New Brera

Good afternoon folks,

I am just about to invest in a Alfa Romeo Brera 3.2 JTS V6 but I'm torn as to which spec to go for, do i go for the manual or do i go for the QTRONIC with the Steering wheel gear shift paddles... choices choices??? Now before i go ahead and make my decision, who better to ask, with your combined infinite wisdom of all things Alfa Romeo, yes you guys!

In your honest opinions, what do you feel is the better option to have?

Also do you have any other additional tips on what options are a 'must have' on this car and those that should be avoided at all costs?

Your help is greatly appreciated.

Nator

Hmm, if I was you I would be tempted to wait for the 3.2 FWD which is coming 0ut shortly - 100 kilos lighter!!!

As for the gear box, apparently the manual is faster I think? Never tried the Qtronic with paddles.

One toy you asbolutely must have is the Blue & Me - voice-activated bluetooth system for any mobile, and connection for USB music devices including memory sticks and ipods. Scrolling menu comes up on dash to read through ipod. And all for just £300. Comes to about £800 if you spec that on an Audi or BMW!

Agree that the Blue&Me is a must have, otherwise the 3.2 is pretty well spec'd as standard so it just comes down to personal choice re. style of wheels, colour of paint, colour of leather etc.

Commanderfish and Mr-T, thank you very much for your help.

Any ideas on when the 3.2 FWD is to be released?

I had the Blue & Me on the wish list so I've just put a definite tick beside that option.

Do you feel Frau Pieno Fiore Leather is worth the additional £1400 investment or is the standard leather interior perfectly good?

Other than that I fancy the Carbonio Black (possibly Misano Blue), Wire Spoke Alloys, Bose Stereo and Bi-Xenons... sound good?

I'd go for Misano Blue over the black myself.. How much is the Bose? Might be worth dropping that and investing in aftermarket speakers, which are generally better and cheaper.. Bi-Xenons are

Does anyone yet know if the 3.2 FWD will be fitted with a Q2 differential?

Cheers Pud237. I haven't seen a Misano Blue Brera in the flesh so it's difficult to compare.

As for the Bose Sound System with Digital Amp, it's an additional £600!

By the 3.2 FWD do you mean the Brera J5 3.2 C?

Hello and Welcome

Hello and thank you

Originally Posted by Nator

I fancy the Carbonio Black, Wire Spoke Alloys.........

That's the combination I have and personally think it's the dog's danglies. Just my opinion of course!

As for the leather, I think the standard stuff is bloomin' good and would rather spend that £1400 on something else.

A Mexican virgin to gently waft you as you cruise along perhaps? Or have they gone up from £1400 since I last bought one?

Hello and Welcome !!

Get the Bose and B&M and avoid auto lights and wipers IMO !!

Oh and make sure it's Carbonio Black

Originally Posted by Nator

Cheers Pud237. I haven't seen a Misano Blue Brera in the flesh so it's difficult to compare.

I've seen one once, it is a stunning colour. Stands out so much from everything else on the road. The Brera looks gorgeous in black and red, but this blue is unique, no other car I know of gets this sort of gorgeous blue..

Originally Posted by Nator

As for the Bose Sound System with Digital Amp, it's an additional £600!

Thats not a bad price, but you could get a better aftermarket set-up for £600.. 8" or 10" subwoofer (with amp) in the rear, and change the 4 door speakers for some high quality off-the-shelf stuff and you'll probably get a better sound than you would with the Bose, especially at high volume. I've never experienced the Bose system in the Brera, but I've heard a few other Bose systems and been disappointed with their performance, more so as you increase the volume.

Originally Posted by Nator

By the 3.2 FWD do you mean the Brera J5 3.2 C?

No, at the moment you can only get the Brera 3.2 in Q4 form (4-wheel-drive).. But Alfa will start to sell the Brera 3.2 in front-wheel-drive form soon, the car is 100 kilo's lighter, and also will suffer only 20% or so transmission loss, rather than the 33-35% in the Q4 set up. So about 30-40 more horsepower gets through to the wheels, and the car is lighter as well, which will improve braking and fuel economy. Obviously though, front-wheel-drive will supposedly handle less well, but you don't buy a Brera to take round a race track anyway, it is an out and out cruiser so it shouldn't really matter which are the driven wheels.

The Brera 3.2 J5 C is AutoDelta's supercharged version of the Brera, and is very quick!

Originally Posted by nomad

Get the Bose and B&M and avoid auto lights and wipers IMO !!

