Alfa 159

Bluefoam

mcwhirter wrote: »

Yes, totally agree, had a few sud's and 33's. All great, reliable, but rusty,engine great at high revs, very hard to drive slowly.
Tempted to buy a 2005 147 1.9 diesel. Are they recommended?

Mines a 05 147 1.6 Petrol & I highly recommend it. Apparently the 1.9D is the best engine of the lot.

The sound out of my engine nearly makes me soil myself - its a fantastic car...

mcwhirter

:eek:.

The sound out of my engine nearly makes me soil myself - its a fantastic car...[/quote]

You should hear the flat fours in the suds and 33s, nearly touched cloth a few times me self.:eek:

Stevie Dakota

OK guys, a funny thing happened on the way to the Alfa showroom...

I bought a Ford Focus 2.0TDci Titanium! I was initially looking for one for the mother, but drove it and came away really impressed. The Alfa was looked at in a heart V head decision and I went with the cheaper car that suited my needs best.

The choice came down to a 2006 159JTDm Lussso (silver with black leather) for €23.5K or the Ford 2008 Titanium (low annual tax) for €20.5K. 1 year warranty V 2.5 years. There was just no getting around the fact that despite being more desirable that it was going to cost more in the long run.

So now I have the Ford I can look forward to low running costs, fantastic performance and a fun driving experience, while getting around 45mpg, all bundled in a practical package. I hope that proves to be enough!

Bluefoam

Well wear...

gary the great

Bought a Focus over a 159, thats a real head over heart decison!!

Ye i agree below 3k rpm my 147 is normal, sophisticated, put it over that its like a different engine. the noise it makes to is amazing, i love the car so much

superjosh9

voxpop wrote: »

Blast - I was really considering a 159 as my next car. I was a bit worried,to be honest, after seeing the figures with torque and bhp similar to my golf and the alfa about 200 kg heavier. Sounds like the car is pretty mediocre bar the looks of course- pity really

I don't know. Almost every car is heavier than the one that it replaces - and that added weight seems to be used in safety. Take a look at euro-ncap and look at the performance difference between the 147 (156 platform) and 159. The 159 is just about the safest car you can buy - unheard of from an Alfa.

In addition, how much performance are you really going to exploit? I'm sure for our Irish roads that it performs admirably. And it does look quite well. Yes, I agree it's a shame that it didn't make it into the lower VRT bands but sure what can you do.

With that German guy in charge, I'd say this is the best Alfa in years and 10 times the car the 156 was. I'll have an estate model please!

Have not seen one in real life, but the dash doesn't look so good though..

superjosh9

Stevie Dakota wrote: »

I bought a Ford Focus 2.0TDci Titanium! I was initially looking for one for the mother, but drove it and came away really impressed...

haha, nice one. I'm waiting to have a go of the powershift one when it get's here. Those cars are very good value for money alright, look pretty smart too.

enjoy it!

positron

I would love to own a 159 1.9 JTDm Sportswagon, but cheapest is around 12k sterling and VRT (after putting in the CO2 figure as 157) is around €6k. Overall slightly over €20k..! (and about €10k over my budget! )

pburns

superjosh9 wrote: »

I don't know. Almost every car is heavier than the one that it replaces - and that added weight seems to be used in safety. Take a look at euro-ncap and look at the performance difference between the 147 (156 platform) and 159. The 159 is just about the safest car you can buy - unheard of from an Alfa.

Not from now on...
Mark my words weight reduction will be a big target for manufacturers going forward. The new Mazda 2 and 6 have focused on this for example. Despite being bigger the new 6 has a lower weight than the old model and much improved CO2 (despite largely carried-over engines). It has benefits for handling and performance too. The new Fiesta is another that will be lighter.

superjosh9 wrote: »

In addition, how much performance are you really going to exploit? I'm sure for our Irish roads that it performs admirably.

Man, that's just sacrilage - and not a very 'Alfa' attitude! I'm not interested in just a show-pony. Really, you need to consider whether you're more intersted in posing or driving. For me it's the latter.

superjosh9 wrote: »

With that German guy in charge, I'd say this is the best Alfa in years and 10 times the car the 156 was. I'll have an estate model please!

I don't think he was around when the 159 was being developed. He's probably had an input into improved production quality alright. I have a feeling - if finance allows - that the next range of Alfas could really be something special. Looking forward to the 147 replacement. I read a report that it wouldn't be based on the Bravo platform but would get new underpinings...

Bluefoam

Latest I heard was that they were abandoning the Bravo platform for the 149 and developing a specific platform.

superjosh9

pburns wrote: »

Man, that's just sacrilage - and not a very 'Alfa' attitude! I'm not interested in just a show-pony. Really, you need to consider whether you're more intersted in posing or driving. For me it's the latter.
...

lol, I spend most of my time driving an old rwd Volvo 940 estate. More fun than any fwd car (I also have an S40) - and can't say I've ever been accused of posing in it!

as for alfa, I hope one day to get an old gtv-6 from 1983 or so.

I agree with you other comments re weight and all that. Green times ahead.