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Brera / Spider V6 – 16 mpg!

8K views 94 replies 30 participants last post by  Pud237 
#1 ·
This has been a well discussed topic. My lovely Spider have now just past 3000 miles. I am still getting only around 16 mpg!!! Most of my driving is a mixture of motor way and regular driving. I love the sound of the engine – but it is hardly ticking over 3000 rpm and fifth and six gear are often in use.

According the dealer the fuel consumption will improve. I did 15.8 mpg on the last tank!:wow: When parked the car I can often smell fuel. When purchasing a V6 I knew it would use more fuel then a V4. According to the instruction book it should do 24.5 – I have never done better then 16.2 on longer drives.

I am seriously thinking of taking some actions against Alfa UK. The gap between what the car is capable of and what they are selling is too much. Total cost of ownership is higher then expected. I really enjoy the car – but not to any price.
 
#64 ·
Have you seen the specs for the new Audi A5? The 3litre V6 turbo diesel does 0-60 in 5.9 secs. Not too shabby (esp for an old smokey).

But then - it combined fuel economy is a claimed 39mpg!!!! :wow:

I don't think you'll get both of those at once though. But rather impressive, nonetheless, what?
 
#72 ·
I was a tad surprised that no-one commented on this - is it taboo?!?!?!

Anyway, that's not the reason for this posting.

I was thinking about my comment earlier - that I always seem to get 19mpg, regardless of my driving style - it really doesn't seem to add up, so I went back to check my calculations. I have a spreadsheet (yes I am that sad!), so it was pretty easy to double-check.

And lo and behold, I did find an error. When driving "normally" I am getting 19.0-19.5 mpg. When I take it really easily it does go up - but it really does only go up to about 22, but only then when driving 90% on the motorway.

So I would quote the mpg figures for my car something like as follows:-
16mpg Urban
22mpg Extra-urban
19mpg Combined
 
#66 ·
Checked my trip computers the other day before the car was in the dealers...

last 4500 miles (computer B) showed 24.3 MPG that is a mix of motorway x-country and manchester commute including some regular serious welly

last 1000 miles is 24.6

last tank is 24.8 indicated but 24.5 by measurement.

I only got 50litres in last refill from an empty gauge for my 72 litre tank - the problem seems to have developed over time - but I'm still getting the best part of 280 miles on a tank empty to empty...

Of course my run to lemans and back this month if I can only use 2/3 of a tank are going to be a pain in the arse. Strangely enough I started off getting about 280 to a full tank it seems to be getting better over time - I'm over 14K now. As for fuel I seem to like to change regularly between v-power and regular shell especially given the price of v-power. I'm on my 3rd tank of regular since I last put v-power in I may wait till I get back from france before giving her another shot...

Simes.
 
#67 · (Edited)
I got my lovely car back after four days at the garage. Did not rush them – allowed them to keep it until the job was done.

The fuel issue was them main topic even though they had three other issues to work on this time. According to the garage they have done what they can do – and there was nothing wrong with the car!

Was told that they got 21-22 mpg out of the car! How they did that I don’t really know. Might have driven behind a lorry on M4 over a few miles in sixth gear for everything I know? I honest believe that the garage did what they could. It is now down to Alfa UK.

A few statements I am questing:

Was told that the fuel conception was depended of how much fuel here was in the tank. With a full thank the fuel conception would be considerable higher. In my mind this is completely bullocks. Yes I do understand that a heavier car spend more fuel. But if you add 70 kilo (70 litre fuel) to a 1760 kilo car without any luggage except for a 80 kilo driver the difference is close to nothing! We are talking normal driving here – not competition.

I also understood that there “might be a slightly disagreement” in how to measure fuel consumption. My understanding of how they got down to 21-22 is: The engine was wormed up. Then driven to the highway M4 – up to 50-60 miles in sixth gear, before the computer was reset! Then the car was driven for a few miles. The computer the showed 21-22 mpg! Dear service manager - this is not how you measure fuel conception!

Was also told that the car needs to be driven in! OK – I can accept that. Personally I think with the new technology car this will only give a marginal difference. It will not change from low 16 to 22-23. That difference is too big. The car have now done just under 3000K and been steady around 16 mpg.

To compare: I drove home from the garage. Before I took off the computer was reset. On purpose I did not have the fuel display visible when I drove home (it just makes me depressed). Had a normal drive home, some of it on the same highway, then some country road. The verdict: Distance 14.5 miles! Average speed 31. Then the number: 15.0 mpg! I drove as careful as I could! This was a short trip – so the number would not be that good, but I had no traffic, I did not hammer the car!

What type of fuel I give the car. Have only given her high octan fuel, mainly from Total. I would prefer Shell v-power but my local is Total.

At present I don’t know what my next action would be. Could sell it – cover my losses - and get a DB7 or DB9 – in terms of fuel conception – it would be around the same! Or get the new Audi S5 (V8 with 400 something) around the same numbers. Alfa UK – please fix it and come up with a solution. You know very well who I am.

If you are still reading – please do not misunderstand. I just love the car! But everything got it’s price.
 
#68 ·
Mogle...

Try just using decent 95 ron for a few tanks rather than v-power or whatever it is total call their super and see what happens.

Mine is running well on shell 95... I've tried Vpower and Tesco99 and while they may clean the engine my economy and performance on 95 is little different - although this was not the case when the engine was low mileage.

Simes.

Simes.
 