Agreed about the auto lights and wipers, just unnecessary stuff with more potential to go wrong if you ask me. Disagree about the Bose though, you could get a lot more soundsystem for your money elsewhere.

Folks,

Right then, this is the weapon of choice:

Carbonio Black
Blue & Me
18" Wire Spoke Alloys
Bi-Xenons
(Still undecided on the Bose)

I will probably wait for the FWD though and go for the manual, no point having an automatic with paddle gears on a FWD, plus it's only more gizmo's to go wrong!

Thank you very much for all your help, it is much appreciated!

Get the Q4,that is one of the reasons the car is so great to drive.A simple remap from Autodelta will more than compensate for the 100kg weight difference.The Q4 is the best handling car I have driven,no torque steer,grip in the wet,so safer and would be much nicer to drive,you need to drive both before you order and I mean on your B class roads and back lanes so you can appreciate the difference.

Originally Posted by Kanga

Get the Q4,that is one of the reasons the car is so great to drive.A simple remap from Autodelta will more than compensate for the 100kg weight difference.The Q4 is the best handling car I have driven,no torque steer,grip in the wet,so safer and would be much nicer to drive,you need to drive both before you order and I mean on your B class roads and back lanes so you can appreciate the difference.

Q2 diff will sort out the torque steer, Q4 doesn't offer more grip in the wet, only the ability to put down more power in the wet before the the wheels spin and traction control kicks in.. Handling isn't to do with the driven wheels, its to do with balance, I don't think the Q4 handles so well because it is 4-wheel-drive, but because it is a well balanced car. With 100kg less weight and 30-40 more hp at the wheels you'll be able to corner faster, brake later and accelerate faster, which is why I think the FWD Q2 will be the one to go for.

But I do agree you should drive both before ordering, in which case it'll be quite a long wait until the dealer gets one of the new ones in, so hold off for the time being.

Pud,it is a known and proven fact that AWD offers more grip in the wet that is because they can put more power down with all 4 wheels and create more grip . When an AWD car races a 2wd car in the wet(motor racing) it wins by far.How much experience have you had with AWD cars vs FWD cars?I have owned 4 FrontWD Alfas with 370,00kms between them on country roads(including 20,000km in UK and Europe),4 four wheel drive Toyota landcruisers(offroad and on road and 2 Nissan Patrols(offroad and on road) 1 RWD Alfa GTV 2.0 72,000 kms, 1 FrontWD Saab 900 Turbo 130,000kms,1 Subaru AWD WRX 50,000kms,1 Subaru Liberty 3RB AWD 94,000kms and my present 159Q4 so far 22,000kms and the AWD cars are safer in the wet and mud and other than the Landcruisers and Patrols were by far the best to drive and I have to include the RWD GTV in that too.

Hi Nator welcome, lots of great info on here as you can see, enjoy

Originally Posted by Kanga

Pud,it is a known and proven fact that AWD offers more grip in the wet that is because they can put more power down with all 4 wheels and create more grip

Originally Posted by Kanga

the AWD cars are safer in the wet and mud

Grip comes from the contact between the tyres and the road, it doesn't matter whether they are driven or not. You can put more power down in an AWD car in poor grip conditions, that is true, its because each wheel is getting less overall power, so they just transfer it to the road rather than over come the grip that the tyres offer. Four wheels putting down 50bhp each won't brake traction but 2 wheels putting down 100bhp each will. But when it comes to handling and cornering, as in how much lateral g force can the tyres can take before they slide, it doesn't matter which are the driven wheels or how many driven wheels there are, its all about the coefficient of friction between the tyres and the road and the contact area.

Getting more power down in wet/poor grip conditions isn't really anything I'm bothered about anyway..

Welcome onboard

Nator,just make sure you drive both cars on twisty bumpy roads,if you can put up with both torque steer and understeer(especially in the wet and the UK is wet(no pun intended} and feel the extra power is worth the negatives of front wheel drive get the FWD 3.2,Why don't you drive a Q4 and the Front wheel drive Brera now and just see what you like because there may be a big wait for a front wheel drive 3.2 Brera.Personally I find the less power at the wheels is worth the sacrifice.

Folks, again thank you for your help... although the best choice i think is just invest in that £1400 Mexican virgin for the time being!

I'll ask the dealer when he thinks he will have a FWD in to test drive and if it's not long i'll make my choice from driving both, and if it's too long i think i'll just go for the Q4... patience is not one of my virtues especially when i want a new car!

Thanks again

Hi Nator,