MiTo | Giulietta | 159 | GT | Brera | Spider | 8C
The all-new Alfa 159, a true sporting saloon in the classic Alfa Romeo tradition, went on sale in the UK a few months ago.
Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro in collaboration with Alfa Romeo Centro
Stile at Arese, Milan, the new Alfa 159 combines superlative
engineering with outstanding performance and handling characteristics
appropriate to the pedigree of one of the world's most famous sporting
marques.
The Alfa 159 is built on a brand new platform, making it one of the
toughest cars around, with a best-in-class torsional rigidity. In terms
of safety, it has nothing to fear from the competition, having been
awarded a five-star safety rating from Euro NCAP, which puts it ahead
of the field for its segment with regard to crash safety performance.
Nine versions of the new Alfa 159, priced from £19,995 to £28,195
on-the-road, with a choice of five power plants. Three new direct
injection petrol engines - 1.9 litre 160bhp and 2.2 litre 185bhp
4-cylinder units, and a 3.2 litre 260bhp V6 - combine the JTS (Jet
Thrust Stoichiometric) direct injection technology of Alfa Romeo with
continuously variable valve timing, (both inlet and exhaust), for the
first time.
The two diesel engine options which complete the launch range exemplify
the company's on-going pre-eminence in the field of diesel technology:
a 1.9 litre
16 valve 150bhp 4-cylinder unit, and a 2.4 litre 20 valve 200bhp
5-cylinder power plant, both of which feature the company's renowned
JTD MultiJet common rail direct injection systems.
3.2 JTS engined versions of the new Alfa 159 are equipped, as standard,
with Alfa Romeo's state-of-the-art Q4 permanent four-wheel drive
system. Q4 employs three differentials, with a self-locking Torsen C
unit at the centre of the system which divides drive torque by a ratio
of 57% to the rear wheels and 43% to the front in normal driving
conditions. Torque is split between front and rear axles and constantly
modulated by the central Torsen differential on the basis of available
grip, with a bias towards the rear axle promoting handling
characteristics appropriate to an Alfa Romeo sports saloon.
Hmmm
what can I say about the Alfa Romeo GT, how about buy a Brera instead.
I'm a big Alfa fan and I love the styling of the GT as I think it's
true to Alfa's ability to design and produce stunning cars, the GT is
fine boned body builder, it looks poised and sporty yet still capable
of being an everyday workhorse when required.
Unfortunately inside I find myself thinking of pound shops, compared to
the Alfa's latest beauty the Brera and most of it's competition within
the GT Coupe marketplace, it feels cheap, the press car I had for a
week had covered only 8,000 miles but inside looked worn, dirty and
badly aged, I've been in cars that have covered 10 times the mileage
and still looked in better condition.
Handling / Engine wise it's much the same story, it lacks feel and
driver feedback, the engine although a fantastic power plant in other
Alfa's just doesn't seem responsive at all. Imagine you've just met the
boy / girl of your dreams, stunning just doesn't do them justice, then
they open their month and turn into a camp version of Forrest Gump with
a smaller vocabulary and slightly less interesting, that's exactly the
feeling I had when I drove the Alfa, looks wise it promises so much but
it just lacks personality and substance. Maybe I was just too
optimistic having driven so many of the great new Alfa's within their
model range that I just assumed that the GT would just be another one.
It's not just stylish, it's pure beauty, yes Alfa have managed to design a car that embodies everything that is style, sophistication and elegance.
Not
only the most beautiful of the hot hatches it's also the most stylish,
and the most economical in the 2.4 turbo diesel engined version. Yes
you lose a bit of power, instead of 0-62mph in 6.5 seconds like most of
the rest, you'll hit 62mph from standstill in a still not to shabby 8.1
seconds, however you'll also be getting 41.5 miles to the gallon
instead of the low 20ish mpg the rest deliver. It feels much quicker
than it is and it still looks better than Jesse Metcalfe covered in
whipped cream and cherries.
It's just a stunning car both inside and out, the Brera has that
expensive and luxurious feeling to everything from the panoramic glass
roof and the thick ridged leather sports seats to the super stylish
angled dials set back into the centre console. It is pure Italian sex
on wheels. So sexy is the Brera that when stopped at traffic lights or
in Motorway services, guys and girls alike feel the need to tell you
just how gorgeous it is, i got stopped 7 times in one journey alone!
It doesn't handle or feel quite so alive as well as some of the hot
hatches, but it's nicer to drive that the Astra or Focus and it's just
so very different from all of them that you just have to love it.
If you want a car that screams "I don't follow the crowd" then the
Brera does that in abundance. It's quick, practical, economical and
everything about the Brera just screams gorgeousness.
Essaouira in Morocco is an amazing place and so it made perfect sense in the cold month of February for Alfa
Romeo to fly a plane full of motoring hacks off there to test the all
new Alfa Spider, I gratefully was one of the aforementioned journalists
to be invited on the launch.
Describing the Spider is very easy, think roofless Brera and you
wouldn't be a gay mile away from being able to imagine the pure beauty
elegance and style of the new drop top from the Italian master of sexy
motoring. Now I love the Brera so would its open air brother inspire me
as much? Yes completely the spider is gorgeous to look at and inside
its pretty much the Brera with a button you flick to make the sun pour
in from everywhere above and around you.
One of the massive problems with the last spider was it wasn't the
greatest car to drive, with the roof down everything rattled and it had
more body roll than a fat queen in a crop top, sharing a very similar
waistline. The new Spider though is a very different car, with the roof
stowed away and the hot breeze blowing in your hair its sleek feeling
solid, stable, well put together and safe at speed.
It also inspires confidence when cornering and handles beautifully as
throwing the Spider around at high speeds and into tight bends just
continues to prove how responsive the topless Brera is, you constantly
feel in control with excellent driver feedback from the steering wheel
and road.
I tested the top of the range 3.2 Q4 (four wheel drive) derivative of
the Spider which doesn't cost a queens pay packet at just over 30k. I
really put it through its paces on the pin straight speed limit free
dessert roads. The 3.2 V6 has the same raspy roar from its quad exhaust
pipes when you put your foot down as its brother the Brera and sounds
wonderfully sporty.
0-60mph happens in 6.7 seconds and the 260bhp V6 tops out at 149mph,
although I never managed to get my test car pass 129mph, I have to say
go past 120mph and the spider becomes very light and you lose some of
the feeling of stability. With roof up the Spider still looks great and
handling is much the same as with the roof down, it is surprisingly
quiet and road noise for a soft top convertible minimal.
Overall it's a great stylish package and it's reasonably priced whilst
being very well equipped as standard, I'd definitely get your order in
now as the waiting list is going to be a long one.