Alfa 159 1.75 TBI - anyone experienced ownership of one ?

[ritmo]

Having toyed with the idea of a Brera and concluded its just too impractical i am now considering a 159 wagon. i'm tempted by the 1.75TBI. Are there any reliability/defect issues with this engine ? Does it still get through front tyres at the same rate as the diesels ? I like the Ti spec and whilst the 19" wheels look good i'm concerned about the ride quality and tyre replacement cost. Can anyone give me an owners perspective ?

[OldEngineer]

I have a Tbi Sportwagon Ti in Stroboli Grey. It's wonderful. The engine brings a smile to my face everyday. I describe it as a 'trick' engine because it combines the Torque of a diesel with the power and revs of a petrol. Peak Torque is at only 1400 RPM but it goes to 7000 RPM to give 200 BHP. In practice, squeezing the throttle at any speed gives a fair kick in the back.

Tyre wear is only a problem if you don't align the steering to Zero Toe-out. It comes out of the factory with -7' (per side). Then the very quick steering allows the inner wheel (on fast corners) to act like a dragged anchor which quickly burns off the inside edge. I'm heading towards 20,000 miles on my front Pirellis

Ground clearance is a bit of a pain because the Tbi has an engine undertray with a small cup sized protrusion. It won't straddle those square humps used in London.

[OldEngineer]

oh. And by the way. I found the ride better on the lowered Ti with 19 inch wheels than the Lusso. The latter just seemed under damped and loose in a back to back test.

[smileymikey]

I had an 07 JTDM which I mapped to 180 bhp from new as part of my business at the time. My first set of front tyres lasted 3500 miles and eight weeks

But red with black leather and stunningly rare on the road at that time. Only needed a new headlamp bulb in two years and twenty thousand miles of thrashing. I've had seventy or eighty cars over the years but it was the one I loved the most

[ritmo]

OldEngineer said:

oh. And by the way. I found the ride better on the lowered Ti with 19 inch wheels than the Lusso. The latter just seemed under damped and loose in a back to back test.

i'd heard that the ride on the 19" wheels was very harsh. What is a realistic mpg figure to expect ?

[tom77]

ritmo said:

i'd heard that the ride on the 19" wheels was very harsh. What is a realistic mpg figure to expect ?

I swapped my Lusso on 18's for Ti on 19's and was pleasantly surprised by how supple the ride was on the Ti.

Also, the lower ride increases steering feel no end. I realised I should have bought the Ti from the off...

Don't talk about fuel consumption! I went from the 2.4 Jtdm to the 3.2 v6. I struggle to get much more than 25mpg on a motorway run. I saw it down to 4.1mph when accelerating hard on a motorway slip road.

Fuel consumpsion computer is now off - permanently. Problem solved! - sort of.

[OldEngineer]

The ride on 19 inch is just firm, not harsh or noisy. This is probably because of the sorted suspension. It might be interesting to see if the Ti suspension coupled to 18 or 17 inch wheels is better with a higher tyre wall height.

Fuel consumption on the Tbi engine will be as low as 23 MPG around town but, as posted on the AlfaOwner site, a cruise in heavy (but non-stop) traffic from Claketts Lane to the Dartford Tunnel got it up to 40.9 MPG.

[ritmo]

thanks folks

[Nutrounder151]

Wonder if he bought one 😅