Still, what Auto Express know about real cars can be written on a postage stamp. All they're good for is reviewing cars they've never really driven and photoshop mock-ups!!

Oh, and of course the Brera's neither German nor Ford, so what chance could it have in the hands of AE.

 

AE are generally very positive regarding Alfa's but Zygote, the stats & figures do not lie do they?

 

Sorry but that test is stupid, the Alfa is a bigger heavier car than all of those and its daft to test them together.

The GT would have been better suited.

Brera is a bigger coupe, to be compared with A5, 3 series, 407, not the 1 series and Golf derivatitives

 

Given the lack of usable rear seats in the Brera I think a comparison to the TT & 1 series coupe is more accurate than it would be to the A5 or 3 series coupe. Price wise the Brera is in the middle of the 4 cars on test.

 

I went through a phase of getting AE. It didn't last long.
I haven't seen the article, but I can believe that the Brera was last. Data, figures, lap times, etc. fair enough.
But I don't drive at tracks (any more), I'm not interested in being a traffic light hero.
I want a car to love, look back at every time I walk away from it, & is good enough on real roads for my needs, & possibly has a bit of individuality & style not seen from other marques. Hence the Brera.
The new Scirrocco looks like a good car. Lets face it, the golf gti is a very good car, but possibly not one I'd ever fall in love with.
Matt.

 

You can make all the excuses you like but a lovely to look at as it is the performance stats are sh!te i'm afraid.

People want more than looks in a coupe....i'd be very tempted to bank £4K and go for the far quicker and better handling VW

A remapped GTjtd would leave that Brera tank for dead

Most family saloons / small execs can get performance at that level.

 

....i'd be very tempted to bank £4K and go for the far quicker and better handling VW

Noooo, you don't wanna do that.

The Brera S isn't exactly a JCB in the performance or handling stakes and that VW just looks like a van from the back & a rip off Mitsubishi from the front.

Good looking it's not, although I'm sure many will find it a pleasant enough sort of teutonic blandness enough to want to buy it. And don't forget, anyone who gives in to the mighty German or Asian automotive onslought is adding yet another nail in the individualists' manufacturers coffins.

I know money / affordability has to come into the equation, but almost any car is a compromise in some respect, especially if you haven't had the megabuck(euro) development budgets of the likes of VW, etc.

So I say, sod the stats & the endless comparisons, buy the car you want, for the reason/s you want and enjoy it regardless. :thumbs: (I certainly will be on Monday )

 

The Audi A5 comparison is interesting.
My Audi loving mate had one (3ltr tdi) for a few days whilst his A3 was being looked at (again ).
The A5 is a nice car. Goes bloomin well with that 3ltr diesel in it, comfy & pretty good mpg as well.
Its bigger than the Brera, & not as beautiful. Build quality was pretty equal to the Brera, but the leather on the seats felt very cheap & cardboardy.
Would I swap the Brera for it? :cheese:
Not a bloody chance mate. :tut:
Matt.

 

Another 5mpg or so would be nice.
Ok, I'd also go for another 30+bhp, but the mpg is the only thing that really gets me a bit miffed.
Such is life.
Matt.

 

The British press has a habit of scoring Alfas at the bottom of the pile.

 

Take your Alfa specs off my friend - the Stats speak for themselves....performance & economy wise it is bottom of the pile by a country mile !

Yes it looks stunning but people want something that performs when buying a sports coupe !

 

I bet it was black, wasn't it? Now I know why it was bottom of the pile



Have a look here for various in depth discussions of the Brera S:

http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/alfa...brera-and-946-spider/116746-new-prodrive-brera-s-now-with-multiple-reviews.html

http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/alfa-159-brera-and-946-spider/122580-the-brera-s-i-learnt-a-lot.html


http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/alfa-159-brera-and-946-spider/128234-brera-s-v-brera-3-2-v6-q4.html

 

I see a red one everyday going the other way and it's bloody gorgeous,

I don't care if it's a bit slower, or heavier, it's stunning! :inlove:

 

Oh, and the Scirocco is ugly as hell,

 

The fact is that the Brera is a difficult car to pigeonhole - one thing it is not is an outright sports car. What it is though is car about which the vast majority of those who own (or have owned) one have very warm and positive feelings. Choosing one of these cars boils down to much more than how fast is it, how much does it weigh and what will GT drivers think ? Do you not think that people who have Breras have considered and could happily afford the other options ? Of course they have but they CHOSE a Brera despite the catcalls from the motoring press and many others.

Very well put. Sums it up perfectly.
:thumbs:

Interesting that AE say "The BMW 125i...has a wonderful engine" where as the other day (in Evo I think) they said the (detuned 3.0 litre) which goes in the 2.5 is BMWs worst engine.

