure. A mate of mine has his second Alfa at the moment; 159 V6 AWD Lusso spec and in the past had a 147 1.9 diesel, again Lusso spec and has enjoyed both. My parents urge me to buy a Lexus but the cars in my price range don’t offer me the fuel economy I want (even the dealer has said buy the IS250 over the 220d) nor the MP3 compatibility.
I have a £4000 budget, though I might go a smidge higher to get the right car if I have to. I do not want to make any monthly payments. I am looking for fuel economy in the 40mpg+ range (my current steed gives me between 18 and 20) so no big petrol engines unfortunately. Most of the time there is just me in the car and one other person. Three (including me) on limited numbers of occasions so I am not against having a smaller car but a larger one is better, no large coupes (had enough of massive doors) though.
Auto or manual, auto preferred but I am fine with a manual if the automatic gearbox that is available on the better model is pap.
My commute to and from work is ~12 miles. Its roughly half 30/40 speed limits (during the morning its always flowing easily and on an evening it’s a little slow but never stop start traffic) and half fast A-roads and DCs (NSL) where the speed is usually 45 – 50mph, occasionally I might get up to the speed limit.
Anything else that is suggested it needs to be able to read MP3s from an SD card or USB thumb drive, or the stereo needs to be able to be easily replaced with one that can. I am not interested in being able to use MP3 CDs (it’s a faf), AUX cables with an MP3 player or my phone as that means having to install a cradle so that I can skip albums/tracks.
I’m not ready to buy the car just yet (Mustang needs to be sold first) but I am looking for options and opinions on what to look at and what to look for.
The shortlist so far:
159
1.9 or 2.0 JTD, would the 2.4 diesel give me the economy that I want?
I doubt the petrol engines that are available on this model would give me the economy I need but am I going to be stuck with DPF and EGR woes if I go diesel? A faulty parking distance sensor being the only issue with my mates current 159.
147
1.9 JTD (pre-dpf) or newer 1.6 T-spark, the former will get me the MPG’s, the latter I have no idea. I know the control arms are chocolate on these if you are doing any sort of mileage. My mate had very little trouble with his 2003 147: a new battery, a few blown bulbs, a perished rear washer pipe and a broken wiper motor mount (early ones were plastic, later they were metal I understand) everything else was just servicing.
MiTo
It is small (not that much smaller than the 147 though) but it is in my price range so I cannot discount it off hand. 1.4 petrol or 1.3 diesel, though will the latter give me EGR and DPF issues and will the turbocharged petrol engines give me the fuel economy I want?
Over to the PH Alfa Gurus. Thanks.
Within the next week or so my 2006 Mustang GT will go up for sale (I want to fly more and to be frank £200pcm on fuel alone is not helping that), however I don’t want something that is totally humdrum. Yes I will miss the power of the Mustang, the effortless big V8 and the dynamics of a RWD car but I will manage I am sure. A mate of mine has his second Alfa at the moment; 159 V6 AWD Lusso spec and in the past had a 147 1.9 diesel, again Lusso spec and has enjoyed both. My parents urge me to buy a Lexus but the cars in my price range don’t offer me the fuel economy I want (even the dealer has said buy the IS250 over the 220d) nor the MP3 compatibility.
I have a £4000 budget, though I might go a smidge higher to get the right car if I have to. I do not want to make any monthly payments. I am looking for fuel economy in the 40mpg+ range (my current steed gives me between 18 and 20) so no big petrol engines unfortunately. Most of the time there is just me in the car and one other person. Three (including me) on limited numbers of occasions so I am not against having a smaller car but a larger one is better, no large coupes (had enough of massive doors) though.
Auto or manual, auto preferred but I am fine with a manual if the automatic gearbox that is available on the better model is pap.
My commute to and from work is ~12 miles. Its roughly half 30/40 speed limits (during the morning its always flowing easily and on an evening it’s a little slow but never stop start traffic) and half fast A-roads and DCs (NSL) where the speed is usually 45 – 50mph, occasionally I might get up to the speed limit.
Anything else that is suggested it needs to be able to read MP3s from an SD card or USB thumb drive, or the stereo needs to be able to be easily replaced with one that can. I am not interested in being able to use MP3 CDs (it’s a faf), AUX cables with an MP3 player or my phone as that means having to install a cradle so that I can skip albums/tracks.
I’m not ready to buy the car just yet (Mustang needs to be sold first) but I am looking for options and opinions on what to look at and what to look for.
The shortlist so far:
159
1.9 or 2.0 JTD, would the 2.4 diesel give me the economy that I want?
I doubt the petrol engines that are available on this model would give me the economy I need but am I going to be stuck with DPF and EGR woes if I go diesel? A faulty parking distance sensor being the only issue with my mates current 159.
147
1.9 JTD (pre-dpf) or newer 1.6 T-spark, the former will get me the MPG’s, the latter I have no idea. I know the control arms are chocolate on these if you are doing any sort of mileage. My mate had very little trouble with his 2003 147: a new battery, a few blown bulbs, a perished rear washer pipe and a broken wiper motor mount (early ones were plastic, later they were metal I understand) everything else was just servicing.
MiTo
It is small (not that much smaller than the 147 though) but it is in my price range so I cannot discount it off hand. 1.4 petrol or 1.3 diesel, though will the latter give me EGR and DPF issues and will the turbocharged petrol engines give me the fuel economy I want?
Over to the PH Alfa Gurus. Thanks.
Edited by SpamCan on Monday 30th January 13:13
.Vitorio said:
Id suggest a 1.6 TS Veloce, the 120hp model.
For 12-14 miles one way, a diesel doesnt feel justified, and for 30-40 mph traffic, you dont need big power, and the 1.6 does just fine.
When buying any TS engined alfa, just keep an eye on the oil level (and oil consumption), and the cambelt (needs to be done every 36K or 3 years)
I'm struggling to find Veloce spec cars, plenty of Lussos on Auto Trader. That said there are a lot of nice looking Collezione models on auto trader. Lots of adverts say FSH but don’t specify that the belt and pump has been changed at the required intervals, something to ask I guess. That said until the Mustang has sold it is pointless looking at a replacement.For 12-14 miles one way, a diesel doesnt feel justified, and for 30-40 mph traffic, you dont need big power, and the 1.6 does just fine.
When buying any TS engined alfa, just keep an eye on the oil level (and oil consumption), and the cambelt (needs to be done every 36K or 3 years)
I was edging towards the 1.6TS as the fuel savings with the diesel don’t make sense when you take into account the potential for dual mass flywheel replacements with clutches (the perils of a diesel engine), EGR refurbs (don’t think any 147’s were ever fitted with a DPF) especially when my work mileage is only around 5100p/a (other driving brings it up to circa 8000).
Keeping an eye on oil usage and level will be no bother, I check that (along with tyre pressures and other fluid levels) on a weekly basis anyway.
Edited by SpamCan on Wednesday 8th March 12:57
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