#71 ·
Guys,

I've got a 159 3.2L and have similar issues. The car is going to dealer next week to have a "software upgrade" specifically for fuel economy.

Let you know how I get along

Cheers
 
#73 ·
I mentioned before doing a business commute between London and Warsaw in a Brera V6. For expense purposes I kept a close eye on fuel and mileage. I was not hanging about and any opportunity to go flat out was taken.
Worst high speed motorway run 25.3 mpg
Best motorway run 27.6 mpg.
Worst city traffic 12.7 mpg ( near enough 1st gear crawl and climate control on, stationary for long periods.)
Best city 16.mpg.
I was getting similar numbers from my Lexus GS300 although the best motorway figure was around the 32 mpg and I did once get this up to the 36’s, cruise control on, sitting at 70…..but got bored!).

There has to be something very wrong with some of the numbers posted.
 
#76 ·
Mogle,

If I were in your shoes and determined to solve this I would try the following:

- Do a rolling road session with a wideband lambda sensor stuck in the exhaust(s) to see if there's any unburnt fuel (too rich air/fuel ratio) coming out of the catalytic converter.
- Have the timing belts checked for correct timing.
- Check/Change the MAF.
- Check/Change the lambda (HEGO) sensor(s).

The order depends on how much money each action will cost you. You could try to check the MAF and Lambda readings with an OBD monitoring software comparing their readings with "known good ones", maybe from a car that does better mileage.

I understand that this requires personal time but maybe it is the only way to find out what's wrong with the car; and something is definitely wrong.
 
#77 ·
Last tank - 14.8 mpg!

The car has been looked at by the dealer and my Alfa UK. (The dealer drove the car Alfa UK in Slough.) According to both of them there is nothing wrong with the car!

I don't think we are living on the same planet!
 
#78 ·
I get about 20mpg these days, which is up a smidgen on what I had been previously getting.

The problem is (I think) more generic, although varied, across all three of the new engines. I don't know why the quoted figures are unattainable, but the problem is that the engineers cannot attribute it to anything they can actually fix - therefore admitting there's a "fault" is something they can't really do. "Driving style" is the usual comment trotted out.

I really don't think there is anything that can be done about this - but I hope I am wrong. I will get a new Brera in September - it will be interesting to see whether I get comparable mpg (I won't be changing my driving style).
 
#79 ·
Some of the MPG figures in this thread are :eek:

Just to thoroughly annoy you all ;) My Spider is getting 44mpg on a run and between 23-30 when being driven enthusiastically.

OK I dont have the lovely V6 sound, but getting nigh on 600 miles from a tank is nothing to be sniffed at!

Hope some of the issues the other posters are having get resolved.

EB
 
#81 ·
Much as it grieves me to say this, I don't see how anyone could now chose the V6 Brera/Spider over the 2.4 JTD versions. And I've had, and loved, many beautiful V6 Alfas over the years, but the current V6s just aren't the same. Remapping the diesel is a relatively painless and inexpensive way to match the power output of the V6 (or alternatively increase the MPG figures). And the 4WD 2.4 JTD will be available in a year or so. It's a no-brainer!
 
#82 ·
I test drove the diesel Brera first and really didn't like it. It's personal preference, of course, but I found the steering un-pleasant (presumably due to the nose weight). I was persuaded by the dealer to try the petrol. Glad I did. I preferred the 2.2 - but the 3.2 was the one for me!! Sounds great... has excellent throttle response and nicer handling.

The AWD diesel might well be here in a year or so - but I could hardly wait 2-years or more on the off-chance it might be a more enjoyable drive than the 3.2.
 
#83 ·
As far as diesels go...

the new 2.4 210hp diesel (just a remap fromthe 200) in the MY08 range has a Q2 option. I'm waiting for a spin in one when it arrives @ mangos.

Of course the one to really wait for is the new biturbo 1.9 188Bhp. much less weight and better economy and drivability - hopefully also with Q2. this was reported in the aroc newsletter this month.

I'm thinking of this versus the V6 if/when I do the swap to a spider, the AWD system on the brera is just too good but I ask myself would a Q2 system do me just as well. The devil in me wants a supercharger conversion though...

arrrgh - I hate choices...
 
#84 ·
I'm thinking of this versus the V6 if/when I do the swap to a spider, the AWD system on the brera is just too good but I ask myself would a Q2 system do me just as well.
Have to say that the Q4 worked brilliantly getting out of the Goodwood Festival of Mud car park this year. Really amusing watching all those rwd BMWs and RX8s spinning away!

Heh! :D
 
#86 ·
The wife wants to get one of those 'Smart' car matchboxes, with a claimed 70+mpg? Reading the small print,(with magnifying glass:) overall 40mpg or something!:(: ) I have told her, I could not endure the shame of allowing such a poor excuse for automotive transport near our 'patch'.:): I draw the conclusion that a lot of these claimed mpg figures are well wide of the mark, almost a load of 'Bull'. You have been warned.:D
 
#94 ·
Sorry matey the numbers are not far off,

We've had a for 2, and a roadster... the petrol for 2 returns over 50 to the gallon on the motorway. the roadster around 45 and was a total hoot to drive - roll on the Kimber project.. I did bolton, Basingstoke, walsall on a single 28 litre tank... the numbers you will be seing are the I expect for the diesel and well over 60 to the gallon on the old for2 diesel (LHD only) were not uncommon....

The 4 2 convertible is a really good city car - nuff said.

Simes.
 
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