Joined
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15,180 Posts
...a 159 SW 2.4 20v Lusso.
My quick report on it....
Firstly I'd like to say that it had only covered 500ish miles and the engine was very tight still. Also, I was stepping out of my 156 (hard suspension, low pro tyres, remapped engine etc etc) it felt a very different car.
I did a mixture of motorway driving, city and A-roads - about 120 miles all in.
Good points
Looks
From most angles it look a beautifully designed car. Lovely proportions. Those triple headlights are just right.
Very refined.
Interior quality excellent.
Materials used feel solid and long lasting.
Layout of dash seems to work very well.
Interior space is good (headroom, rear seats, boot etc)
Ride is very comfy as opposed to sporty.
No squeaks, rattles, groans.
Gear change is excellent. Short sweet and direct.
Handling is very good to a point - see below...
The brakes are outstanding.
No fade, very strong and excellent feel. Nothing like my 156 wooden blocks.
Everything works too...
Not so good points
Weight.
It felt so fat it would make sumo wrestlers look anorexic (sorry Big Foot - no pun intended
)
The engine seems swapped by its mass. (was given a hiding by a BM 320d on the m-way too
)
It understeered much sooner than my 156 and the tyres struggled to deal with the shift in weight from one hard corner to the next.
Engine grab. Maybe due to the young engine, but it snatched at each gear.
Turbo lag. Huge turbo lag at anything below 2500rpm. The throttle sensor seems heavily damped.
Ride. As I said, comfy, certainly not overtly sporty. Maybe even slightly numb and detached.
Wing mirrors still look too big...picky I know
Also, wind noise above 70 ish...
Stereo sound not great (the DP left his UB40 cd in which didn't help - j/k!!
)
The 17" alloys looked too small for the body on this particular car. Can be easily changed though.
Indicator stalks are shoddy and cheap. The action felt like a '95 Punto not a new £25k+ Alfa.
Door handles... I parked next to a Fiat Croma and noted how similar the handles were...why oh why lose the original rear Alfa handles...
TBH, I enjoyed the 159 to a point. Normal everyday driving it's great. In everyway it 'feels' like a better car under you back side.
For pin sharp on-the-edge country blasting and grin on my face my little 156 would skin it everytime.
Dare I say it, but the 159 has gone all German on us... *ducks for cover*. Competant, solid, heavy. Maybe pandering to the main-markets. Or maybe the car was very young and very tight...????
I drove a sshh new BMW 3 series coupe over the weekend (325se) and was really quite impressed. Even more German and I couldn't give it the full tin either. The diesel BM's arrive in November - right about the time I'm looking to change the 156 over...
Which leaves me in a rather difficult situation. Or maybe not if I can change the suspension and have the 20v engine 'looked at' after 10K miles...
My quick report on it....
Firstly I'd like to say that it had only covered 500ish miles and the engine was very tight still. Also, I was stepping out of my 156 (hard suspension, low pro tyres, remapped engine etc etc) it felt a very different car.
I did a mixture of motorway driving, city and A-roads - about 120 miles all in.
Good points
Looks
Very refined.
Interior quality excellent.
Materials used feel solid and long lasting.
Layout of dash seems to work very well.
Interior space is good (headroom, rear seats, boot etc)
Ride is very comfy as opposed to sporty.
No squeaks, rattles, groans.
Gear change is excellent. Short sweet and direct.
Handling is very good to a point - see below...
The brakes are outstanding.
Everything works too...
Not so good points
Weight.
The engine seems swapped by its mass. (was given a hiding by a BM 320d on the m-way too
It understeered much sooner than my 156 and the tyres struggled to deal with the shift in weight from one hard corner to the next.
Engine grab. Maybe due to the young engine, but it snatched at each gear.
Turbo lag. Huge turbo lag at anything below 2500rpm. The throttle sensor seems heavily damped.
Ride. As I said, comfy, certainly not overtly sporty. Maybe even slightly numb and detached.
Wing mirrors still look too big...picky I know
Stereo sound not great (the DP left his UB40 cd in which didn't help - j/k!!
The 17" alloys looked too small for the body on this particular car. Can be easily changed though.
Indicator stalks are shoddy and cheap. The action felt like a '95 Punto not a new £25k+ Alfa.
Door handles... I parked next to a Fiat Croma and noted how similar the handles were...why oh why lose the original rear Alfa handles...
TBH, I enjoyed the 159 to a point. Normal everyday driving it's great. In everyway it 'feels' like a better car under you back side.
For pin sharp on-the-edge country blasting and grin on my face my little 156 would skin it everytime.
Dare I say it, but the 159 has gone all German on us... *ducks for cover*. Competant, solid, heavy. Maybe pandering to the main-markets. Or maybe the car was very young and very tight...????
I drove a sshh new BMW 3 series coupe over the weekend (325se) and was really quite impressed. Even more German and I couldn't give it the full tin either. The diesel BM's arrive in November - right about the time I'm looking to change the 156 over...
Which leaves me in a rather difficult situation. Or maybe not if I can change the suspension and have the 20v engine 'looked at' after 10K miles...





