So, do I buy an Alfa 75?

[sopranofan]

Was a 156 1.8ts owner.

Anyone prepared to tell me the ups & downs of owning an 75 LE, please? or

[alfapdent]

As the owner of a 156 TS and a 75 TS LE I can say that they are very different experiences.

As to which is best all depends on what sort of driving you do.

The 156 is a sensible modern car that is difficult to make silly mistakes with. The 75 needs more concentration to drive.

The 156 is quiet (ish) and a great motorway cruiser. The 75 can be noisy on a motorway and is more susceptible to sidewinds.

The 75 LE with the correct Recaro seats has some of the best seats I have ever had in a car, but there is a downside to the driving position which is lower leg, ankle and foot ache caused by the accelerator pedal.

A 75 can be a bit scary in ice and snow.

The 75 always feels a little more fragile than a 156, and is of course the last of the Alfa Alfas and hence has a few idiosyncracies (window switches, radio position etc).

I did 94k miles in a 156 in less than 4 years. I am not sure I would want to do that in a 75.

The 156 is a good all-rounder, but the 75 is great fun.

For low annual mileage and a huge grin go for a 75. For high miles all year round - perhaps a 75 is not the best bet.

[scaligeri]

75 for me the joys of stiff ankle bumpyish ride its all the fun ive done quite a few miles in my v6 and yes you have to be 100% on the ball when driving these in wet weather good at drifting,but much as i like the look of the 156's etc front wheel drive is not my cup of tea,take a 75 out drive it then choose

[sopranofan]

Grazie mille!

Informazione excellente.

Your summary of daily/ practical considerations really helps. We both love 156s and, from a pragmatic view, I'm tempted just to replace my loss with another. It's just that my heart is trying to rule...........mmmmmm, p'raps there's a better 'classic' than the 75???? Whaddya say???

[scaligeri]

Yep there is but one day the 75 will be sort after more like the bertie's

[sopranofan]

Wassa 'bertie?'

[vela blue]

Loved my 75 - you pushed it into corners and steered accordingly..Being up in the North East I also had my fair experience of ice and snow during my ownership and if you're sensible it's all predictable and also never let me down. Where I live is quite hilly and I always managed to get home come what may.

Took me ages to re-adjust to front wheel drive in the GTV.

Bry

[alfapdent]

Originally Posted by ricardo1

Wassa 'bertie?'

A Bertie is the common term for a 105 Series Coupe styled by Bertone.

The first was the Sprint GT of around 1966 and they carried on to the middle of the 1970s.

They are good to look at and good to drive, and definately a classic.

They are very different to drive to a 75, but both are great fun.

[alfapdent]

Originally Posted by vela blue

Loved my 75 - you pushed it into corners and steered accordingly..Being up in the North East I also had my fair experience of ice and snow during my ownership and if you're sensible it's all predictable and also never let me down. Where I live is quite hilly and I always managed to get home come what may.

Took me ages to re-adjust to front wheel drive in the GTV.

Bry

I guess it is what you get used to. My first Alfas were Suds and 33s and so a 75 is a whole new driving experience.

[vela blue]

Originally Posted by alfapdent

I guess it is what you get used to. My first Alfas were Suds and 33s and so a 75 is a whole new driving experience.

I guess we have similar backgrounds carwise - 1.3 sud which disolved, 33 Green Cloverleaf which I still have!

[75twinsparky]

148bhp, LSD, 50/50 weight distribution, RWD - what more could you want, especially after you've lowered the rear springs, fitted a fatter ARB, uprated the brakes and fitted 16" rims.... And maybe fitted a CSC exhaust

[sweeney]

I had a 75 LE a good few years back...absolutely wonderful BUT had a near death experience when I spun it on a wet roundabout. The out of control slide went on forever...I discovered the limits to my drifting ability that day AND lived to tell the tale!
Bought a 164 Cloverleaf shortly after that and sold the 75 on to braver soul than I.
best of luck.

[75twinsparky]

Originally Posted by sweeney

I had a 75 LE a good few years back...absolutely wonderful BUT had a near death experience when I spun it on a wet roundabout. The out of control slide went on forever...I discovered the limits to my drifting ability that day AND lived to tell the tale!
Bought a 164 Cloverleaf shortly after that and sold the 75 on to braver soul than I.
best of luck.

So now you understeer into the kerb instead of oversteering.....

[scotchydoodle]

I had a 75 LE until a couple of years ago, I paid £800 quid for it and it was great, family hols down to france with bikes on the back, daily comute to work, annual thrash to Le Mans with lots of burnouts, douts and drifting. Never let me down. Sold it for £900 and bought a 3.0 166. 2 years on and I'm trying to shift the 166 whilst looking for another 75. I'm sure if you live in a city and do a lot of driving in heavy traffic, a modern fwd alfa will be a lot easier to live with. If you live in a more rural area, and can have a bit of space to push a car harder, the a 75 is hard to beat. just keep on top of the back brakes and jacking points.

[sweeney]

Yep, but preferred seeing the object I was about to hit through the windscreen rather than in the rear view mirror.

