alfa 155 ...most sporty alfa saloon?
Discussion
RicksAlfas said:
All the road tests of the new Giulietta sound like it could be a very good drive indeed.
Maybe that will finally be a replacement for the 155?
Here's hoping.....Maybe that will finally be a replacement for the 155?
The car mags all seem to rate it, & it looks quite good in the flesh. I'm hoping it'll be a replacement for my GT later in the year, fingers crossed!
thanetspeedshop said:
ianthompson65 said:
alfa 155 ...most sporty alfa saloon?
No. Not even remotely.
Beginning of the end in fact...
A look round the display at Goodwood last weekend is a good demonstration of just how far Alfa have removed themselves from their sporting heritage...., sadly!
cirvy said:
I think what the OP was suggesting, was that compared to the current/recent crop of Alfas, the 155 was a very spirited & sporty drive.
When the OP said "of all time" it made me think he meant "of all time".cirvy said:
Drive round all day in a current 4 cylinder petrol 159, & then jump into a twin spark 155..... i think we would all be shocked!
Yep*, shocked at the lack of refinement, the poorer build quality, the lack of interior space, the absence of passive and active safety... 
You're right of course, but I think it's probably equally true of most manufacturers. Jump out of a Mk V Golf GTI into a Mk II, a current 320i into an E30 320i, etc.
*not knocking the 155, before I get lynched - just that things have moved on since it was current, which is probably good and bad in equal measure
Things have certainly moved on. Today's cars, by and large, are very uninvolving but highly competant. My daily driver is a 350Z, very quick and very comfortable but for fun my old Giulietta has it in bucketloads. I had two 155's over the years and I loved them as well but they're not a patch on the capabilities of the newer models, although again more fun in my opinion. But, as has been said, that goes for most marques really. You really need to turn all the safety devices off and run them round a track for a bit of fun. They're all grossly overweight too. 
ianthompson65 said:
I miss the 155 I used to own - the most chuckable alfa saloon of all time I reckon - amazing handling altho it could have done with another 50bhp
i know what you mean , miss mine , why did i sell it ! doh 
, and yes another 50 bhp would have been fun 
that said i love my 145 cloverleaf , but i would have another 155 in a heartbeat
ianthompson65 said:
I miss the 155 I used to own - the most chuckable alfa saloon of all time I reckon - amazing handling altho it could have done with another 50bhp
Not having driven all of Alfa's saloons through the years I can't really express an opinion on that....but they are damn good cars and definitely have an appeal which runs along the same lines as marmite.If you'd have said "best handling" I would argue not, but they are certainly fun...if you like loads of understeer
Jamie...they're pretty big inside (boot is massive!), so can't agree with your comment about space
wrinx
wrinx said:
Jamie...they're pretty big inside (boot is massive!), so can't agree with your comment about space
Fair enough - a month or so ago I was having a poke about a 155 that Western have in, and one if the things that struck me was how close the passenger and driver were. Got to say I'm skeptical that there's more leg- and elbow-room, front and rear, in a 155 than in a 159, but I've not lived with one. Well strictly speaking the 75 was the last proper, as in pre-Fiat, mainstream Alfa Romeo and I do have a 75 which is arguably the last proper car ever made let alone Alfa Romeo; 1989, rwd, carbs, no electronics, keep fit steering, analogue windows etc...
Much as I do have a love for the transaxle cars, I can see some of the weaknesses; gearchange, bodyroll, bit lardy, but yes, I would say more sporty than the 155, and surely nobody could mention the 155 in the same breath as, for example, the 101/105 series when talking of sporting saloons.
If the OP was considering fwd Alfa Romeos then a 4-door, non-hatchbask 'Sud must qualify as a saloon. Heck, even the Arna was probably more sporting than the 155.
Now please don't get me wrong, I don't dislike the 155, I've just sold one in fact, but it just didn't strike me as especially sporting. Admittedly it was a V6, which seemed to suit that car far less than any other V6 Alfa Romeo I've owned, but, engine aside, it seemed far nearer to being just another Euro saloon than I had expected - and not in a good way. Brakes were shocking as well, no matter what I did with them.
Sorry to bang on here, but when thinking of a company that trades, justifiably, on it's fantastic heritage the title of this thread seems somewhat bizarre when we could look back to the glorious post-war 6C berlinattas, Freccia D'oros and stuff, all the way to the Alfetta/116/75 saloons...
Much as I do have a love for the transaxle cars, I can see some of the weaknesses; gearchange, bodyroll, bit lardy, but yes, I would say more sporty than the 155, and surely nobody could mention the 155 in the same breath as, for example, the 101/105 series when talking of sporting saloons.
If the OP was considering fwd Alfa Romeos then a 4-door, non-hatchbask 'Sud must qualify as a saloon. Heck, even the Arna was probably more sporting than the 155.
Now please don't get me wrong, I don't dislike the 155, I've just sold one in fact, but it just didn't strike me as especially sporting. Admittedly it was a V6, which seemed to suit that car far less than any other V6 Alfa Romeo I've owned, but, engine aside, it seemed far nearer to being just another Euro saloon than I had expected - and not in a good way. Brakes were shocking as well, no matter what I did with them.
Sorry to bang on here, but when thinking of a company that trades, justifiably, on it's fantastic heritage the title of this thread seems somewhat bizarre when we could look back to the glorious post-war 6C berlinattas, Freccia D'oros and stuff, all the way to the Alfetta/116/75 saloons...
I loved my 164`s & when I worked for Alfa in the early 90`s many Golf owners were changing up to 2.0 164`s as their families grew.
The handling is outstanding for a production saloon, the 3.0 is good but the heavy V6 did increase oversteer.
They were also the first properly rustproofed Alfa`s & were very reliable.
Thoroughly recomended if you can find one, I`m pretty sure its a future classic!
The handling is outstanding for a production saloon, the 3.0 is good but the heavy V6 did increase oversteer.
They were also the first properly rustproofed Alfa`s & were very reliable.
Thoroughly recomended if you can find one, I`m pretty sure its a future classic!
Trouble with driving cars, of any marque that are twelve to twenty years old is not indicative of when they were new. I have had a 2.0 116 Giulietta for three years when I got it it was a very wobbly beast in the handling department, despite sailing through an MOT. Having rebuilt it with new bushes, dampers and springs it can hold its own with moderns now. Not on speed though a 130 bhp 2.0 is small potatoes these days.
The 155 TS cars I drove all seemed a bit soggy for serious throwing around. But then I am largely comparing that to a 33, which I would proabably find a bit too hard now for everyday driving
I rather liked the handling of the 159. I know it is a bit heavy, but then it is not much heavier than the 166 and getting on for the same size.
I rather liked the handling of the 159. I know it is a bit heavy, but then it is not much heavier than the 166 and getting on for the same size.
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