Finally! The LE arrived.

Congrats Delia - oh this wait is never ending

Originally Posted by RichardM

The roof didn't open properly again tonight. Looking inside the hood compartment the insulation that was hanging down loose from the lid (is that normal?) has now fallen off and is laying loose inside. Also a few of the pipes which look like they should be clipped in place are hanging loose. Another thing for the list when it goes in tomorrow!

Richard that just does not sound right at all mate - get it sorted out today before it gets worse

Ta for the comments guys. It's not my first Alfa from new, so I know I need to take it easy for a bit, but that's just fine with me. My drive to work involves mostly cruising down country lanes (very near to Mangoletsi for those that know the area) and slowing for the odd wayward pheasant or rabbit so it's not like I have a stressful commute.

Took it out for a bit last night and then drove to work this morning and am starting to feel more comfortable with it. Am pleased with how smooth it is to drive (test drive seemed like a long time ago) and so far everything has worked, but haven't got a clue about some of the computer menus yet. Need to spend a rainy afternoon indoors with the manual methinks!

THe DH hasn't had a go yet, I am keeping it to myself for at least 24 hours, but we're off to Henley this weekend so I am sure he will get behind the wheel at some point.

Was pleased with the collection appointment at Mango's, pretty efficient and lots of time to look around and ask stuff.

Have fun guys and lots of 'arrive quickly' vibes for those still waiting!

D

1st of sept for me - glad that youre happy with the car Delia.

Originally Posted by SPPalfa

Richard that just does not sound right at all mate - get it sorted out today before it gets worse

The car is with the dealer now with my list of issues. They said they will probably need the car for 2-3 days but I'm not complaining as its not sunny out today and I have their demo black Brera S! They did want to lend me their spider as they only have the one Brera S to demo but the sales manager who had the spider hadn't come in.

Well at least you can compare the S to the spider and see if the changes make the Brera a better car.

I will need to get a bigger book to make note of everything to check when i pick my car up

Originally Posted by SPPalfa

Well at least you can compare the S to the spider and see if the changes make the Brera a better car.

Well not really - the Brera and Spider have very different suspension set ups, so what we really need is someone to test a Brera against a Brera S. Still, will be nice for him to test the S!

Oh well he can at least comparethe two ltd editions - I'm sticking with the spider

Initial thoughts are that it does handle well and feels quicker than the spider. Its only done 1000 miles vs 300 on our spider so I'm not sure if its that. I hope so as it would be nice to think the Spider will loosen up that quickly. I didn't think the 60Kg difference in weight between the cars would make that much of a difference. I've enjoyed thrashing the S as so far I've not taken the spider over 4000 revs, but even in the lower revs the S feels keener and more responsive.

On the down side when driving at 70-75mph on the M1 at lunchtime the S seemed very noisy, there is what seems to be a loud resonance from the suspension or exhaust which would be enough to put me off the car. In normal driving the exhaust note does sound good. It would be nice to have that exhaust on the spider and I do love the S wheels.

The rear window of the Brera seems even smaller than the Spiders and those rear seats are a complete waste of time!

Thanks for that report Richard! Yes the Brera S has a different exhaust from the Brera and Spider, and the suspension components are different from the Brera, which in turn is different to the Spider set-up (because of body roll).

The engine loosening will have a bit to do with it, but I've noticed our Brera feels a lot faster than our Spider, partly because the engine is worn in, but also the Brera corners much quicker due to the suspension stiffness and body rigidity.

What surprised me is that the exhaust sounds louder on the Spider/LE than the standard Brera when the roof is down, which is self-explanatory I guess!

All interesting stuff though!

Originally Posted by Commanderfish

Thanks for that report Richard! Yes the Brera S has a different exhaust from the Brera and Spider, and the suspension components are different from the Brera, which in turn is different to the Spider set-up (because of body roll).

The engine loosening will have a bit to do with it, but I've noticed our Brera feels a lot faster than our Spider, partly because the engine is worn in, but also the Brera corners much quicker due to the suspension stiffness and body rigidity.

What surprised me is that the exhaust sounds louder on the Spider/LE than the standard Brera when the roof is down, which is self-explanatory I guess!

All interesting stuff though!

The dealer asked for their Brera S back today and swapped if for their demo spider which was fine with me as the Brera was running low on fuel

Driving the 07 model spider today (which is still an 08 reg with < 2K miles) does show a lot of improvement on the 08 cars. This has far more rattles, the dials such as the temperature controls for the air con have a much more flimsy feel and the seats are nowhere near as supportive or comfortable. I think the instrument panel on the LE is much clearer too. You seem to have to keep your finger on the start button whilst the car starts, where as on the LE you just tap it once.

The car didn't feel much quicker even though it was run in (just). The Brera S was noticably the quickest of the 3.

