Diving into the world of Alfa's
Discussion
As has been mentioned above, the 159 is a heavier car than the 156.
I test drove a 159 1.9JTD last year, just to see how it compared to my 2005 156 150 JTDM.
I was not impressed really. The 159 was not as responsive, it did feel a very solid car though. Apparently the 159 gets better the harder you drive it, but my test drive did not give the opportunity.
The interior of the 159 was not as characterful as a 156, the centre console is rather dominant and the dials aren't as nice. It's all about personal preference at the end of the day, but I would always choose a 156 over a 159....but then I am biased !
I test drove a 159 1.9JTD last year, just to see how it compared to my 2005 156 150 JTDM.
I was not impressed really. The 159 was not as responsive, it did feel a very solid car though. Apparently the 159 gets better the harder you drive it, but my test drive did not give the opportunity.
The interior of the 159 was not as characterful as a 156, the centre console is rather dominant and the dials aren't as nice. It's all about personal preference at the end of the day, but I would always choose a 156 over a 159....but then I am biased !
A.G. said:
Bought my 1.9 diesel GT as a daily driver 6 years ago with 60k on the clock. Its now up to 130k.
In its life, it had a battery at 50k, clutch at 75k, injectors at 90k, oil cooler and another battery at 110k. Otherwise just standard service items, brakes, tyres etc,
Wishbones on these seem to be treated as consumable items, lasting 2 years at the very best. I have had to replace both outer door handle hinges, which is a common fault and both checkstraps are clunky but have been like that for ever and I just live with it.
They have a low long nose and after replacing the under-tray on several occasions due to speed bumps, I eventually threw it in the bin about 4 years ago.
Gets a service once a year at the local garage. Its a rattly old diesel lump but returns 40-42mpg driven fairly hard.
I have kept the Alfa longer than I usually would, as it has been a good reliable little car.I have grown attached to it, so will probably keep it until it dies.
Exactly the reason I'm searching to find a good 1.9 GT.In its life, it had a battery at 50k, clutch at 75k, injectors at 90k, oil cooler and another battery at 110k. Otherwise just standard service items, brakes, tyres etc,
Wishbones on these seem to be treated as consumable items, lasting 2 years at the very best. I have had to replace both outer door handle hinges, which is a common fault and both checkstraps are clunky but have been like that for ever and I just live with it.
They have a low long nose and after replacing the under-tray on several occasions due to speed bumps, I eventually threw it in the bin about 4 years ago.
Gets a service once a year at the local garage. Its a rattly old diesel lump but returns 40-42mpg driven fairly hard.
I have kept the Alfa longer than I usually would, as it has been a good reliable little car.I have grown attached to it, so will probably keep it until it dies.
I would agree about the fuel consumption of the JTD engine: mine , although remapped to about 180BHP, still gives about 42mpg week in week out on a 70 mile commute and driven quite hard.
In fact I tried to increase that by driving 'like a granny' for a week, and it made very little difference ! I only use decent diesel ( Shell mainly ) and also tried the ' V power 'Shell but that made no difference at all, in fact it seemed to use more fuel if anything so I reverted back to the standard Shell diesel.
In fact I tried to increase that by driving 'like a granny' for a week, and it made very little difference ! I only use decent diesel ( Shell mainly ) and also tried the ' V power 'Shell but that made no difference at all, in fact it seemed to use more fuel if anything so I reverted back to the standard Shell diesel.
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