AutoExpress is only any good if you really have to know which is the best de-icer.

 

I'd have been really disappointed if AutoExpress had put it at the top of that comparison test.
The only comparisons I believe in, are my own.

 

Why on earth did they put a Brera in with a 1 series and a Scirroco? Totally different cars.

Very interesting to read though that the real world economy of the Brera is within 1 mpg of the TT and better than the 1 series BMW. Also the quietest and best looking.

I do like the VW Scirocco, the front is great, though the back not so good and interior a bit dull (though Alfa drivers are spoilt in that respect). Figures look very good. My mother-in-law is planning on getting one to replace her 3 series (which she hates due to poor build quality, dullness and loosing the back quite a few times on her country road commute).

Does anyone else feel the Scirocco exterior styling is... well copying from the Brera?

 

Looks like a bit more Brera bashing going on from more non-owners

What He Said !!

Does anyone else feel the Scirocco exterior styling is... well copying from the Brera?

Having seen one the other day I'd have to agree there Fishster

 

If Alfas were any good everybody would be driving them, and we can't have that !!!

 

Sciroco looks like a Tigra to me !! :vomit:

 

Should of gone to Specsavers Howlster !!

 

At least the Brera they tested wasn't black ??? :lol:

 

Oh top marks for that witty comeback !!

:SMF:



:lol:

 

To chuck my hat in hat in the ring, its great to see such diverse views in this thread, that what makes AO such an informative and entertaining forum.

Whilst I share some of the views of this thread, overall I agree with the review; the Brera is outclassed in all but the beauty and exclusivity stakes, where it wins hands down.

There’s no question that the other cars outperform the Brera in performance and build quality (I’ve hads lots of Audis and VDubs and they are defo better built by a long way as is the Beemer) the other cars are more economical and have better Co2 emissions… in stats terms the others win…

But the Brera is just so beautiful and so exclusive. As is the Spider that I drive.

Its just such a shame that Alfa have so under-developed the car in so many crucial areas, its not acceptable at any level and yet us muppets carry on buying Alfas in the vain hope things will get better.

I’d not change my Spider for any of the competition as I’m sure the Brera drivers would not change their cars.

But we are insane.

We put up with horrendous fragility in our cars; fickle reliability, dodgy electrics, fittings that fall off, seats that wobble, hoods that fail, brakes that give up the list goes on…

I wish Alfa would get some money off its Fiat parent and invest properly in their cars, they’d make billions. Though if they did we’d probably stop buying them cos everyone would have one…

 

But we are insane.

We put up with horrendous fragility in our cars; fickle reliability, dodgy electrics, fittings that fall off, seats that wobble, hoods that fail, brakes that give up the list goes on…

I've had a dodgy bosch (GERMAN) sensor that needed replacing on my Brera and that's about it. Nothing wrong with our Spider. I don't think it's really fair to say that we ALL put up with all this sort of thing as we don't. Also the other manufacturers have their fair share of problems too!

Do you think that anyone who sees our cars drive past thinks for a second about your mpg or 0 - 60? I really don't think they do. I think a lot of them think "that looks awesome, I wish it was mine". Not that they'd all admit it :lol:

 

Why does this cretin persist ?

Ah the eternal, unanswerable question :lol:

PS NFI

PPS I can't believe he doesn't take the hint from Desira either Anybody else would have gotten a lot better trade-in offer than that !! :lol:

 

Can we have some nice feline pictures to accompany please, Felix?:

 

Anyway, Alfa's are special, and require devoted attention as such. These reports get on my 'pip' sometimes, as I have tried numerous vehicles over the years, that satisfy my requirements, only to read some report or other on said vehicles,that slag them off. If I'm satisfied with the machine, stuff their opinions.

 

Well Said Zed :thumbs:

 

Someone said that a remapped GT would leave a (2.4) Vreara for dead. In a straight line, probably. Across country, never.

Our Q2'd 3.2GT will struggle to stay with our 2.2 159 Ti on the back roads. As much as I love the GT, the chassis just isn't up to it.

On the Roads near us (Warwickshire - Jaguar & Aston's test track), the 159 is epic where as the GT is like riding a bucking bronco on them. I know this from this morning in my wifes car

Alfa need to radically lighten and up-engine the Brera if they want it to live with the competition.

They also need (and I am told are designing) a 159 4 seater 2 door Coupe to replace the ageing GT.

You all know (or should know) how much I love Alfa's:inlove: I'm just being realsitic in this post

 

Well expressed, and fair comment.

 

Simon, My GTA only just kept ahead of a 2.4 JTDm on some twisties. That car handles very well.

 

What simon said.

The Brera is out classed performance-wise in that company. Prodrive have done a reasonable job but what they should have done is bolted on a turbo and hacked off 100KG.

But you'd never do it for the money.