Even Marchionne has said that the 159 was 400KG too heavy and "We will never make that mistake again" Regardless of the raw stats the fuel economy and performance have both been seriously dented against the competition because of the excess lard. Typical Alfa - they just cant win, had to make it solid to make it reliable and then get slated as its overengineered.
As the owner of both I can say that the 1.8 feels signifcantly lighter in the nose than the 2.2, but is none the worse for it and is nice and chuckable. Though i also agree it feels very little like traditional alfa engines of old. Still a great car though
56 1.8TS Lusso, 156 2.0JTS Selespeed Veloce, 159 2.2JTS TI, Mito 1.4TB 120Veloce, 159 1750 TBI TI.