[ajcarter]

This.... is the replacement for the GTA. Am I mad? Perhaps, but not doing 25k a year in a 3.2 V6. I've got my bomb proof flame suit on

Something's wrong with this one... the indicators work


It's a completely different drive to the GTA - no steering feel, no quick rack (it seems about twice as much!), no brake feel, etc - but no suspension clunks at last It's a nice tourer, gives a very relaxed drive. Absolutely no character though, guess you can't have it all. Alfa NEED to go back to rwd.

 

[alfaholic]

I'm sure you'll be very happy....

It's a completely different drive to the GTA - no steering feel, no quick rack (it seems about twice as much!), no brake feel, etc - but no suspension clunks at last It's a nice tourer, gives a very relaxed drive. Absolutely no character though, guess you can't have it all. Alfa NEED to go back to rwd.

so Alfa NEED RWD to have no steering feel, no quick rack ,no brake feel, etc

 

[ajcarter]

I'm sure you'll be very happy....

so Alfa NEED RWD to have no steering feel, no quick rack ,no brake feel, etc

No, I wasn't listing those as the merits of the car They are the aspects I miss from any Alfa.

Due to my lazy english, I'll now rephrase what I meant - after driving a rwd car again for all of 2 days, as fun as Alfa can make a fwd car, I'm just imagining what they could do if they were to switch to rwd

 

[Guest]

Aaaarrgghhh, what is going on. People seem to be buying Ovlovs or bmw....you have my commiserations

wrinx

 

[Gary Slegg]

Something's wrong with this one... the indicators work

Yeah, ther's something else wrong, the front foglights are off

 

[Guest]

Aaaarrgghhh, what is going on. People seem to be buying Ovlovs or bmw....you have my commiserations

wrinx

But the curious thing is, they're normally still on here to say they don't really like their new car as much as their Alfa :lol:

 

[Roswell]

AJ, I think you should post pictures of your other car to add balance to this discussion.

 

[Gary Slegg]

This.... is the replacement for the GTA. Am I mad?
.

Yes

Looking at the photo's, the interior is nearly as unimaginative as the exterior (which is really saying something). How come you didn't go for a 156 or 159?

 

[mattireland]

ajcarter, im here to offer you support, please contact me at any time if the flaming gets too much :lol:

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f264/mattireland/avatar.jpg

but obviously i miss

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f264/mattireland/image1.jpg

 

[ajcarter]

But the curious thing is, they're normally still on here to say they don't really like their new car as much as their Alfa :lol:

It's not fun like the Alfa was. It's a nice car, but a little dull - the alfa gives a much purer driving experience. Both cars have their own merits.

 

[ajcarter]

AJ, I think you should post pictures of your other car to add balance to this discussion.

I've posted them them before, but a brief refresher to prove I've not lost the italian car enthusiast spirit:

http://upload.alfa145.com/files/1/Alfa 145/brakes.JPG

http://upload.alfa145.com/files/1/Alfa 145/interior.jpg

http://upload.alfa145.com/files/1/Alfa 145/rear.jpg

Waiting for me to finish building a fiat 16vt engine to be fitted

Will be sadly missed:

http://upload.alfa145.com/files/1/147 GTA/alfa romeo.jpg

http://upload.alfa145.com/files/1/147 GTA/147.jpg

http://upload.alfa145.com/files/1/147 GTA/gta.jpg

 

[Roswell]

Much better.

 

[ajcarter]

Yes

Looking at the photo's, the interior is nearly as unimaginative as the exterior (which is really saying something). How come you didn't go for a 156 or 159?

Yes the interior is quite bland, ergonomically it is well laid out though.
TBH I got fed up with the GTA - I had no end of problems after 2 years and ~40k, I have had so many components replaced under warranty it is frankly a joke. The suspension knock is still outstanding and I imagine will never be solved. I got fed up of having to do massive detours to the garage for them to 'investigate' it for a few days, and as I was racking up the mileage more things were breaking. Like the gearbox, for example. I still wanted something with a fair bit of poke, and whilst the later 156's do have that, I just felt I wanted a change - the GTA was originally my company car, I then bought it off the company and took an allowance, which worked out better. As the depreciation has now really hit home hard, I had to make a financial decision, especially to save on fuel. 25k a year at 20-22 mpg doesn't come cheap.

I test drove a 159, and yes it was a nice drive - but no way will I buy a brand new one at that price, it will only plummet, hard. I had a nosey over a gorgeous black Brera yesterday, and my god that is sex on wheels. So the financial decision is to run a bmw for 1-2 years, then pickup a brera, after depreciation has hit them

I've still got the 145, and this is the first non-Italian car I've owned.

 

[selespeed]

There is one big plus about this BMW: it is not designed by Chris Bangle

I really like the previous range with the M Coupe (based on Z3) as the best of them all.

Congrats with your 3 series though. I would never consider giving up a GTA for a BMW, especially not when someone else pays the fuel bills.

 

[ajcarter]

There is one big plus about this BMW: it is not designed by Chris Bangle

I really like the previous range with the M Coupe (based on Z3) as the best of them all.

Congrats with your 3 series though. I would never consider giving up a GTA for a BMW, especially not when someone else pays the fuel bills.

Me was paying the fuel bills. Whilst I could claim back business mileage, my private mileage was high due to a long commute.

 

[selespeed]

Please guys, don't show pictures that are too large, they mess up the board's layout

 

[ajcarter]

Sorry, didn't realise it was a problem, surprised there is no auto resizer though, even for linked pictures?

What is the new forum's recommended/max resolution, I've not read anything anywhere, so could well have missed it?

 

[selespeed]

When a pic is wider then 500 pixels it screws up the layout of the Modern Skin.

 

[Gary Slegg]

I test drove a 159, and yes it was a nice drive - but no way will I buy a brand new one at that price, it will only plummet, hard. I had a nosey over a gorgeous black Brera yesterday, and my god that is sex on wheels. So the financial decision is to run a bmw for 1-2 years, then pickup a brera, after depreciation has hit them

Yes, I can see your point about the 159 being a bit pricey. Well, I hope you can save loads of dosh and get the Brera soon to redeem yourself from your dubious BMW foray!

 

[ajcarter]

When a pic is wider then 500 pixels it screws up the layout of the Modern Skin.

Not wanting to appear pedantic Hans, but even the excellent guide to posting pics by Hoygs stickied in this lounge recommends not exceeding 800x600, and the screenies show to resize to 640x480.