Which are the best of the FWD alfas?

[Chris71]

Thinking more about a daily driver for a second.....

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the 90s FWD alfas like the 33, 145, 146 and 155?

I presume they're rather tougher than the 75s and GTVs that preceeded them?

[Chris71]

I'd love a GTV, but for me they sit in an awkward position - a bit too small to carry mountain bike frames and guitar gear and not quite a full-on weekend car. In that respect the Fiat Coupe would be superb - they have tardis like practicality and the 20VTs go like stink. However, I looked on the Fiat Coupe forum and I don't think I could see a single car that had done 100,000 miles on it's original engine.

I need to do around 15,000 miles a year, albeit on motorways for the majority. In answer to the obvious question; I could get a Diesel Mondeo, but I want something that stirs a bit of emotion whilst I'm stuck on the M25. An alfa, better still an Alfa V6 might just be the right idea.

On a practical note, do any of these cars have folding rear seats? Not remotely concerned about rear seat passengers, but I need somewhere to get my bike in

Thinking about Wadgebeast's comment, I may have been a little quick to dismiss the 75. Combining a practical saloon with RWD and a sonorous V6 sounds like a very satisfying mode of transport.

[Chris71]

A bit of an exageration perhaps on my part, but there seemed to be a disconcerting number of people celebrating 100,000 not simply as a milestone, but as an acheivment and a few "my first coupe never made past 60,000 RIP" type comments

If I'm doing 15,000 miles a year and want to keep it for say three years, it still has to be resalable in 45-50,000 miles time without too much risk of anything serious going wrong in the meantime. Plus, good value as they are, the Fiat Coupes still aren't "90's Alfa" cheap!

[Chris71]

pdV6 said:

Chris71 said:

I'd love a GTV, but for me they sit in an awkward position - a bit too small to carry mountain bike frames and guitar gear and not quite a full-on weekend car. In that respect the Fiat Coupe would be superb - they have tardis like practicality and the 20VTs go like stink.

I know what you're saying! I have put a bike in my GTV a few times, but it's a real squeeze and only for when there's no other option.
I'd take issue with the "not a weekend car" thing, though; you can actually get a decent amount of luggage in the boot as long as its in soft bags rather than hard suitcases. Removing the spare wheel gives you half as much bootspace again and you always have the rear seats to fall back on. We did a 2 week trip around Europe with plenty enough space in the car (and plenty of wine squeezed in on the return leg!)

Chris71 said:

On a practical note, do any of these cars have folding rear seats? Not remotely concerned about rear seat passengers, but I need somewhere to get my bike in

I may be wrong but iirc the Fiat Coupé has folding rear seats.

Possibly more practical than I assumed then, but when I said 'weekend car' I meant more as a toy. Gorgeous as the GTV is, I don't think I could justify having one as a second car and requiring an additional work horse to carry stuff around in.

Would love a GT or 159, but they're leagues out of my price range.

Of the models discussed I think a 145 or 146 twin spark might actually be the best option. Small enough to park, big enough to carry a decent amount and with toys like air con and ABS thrown in. With the seats folded a 145 should be fairly cavernous. We had to ditch my current car (an MG ZS) for the last MTB trip as it was almost impossible to fit two bikes in. We ended up taking a friends 106 with no problems at all - just goes to show the inherant advantages of a 'high backed' hathcback even over a considerably larger saloon.

One of the bigger cars with a V6 and possibly RWD appeals too though - unfortunately it's their differences that give them their relative strengths.