Ah but such concerns are a distant memory in the 166 3.0

[sweeney]

That last post was in answer to this..

So now you understeer into the kerb instead of oversteering.....

[LE75]

I'd go for a 75 LE mate. I have owned x3 3.0 V6 cloverleafs and x2 Twin sparks. The twin spark is far much better with the handling and i had one of the best in the country with 54,000 miles. I sold her 2 years ago and regretted it ever since She is now available according to her present owner if you really want a decent one with all the important work completed. PM me for his contact details.

BTW my old twin spark 75 was as quick as my stepdad's remapped 156 selespeed I was over the moon cas i expected to taste the dust but he did sometimes

[Dieselnightmare]

I've recently driven a couple of 75 TS as courtesy cars while my 156 has been in the garage. Personally, I rate the ride of the 75 above the 156 any day and the cornering limits are such that the 156 will be left behind on any road with uneven surfaces or bends etc. They are obviously c20 years old and have their weaknesses. However, the 75 ts I had for five years is the only car I still regret selling. Good luck.

[75twinsparky]

Despite the credit crunch, despite me not having any proper regular work for months, my 75 is not and never will be for sale, I love her that much..... Last summer I took a mate out in it for a short spin, he was so impressed he threw caution to the wind and replaced his jap reliability monster for a 147!

[Mound Dawg]

I've had a couple.

Current one is a 75 Le that cost me £800. Previous owner (a mate) fitted a Veloce kit to it and it has the Veloce wheels from my previous car.

I do 90 miles a day in it on the motorway (to and from work). At a steady 70 mph it does 40mpg. No problems with the driving position for me but then I've removed the Recaro drivers seat (hole in the cloth) and fitted the Sparco Rev race seat which went "out of date" in our race car.

At the Nurburgring last June it lapped "bridge to gantry" in 9 minutes 48 seconds (up yours, Clarkson!). Not many £800 cars will do that. Suspension was standard then apart from Koni Sports but it now (as of this Tuesday night!) has our new handling kit which kills the body roll without making it uncomfortable or reducing the ground clearance.

It also has a CSC exhaust taken from the last one I owned too after I blew the old stock one apart at the 'Ring. Makes a good "parp" but I'm not convinced there's a performance gain.

Not sure what all these references to "watch the handling" are about, it's a bloody DRIVER'S CAR for God's sake! Understeering front wheel drive cars are for jessies.

[75twinsparky]

Originally Posted by Mound Dawg

Not sure what all these references to "watch the handling" are about, it's a bloody DRIVER'S CAR for God's sake! Understeering front wheel drive cars are for jessies.

Here Here!!!!

[Dieselnightmare]

I agree with you, Jim, mostly. Thinking back, the one note of caution re: the handling is that the 75 does need to be set up by someone who really knows what they are doing. I had mine serviced/maintained by a good independent, but the handling did used to vary when from service to service. Then I moved house and started to deal with Wayne Ellett/ EMC (hence the courtesy cars), and the difference resulting from an ordinary service with no modifications was unbelievable. Mind you, they do make reasonable track day cars even when not set up particularly well- the 156 does not, IMHO.

[sweeney]

For what it's worth my earlier comment on handling should have been prefaced by the fact that the first proper car I had was an 1983 Alfetta 2.0 saloon...which I ran for 3 years - in the early 90s (should have put it in a garage and kept it ) Similar rear drive idea but never had a bad experience...
Perhaps Dieselnighmare's comments on set up may have had something to do with it.

love to get another Alfetta!

[realdriver]

I've owned a 146 2.0 TS, a 156 2.0 TS, a GTV V6 3.0 and am on my second 75 3.0. IMHO there is no comparison. The Fiat era cars will never match the 75 (even with the V6), even if they are more comfortable and feel more robust. The 75 is one of the last true drivers saloons.

[potenziata]

ok...you asked, so im going to give you pearls here. buy a 3.0 75. a v6 75 is the most brilliant all round practical sports sedan in the world. the 2.0 engine is great, and they do handle fractionally better than the v6. BUT, the v6 is the one. there is no comparison really..the smoothness, the flexibility, the throttle response, the blood curdling induction noise, the utterly bullet proof mechanical reliability...get the picture? if these are the things you find important in a car, then the answer is clear cut.
the thing is, to buy a really good one, that has been repaired and serviced the way these cars deserve to be, and it will be the most glorious realiable, thrilling car you will ever own...this side of spending huge money on an exotic.
my 75 has 410000klms on the original engine, and it still go's and feels the way it did when i bought it 10 years ago, and i drive this thing like its stolen i kid you not. and i cannot kill it. its utterly staggering what i have dished out to my car, and it feels like its done 100k..and had an easy life, the build quality, and overall stature of a 75 is so missunderstood really......people have got no idea how great they are. i still get exited by driving mine to work everyday..i will never part with it! and i challenge any manufacturer, or model of any car, that can take a flogging like theses cars can, and still feel great 20 years later. a masterpiece? to say the least.