RE: Shed of the Week: Alfa Romeo GT
Discussion
cannelldocam said:
Regarding the diesels - I really can't fathom why you would buy a pretty sleek coupe style car that sounds like a tractor.
Because the JTS im driving right now returns 28 MPG on average, which iḿ not entirely happy with. If i were doing more miles then i am now (roughly 8-9K a year), id be very tempted to swap to a diesel.As it is (after driving the JTS for a month and a half), i think ive got a bigger problem with the JTS then i would with the JTD, once opened up its a decent engine, but even then it lacks the character of a twinspark, and having a engine which only feels right when going for a hoon is a massive pain in the ass imho
rxe said:
Ah, the Alfa V6s, I have 6 of them in the fleet - 3 x 3.2s, 2 x 2.5 24v and 1 x 2.5 12v.
They’re all good, attempting to rank them is like saying a £1000 bottle of wine is “better” than £1000 of weed. They’re both good at different things.
Start with the 2.5 24v. Yes, it lacks a bit in the low down torque department, but that’s only in comparison to what it does above 4000 rpm. The best bit is is that you can get all the racing car noises without being on the wrong side of 100. It has real (not contrived) crackle on overrun, and revs like a mad thing.
The 3.2 fixes the torque issue, but does not rev as well. That said, all hell breaks loose when to does get up to speed. The big problem is that winding a 3.2 up to 6k takes commitment and a clear road. I often do it joining motorways, and you can be easily at license losing speeds before you’re off the slip road.
2.5 12v? It’s nice enough, but I don’t see it as radically different to a 24v, and its tappets are a PITA, especially the undersized exhaust ones.
They sound so much better than comparable engines - I remember comparing with a mate’s M135 - we both agreed that the BMW engine sounded like a bag of bolts in comparison.
How would you say the 3.0 Busso compares to the other capacities you mentioned?They’re all good, attempting to rank them is like saying a £1000 bottle of wine is “better” than £1000 of weed. They’re both good at different things.
Start with the 2.5 24v. Yes, it lacks a bit in the low down torque department, but that’s only in comparison to what it does above 4000 rpm. The best bit is is that you can get all the racing car noises without being on the wrong side of 100. It has real (not contrived) crackle on overrun, and revs like a mad thing.
The 3.2 fixes the torque issue, but does not rev as well. That said, all hell breaks loose when to does get up to speed. The big problem is that winding a 3.2 up to 6k takes commitment and a clear road. I often do it joining motorways, and you can be easily at license losing speeds before you’re off the slip road.
2.5 12v? It’s nice enough, but I don’t see it as radically different to a 24v, and its tappets are a PITA, especially the undersized exhaust ones.
They sound so much better than comparable engines - I remember comparing with a mate’s M135 - we both agreed that the BMW engine sounded like a bag of bolts in comparison.
cannelldocam said:
Regarding the diesels - I really can't fathom why you would buy a pretty sleek coupe style car that sounds like a tractor.
I understand where you're coming from with your comment, I'll explain my thinking- of course this is personal rather than general as everyone has different reasons for buying a particular car.I have a second car which is weather-sensitive and a continuous project, which means a lot of time spent off the road. This is my 'pleasure' car, but is not always readily available, so I'll spend 90% of my driving time in my daily driver.
My daily driver is going to cover pretty significant mileage, mostly steady motorway miles, but will also get a bit of a beating as a load-lugger, utility vehicle and general carelessness sponge. This put me firmly into diesel shed territory, so I set a budget of ~£2k and went shopping.
The dilemma which led me to the £1500 Alfa's door is that the 10% of the time driving the second car isn't really enough to satiate the need for something rather lovely, and my GT has been wonderful- as you say it's pretty, comfortable, moderately rare, a nice steer and gives me the 'fizz' as James May would describe it. It's also soaked up ~13k miles in 9 months and averaged ~55mpg, which means I've saved £400 or so according to my quick maths over a petrol-powered variant. Yes, I've missed out on the noise and the power delivery isn't ideal (though better than I'd hoped), but it's a great compromise.
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