The 07 model has the auto lights and I noticed when the trip computer is on Trip B it says 'Trip B Auto' which automatically resets for the current journey. How do I set that up on the LE?

Hi Rich - I agree with the seats and auto lights but my 07 plate car was pretty good with very few rattles.

I didnt really notice much improvement in performance or economy until around 5K miles.

I have no idea how to set trip B up in auto mode - in fact never knew that you could

Trip B Auto reset is a menu option under "settings" using the LHS stalk menu button and the rocker at the end of the stalk. Just scroll through the options until you get to the AUTO reset option.

Have you tired some of the 'unknown' Audio options too.

Press the Voice button, and try the following, say:-
Loop - It will say Loop on or Loop off and allows you to repeat tracks
Folders - goes straight to your MP3 folders
Artists - goes straignt to Artists
Albums - Goes straight to Albums

Much quicker than pressing the steering wheel buttons, scrolling to Media player, then scrolling to Albums etc. - Just shout at it, its great. !!

Also try to Press the light dimmer rocker down for 2 secs and go into 'Night Mode' it switches off your rev counter and centre dials

Press the light dimmer rocker up for 2 secs to put it back on.

Didnt know about the audio options - the night mode would be better if it switched off the lights for the climate etc as well as the dials in the centre consul (Didnt on the 07 cars)

Will give the audio ones a try when I get my LE

My Blue&Me problem is that when I press the "talk" button (for instance to say "call home") the responding voice and anything subsequent (for instance the ring tone) are too quiet to hear.

I have to use the stalk volume control to make them audible.

My dealer thought that having audio/radio at the right volume would address this but it doesn't.

I can't find a Blue&Me specific volume setting.

Am I just thick or do I (aaaaaargh - rather have me g**lies chopped off!!)) need to read the manual?!

Originally Posted by TeesSpider

My Blue&Me problem is that when I press the "talk" button (for instance to say "call home") the responding voice and anything subsequent (for instance the ring tone) are too quiet to hear.

I have to use the stalk volume control to make them audible.

My dealer thought that having audio/radio at the right volume would address this but it doesn't.

I can't find a Blue&Me specific volume setting.

Am I just thick or do I (aaaaaargh - rather have me g**lies chopped off!!)) need to read the manual?!

Go to the menu option on your stereo and find the option for 'external volume' adjust this to about 20 - 25 and it works just fine.

Originally Posted by Northern Spider

Trip B Auto reset is a menu option under "settings" using the LHS stalk menu button and the rocker at the end of the stalk. Just scroll through the options until you get to the AUTO reset option.

Have you tired some of the 'unknown' Audio options too.

Press the Voice button, and try the following, say:-
Loop - It will say Loop on or Loop off and allows you to repeat tracks
Folders - goes straight to your MP3 folders
Artists - goes straignt to Artists
Albums - Goes straight to Albums

Much quicker than pressing the steering wheel buttons, scrolling to Media player, then scrolling to Albums etc. - Just shout at it, its great. !!


Also try to Press the light dimmer rocker down for 2 secs and go into 'Night Mode' it switches off your rev counter and centre dials

Press the light dimmer rocker up for 2 secs to put it back on.

Thanks NS

My media player was on LOOP for some reason and i hadn't found the solution until now.

Are there any other SAGES out there that know of any "hidden" commands/settings that might be useful to us newbies

Well I have the car back and everything looks OK. It now has the washer jet, the paint work looks fine (I'll have a good look over the weekend) and the insulation from the hood lid is all properly attached again.

They were able to machine polish out the over-spray from the door/wing, they didn't have to paint anything which is good.

No fix for the rocking drivers seat though, they said 'they are all like that'. I can't say it bothers me too much, it was only as I read about it on here that I checked.

Hi!
I'm collecting a black Spider LE next Saturday (assuming it's true that it's ready), can't wait!
I just noticed in the pic at the dealership a lovely crested red cover. Can you buy one? My spider will sit in an underground secure space, a bit dusty... Or does it come with the car (I doubt that very much) or is it just something they use at the dealership???

Regards to you all

Originally Posted by Northern Spider

Go to the menu option on your stereo and find the option for 'external volume' adjust this to about 20 - 25 and it works just fine.

If you do that, when you play music from a memory stick your speakers will be destroyed, as will your eardrums

Originally Posted by gone_sailing

Hi!
I'm collecting a black Spider LE next Saturday (assuming it's true that it's ready), can't wait!
I just noticed in the pic at the dealership a lovely crested red cover. Can you buy one? My spider will sit in an underground secure space, a bit dusty... Or does it come with the car (I doubt that very much) or is it just something they use at the dealership???

Regards to you all

I guess the covers can be bought, but the dealer says they're VERY expensive. They're a sort of synthetic outer with a very soft fleecy inner.