Bye Bye Ti

Waved goodbye to the Ti yesterday - The new owner, Stephen, flew over from Dublin with his family, I picked them up at the airport and drove to my home to do the deal. It all went smoothly and I am happy that the Ti is off to a good home, Stephen already has a set of Bilstein dampers and a Q2 diff waiting to be fitted.

I took some photos of the Brera and 166 side by side - I was having second thoughts as they are a nice combination to own. I mentioned to the wife about getting rid of her Punto instead, she was having none of it!

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All the best Stephen and enjoy

Look to the future Dougie

Nice, very nice Dug!!!!


Where this review then





They look stunning together!!!

Originally Posted by Dougie166

I took some photos of the Brera and 166 side by side - I was having second thoughts as they are a nice combination to own. I mentioned to the wife about getting rid of her Punto instead, she was having none of it!

I reckon the Ti still looks good in those photos, despite the fact that it's old in comparison. Pity you couldn't have kept it a bit longer. I'd have wanted at least a year to enjoy it before changing to something else!

Lovely looking car, nice to see it came over to Ireland would be a very rare sight over here.

you must have real mixed emotions...and to actualy have them both at the same time wow!

That 166 really looks I bet you will miss it. I Hope you told the new owner about AO

Ok, what can I say then - discussed this with Stephen yesterday, the two cars are obviously not comparable as they are aimed at different markets.

The V6 is really smooth and has awesome power delivery that always makes me smile - 4k revs and all hell breaks loose! The 5 cylinder reaches maximum torque at 2k revs but as it is a diesel looses punch at 4.5k revs - Mega power again which would not be a let down to any V6 owner. From take off the diesel has a fair rattle but once going it is great and the turbo kick is a joy. I miss the window down V6 burble and growl, now a taxi rattle through town but a suprisingly nice throaty growl when shifting.

Handling is great in the Brera but with 32k miles and only 2 years under its belt all is fresh. I felt that the 166 was great with the Ti option pack but Stephen is desperate to fit the Bilsteins but is biased and spoiled by having these on his existing 166 already!

The Brera interior is very nice and growing on me more although it does have a tad of wannae be German feel - The stalks and steering wheel are very functional and lacking the 166 design and finese. Obviously the Brera is lacking space - In my normal seating position there is no legroom behind me, luckily there is only the three of us and my daughter is only six! Adults would really struggle in the rear. I think we will really miss the 166 space on our trip to France this year! I can see part of the split fold seat being down in the Brera just to fit lugage in, and the wife is already talking about dumping cases in favour of squashy bags! The Brera has a fair boot but not a patch on the 166.
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On my final run in the 166 I travelled about 110 miles in a couple of hours at some high speeds, was very capable and showed over 30 mpg on the ICS - Probably around 28mpg in reality but very good for the drive it had. The Brera would produce around 42mpg on the same run at a guess - In my 6 days of ownership I have averaged 38mpg in Brera which would be around 25mpg in the 166.

Styling wise the Brera seems to really have it - Comments have been plenty and actually embarassing at some points due to the attention received. 166 still looks really good though - The facelift can still cut it with modern alfa range in my eyes although GT and 156 cannot!

Stephen is an AO user - That is how 166 came to be his!

Nice looking cars, obviously the 166 is better !
38mpg from the Brera sounds good compared to what most say on the other forum who indicate averages of low 30's, you must be pleased with that.
How long before a remap? I believe its the law with all these turbo diesel thingies

Nice comments and photos Dougie. How you manage that kind of consumption in the Brera is beyond me.

Not sure about remap although it is suposed to produce 252bhp and more mpg! Still under warranty for around a year so may reconsider then - Enough power to keep me happy at present and worry is that it may cause issues with clutch, gearbox etc, etc. which is often the issue with quick power gains!

Fraser - Computer showed 36mpg for my 330 miles of driving, brimmed it and calculated myself at 38mpg. Refreshing to beat the computer for a change!

Suppose thats the best plan if still under warranty.
Didn't seem to bother a guy at work who bought one identical black one to yours when they first came out and had it remapped by Angel in the first week!
He traded it in 3 weeks later because the mpg wasn't as good as his golf tdi and found it too slow and uncomfortable aswell! I think he has had about 4 cars since

Remap is apparently undetectable so probably better doing when still in warranty - Problem is I just can't lie and would get caught out!

I had tried a 2.4 159 a couple of years ago and was not impresed at all - It was new though. This was obviously the issue - They need to be run in, I tried two Breras 2.4s both 2 years old (one with 20k miles and the one I bought with 32k miles) - Both were flying machines and would certainly keep up with a 166 3.2. Comfort is fine, plenty of adjustment available to get right for each person - Seats are firmer than the 166 but to be expected, certainly nothing like the solid seats in a GTA.

Both those cars look fantastic. The Brera looks very purposeful.

both cars look great -

The 166 Ti is a rare beast though.

your mpg for your Brera is

Originally Posted by Dougie166

Remap is apparently undetectable so probably better doing when still in warranty.

RedDot used to do it and would keep your original map safe, in case you wanted or needed to change back. They always claimed improved power and fuel consumption, which is a nice combination .

Originally Posted by Dougie166

I had tried a 2.4 159 a couple of years ago and was not impresed at all - It was new though. This was obviously the issue - They need to be run in

That's certainly interesting. Might be tempted myself if I could get decent performance and 40mpg...

Incidentally, Dougie, how do the interiors of the 159 and Brera compare? You mentioned that the Brera is a bit functional inside. Is it the same with the 159?

159 and Brera interiors are the same up front - In my pictures you can see the squarish looking stalks with buttons on them which all seems complicated but is fairly easy to pick up. What I liked about the 166 was the simple two stalk system even with cruise control - 166 can get away with it though as lights are on a separate dash switch.

Dougie I'm sure you know that I'm a grippy swine from Aberdeen. and I Can't image spending large amounts on a car. but now I see your black Brera


God it looks like a million pounds!

Stuart

Cheers Stu, as said before it does attract a lot of attention - Takes me back to my fiat coupe days! What is that? it looks amazing! How fast does it go? Have you won the lottery? Just some of the comments received

it does look amazing....very very cool in black! You've got a great eye for a car Dougie

Glad your happy with the Brera Dougie, black is ok but Alfa red is where the action is ! We should meet up sometime to compare.

Ori