Brera S comes last in a group test

[quote=mikeyw;2029278]True but they choose the car DESPITE it's performance not because of.....

I'd happily move from my GT but i need more than a good looking car.


Well it's horses for courses then I suppose - You apparently NEED to win the odd traffic light grand prix and others don't.

If when choosing a new car all I'd cared about was speed then I'd have bought an Subabishi turbo nutter rallymobile.

Everybody's buying criteria are different. For you speed would appear to be a higher priority than it is for others and so I do take issue with your use of "DESPITE". given the views you've stated then I'm sure if you had a Brera you could quite justifiably say that you had bought it despite it's performance. Other people bought it "BECAUSE" of numerous other factors. There's a fundamental difference there.

But hey you might be right and perhaps now there are scores of Brera owners who are all sitting awake at night saying "I do quite like it but I do so wish it was faster. Oh what have I done, I've been duped. I only hope I never come against MikeyW at the traffic lights because then I'll look a proper tool" ?

Originally Posted by RicksAlfas

I don't think we all do. Let's face it if any of us based our decisions on what the journos said none of us would ever buy an Alfa - ever!!

However there are quite a lot of people who base their buying criteria solely on statistics like 0-60 so they can have maximum willy waving rights at the pub.

But as mentioned before the stats don't lie and in this day and age just as many people are looking at CO2/mpg as they are performance figures and Alfa are just getting left behind.

Hey RickAlfas a great post!!

Consumer needs have indeed changed and the bar has indeed been raised in all araes of car ownership. Alfa need to see that and react, the Fiat group loads of money year they should reinvest and develop their cars to compete with the motor manufacturers

When younger roads quieter
speed was fun,
Now older roads
clodded no longer fun.
But own an Alfa Romeo
has grace and fun.
for I realize
that very few owners of any marque
of car
Has or will ever drive them to the limits
of their(cars)performance.


John.

If I was worried about what any of the reviews have said about the Brera or the Brera S over the last 2 or 3 years then of course I wouldn't have bought one, but I didn't so I did! and I have absolutely no regrets. I only picked the car up yesterday and as far as I am concerned it has more than enough space, power, ride comfort etc. and of course a massive excess of visual appeal, what more could I want?

Originally Posted by GRM001

If I was worried about what any of the reviews have said about the Brera or the Brera S over the last 2 or 3 years then of course I wouldn't have bought one, but I didn't so I did! and I have absolutely no regrets. I only picked the car up yesterday and as far as I am concerned it has more than enough space, power, ride comfort etc. and of course a massive excess of visual appeal, what more could I want?

Well said

Run that 2.2 in gently with just the odd blast until about 1k and then gradually give it some beans until 1.5k and after that, drive as you want.

Worked a treat for my 2.2. They just get better & better with some miles

Originally Posted by Squadrone Rosso

Well said

Run that 2.2 in gently with just the odd blast until about 1k and then gradually give it some beans until 1.5k and after that, drive as you want.

Worked a treat for my 2.2. They just get better & better with some miles

Thanks for the advice, I am taking it easy at the moment but I guess that an inch of water on the road also helps to slow you down, I hope that no one picked up a spider today!

For the 1000th time on this thread all i'm saying is there's no rule in the car industry that states a beautiful car has to be slow......why not have the best of the both worlds ?

The TT is relatively good looking car and it's quick so it can be done.

Unfortuneately the TT is so good it's common which loses the appeal for a lot of people.....myself included.

Hears another slant - would anyone be dissapointed if the Brera had performance that matched the TT ?....of course they wouldn't

I think you'll find nobody's bothered about racing away from the lights - what people need and use is performance for overtaking or geting them out of dangerous situations.....unfortuneately the 30-50 & 50-70 times are equally as bad



[quote=RSK;2030904]

Originally Posted by mikeyw

True but they choose the car DESPITE it's performance not because of.....

I'd happily move from my GT but i need more than a good looking car.




