[twincamms]

Hi

I don't know much about this engine, is it any good? 1.8 seems meagre for a 1600kg car. I've seen a nice 159 with this variant but am unsure of wether it's a good power unit or not.

All comments and opinions appreciated.

Cheers.

 

[Alfa-Red]

Hi

I don't know much about this engine, is it any good? 1.8 seems meagre for a 1600kg car. I've seen a nice 159 with this variant but am unsure of wether it's a good power unit or not.

All comments and opinions appreciated.

Cheers.

Propper all GM unit, same engine in the astra, vectra, corsa etc, and its a poo, gutless piece of err.....poo:rant:

 

[cj romeo]

Its really, really, weak in this application, its quite quiet, but you use a load of throttle, so its not even economical.

Spend a little more and go for a 1.9 Jtd if youre on a tight budget.

 

[Hunter]

MPI engine is sloooooow and thirsty. Wouldn't bother TBH :tut: Far better off with a base 1.9jtd at CJ says.

 

[paulmacs]

Driven it in a Vauxhall and it was pants - can only imagine how bad it is pulling a 159.

 

[twincamms]

Ok chaps, thanks for the feedback.

I test drove a 1.9JTS, it was very weak. I thought the 1.8MPI was an improved replacement. Oh, well, I'll have to hold out for a diesel.

This is the car that inspired the question, it looks a good deal to be honest, opinions please........

2007 ALFA ROMEO 159 1.8 MPI Turismo 4dr Saloon

 

[paulmacs]

it does look like a lovely example but the engine is just so weak you may end up regretting it...

the 2.2 is a MUCH stronger engine if you want a petrol.

 

[Hunter]

Good price, nice looking car, great alloys, weak engine spoils it

 

[Squadrone Rosso]

The 140 bhp (IIRC) in Clare's old Astra SRi from 2001 was good. Quick car with a great chassis & very well built too. Great dealership in Rugby as well.

Makes me wonder why she bought an Alfa

 

[NordicI55]

The 1.8MPI is the most frugal petrol engine in the 159 at the moment (new 1750 TBI may be better) and it is a very good unit giving little or no trouble. It doesnt have the character or fantastic sound of the Twin Spark but gets the job done. Remember the 1.8MPI is significantly lighter than any other 159 weighing just 1385kg, good bang for your buck if you ask me.

 

[andypj]

If you're coming out of a GT I think you may feel disappointed. My own experience with a 1.9jts and a 1.9jtdm is that the 1.9JTDm is just so, so much better. But as with any car you've really got to try it yourself.

 

[twincamms]

Varied opinions.

So, who on here owns one and can give an impartial review?

 

[greenalfa2009]

I own one!

Hi there,

I bought my 2006 1.8mpi 159 tourismo when the car was 4 or 5 months old. I upgraded from a 1.8TS 156 and a 1.8 petrol audi.

For my two cents the 1.8mpi is a good balance between economy and power. She sounds nice and throaty when she's pushed and my boss prefers driving my car to his 1.9 Audi A4 diesel.

I've got 84K km on the clock and the engine is still smooth and completely trouble free. The only issues I've had have been told to use 10 40 oil by the alfa dealer parts guy in limerick rather than the fully synth 5 40 stuff on two occasions. As a result the oil changes have been way (way!) overdue, but engine shows no sign of premature wear etc., thank God.

My trip computer always hovers around the 7.9l per km (35mpg-ish) on long trips (non-motorway roads here in ireland) and 8.4 (33mpg) on mixture of driving. But i'm kinda sensible rather than a stig.

BUT as much as i continue to love the car, if i could do it again, i'd get the diesel. It wasn't an option for me in 06 due to the extra cost, buts there's some fantastic value in the uk now on diesel.

 

[cj romeo]

The 1.8MPI is the most frugal petrol engine in the 159 at the moment .

I ran for a week and it used the same amount of fuel as my 20Valve Jtd, whilst having no torque and being averse to revving.

It does drive better for having less weight though.

It has all the perfromance of a 1.3 litre Escort

 

[TribesMan]

I think it is enough for every day use of an average driver (not average alfisti). It does 10.4s 0-100kph. Thats not so bad.

If one can live with Audi 1.6 A4 (previous model) this should be more than acceptable (that Audi does 12.9s 0-100kph).

 

[cj romeo]

I had a 1.6 litre 156 which I found to be a great revvy eager car - the 1.8MPI in a 159 is not its successor, so I'm not being a capacity snob.

The MPI feels much slower than the1.6TS despite similar performance numbers.

 

[paulmacs]

thats because the 1.6 120TS is a peach of an engine!

 

[twincamms]

Ok, ok, so the 1.8 MPI is a dog. What's the 2.2JTS like? Is it better than the 1.9JTD?

Reports please............................

 

[Hunter]

Different engines totally.

The 2.2 is a solid engine but can be thirsty and suffers from hesitation that can be cured with induction mods or a remap. You need to rev it pretty hard to make fast progress.

The 1.9 is less thirsty (still likes a drink compared to VAG dervs for example), more torque, less revs, marginally heavier at the nose and can suffer from DPF issues if not nipped in the bud early.

Depends if you're a rev monster or torque king driver.

Either way they're better than the 1.8mpi

 

[twincamms]

So the general concensus is move away from Alfa and buy a VAG car?