Well it's horses for courses then I suppose - You apparently NEED to win the odd traffic light grand prix and others don't.

If when choosing a new car all I'd cared about was speed then I'd have bought an Subabishi turbo nutter rallymobile.

Everybody's buying criteria are different. For you speed would appear to be a higher priority than it is for others and so I do take issue with your use of "DESPITE". given the views you've stated then I'm sure if you had a Brera you could quite justifiably say that you had bought it despite it's performance. Other people bought it "BECAUSE" of numerous other factors. There's a fundamental difference there.

But hey you might be right and perhaps now there are scores of Brera owners who are all sitting awake at night saying "I do quite like it but I do so wish it was faster. Oh what have I done, I've been duped. I only hope I never come against MikeyW at the traffic lights because then I'll look a proper tool" ?

Originally Posted by ius101

Hey RickAlfas a great post!!

Consumer needs have indeed changed and the bar has indeed been raised in all araes of car ownership. Alfa need to see that and react, the Fiat group loads of money year they should reinvest and develop their cars to compete with the motor manufacturers

Good grief we seem to be gettting through the Alfa bias at last..

Yes the bottom line here is Alfa have taken their eye off the ball in the areas of engine economy / emissions and even sadly performance.

The next raft of engines have some catching up to do, in these gloomy economic times people can no longer justify a purchase on looks alone (well unless they're wealthy enough not to give a damn)

Having driven a 2.2 Brera, I am not surprised it wasn't rated very highly, it felt very slow indeed, much slower than a 2.0 156 I had previously. Once they start sticking low weight, high power units in the Brera,it will be a greatly improved product.

The 3.2 version is much better (and the S pack makes a clear difference)

Out of the box, the 2.2's feel really lazy but as the miles build up they get heaps better! As for the TT being anywhere near good looking

Originally Posted by V6Alfisti

Having driven a 2.2 Brera, I am not surprised it wasn't rated very highly, it felt very slow indeed, much slower than a 2.0 156 I had previously.

Really? Mines feels quicker and feels like it handles better than a 2.0 147.
Very strange.

Originally Posted by mikeyw

For the 1000th time on this thread all i'm saying is there's no rule in the car industry that states a beautiful car has to be slow......why not have the best of the both worlds ?

The TT is relatively good looking car and it's quick so it can be done.

Unfortuneately the TT is so good it's common which loses the appeal for a lot of people.....myself included.

Hears another slant - would anyone be dissapointed if the Brera had performance that matched the TT ?....of course they wouldn't

A recent article in the French motoring press rated the DERV Brera over the equivalent TT.

For the 1000th time on this thread all i'm saying is there's no rule in the car industry that states a beautiful car has to be slow......why not have the best of the both worlds ?

Ah, but a beautiful car should be slow so as to be admired!!

Joking aside, is this thread meant to focus on the 2.2? Never driven one but in my 2.4 derv at 5.5K miles the engine is superb. If I'm feeling devious there are few cars that have managed to give me a run for my money, which is ironic because that's exactly what's hit hardest when I drive like that!!

As for 0-60 times; I have never had a car that shows any resemblance to the times printed in the brochures. Every (new) car I've had since 2002 has felt significantly quicker. The biggest difference was my 02 C-Class. That was definitely quicker than the brochure times, so I never give much credence to them.

How fast does it need to be anyway? Proper use of gears can make even a 1.2 Corsa drive quickly.

[/2p]

Yes it does seem the diesel engine is a better option (performance wise over the 2.2)

I don't there is a definative answer over how quick a sports coupe needs to be as long as it's not slow !.....think 0-60 times sub 7secs are not unreasonable for this level of car in this day & age.

One thing I will say is Alfa engines do seem to improve with age so maybe Alfa should publish their stats on models with 25K miles on the clock

You are right that it's not unreasonable to expect a Sports Coupe to do the required 0-62 in around 7 seconds nowadays, just as the Brera V6 does.