Jeremy Clarkson on the Alfa159

[Cool_jazz]

So you are sold on the Alfa after the Kuantan drive

[Decibel]

Wow I can't wait to see it in the metal!

[Biohazard]

Hey, how did u know i was on the kuantan drive? Anyway, its up to the last test now - test drive. My wife kinda like the car just no 3.2 V6 coz she almost vomitted when we took the 156 GTA up Genting

Edited April 24, 2006 by Biohazard

[Felipe]

lucky cheaper than bmw by quite abit...not reflective of pricing in europe

[Biohazard]

Yup, was actually quite surprised abt the pricing

[Cool_jazz]

Erh.... I am an Alfisti, albeit no longer driving an Alfa. Hang out at AROC once in a while.... still chat with several Alfistis..... so heard a certain 206 went for the joy ride

[Biohazard]

Ic, anyway it was a joyous one wif those guys. No doubt it brings out the sporting side of the driver

[Tron]

tat seems lik a good starting price... but make no mistake cos EA policy for the new range will be: BARE BONES for the standard car... if u wan options... u WILL pay for it.

 

makes more sense tat way too.. attract ppl in wit the price... tempt them wit the physical beauty of the car...shock them wit the ride & handling... entice them wit the options.. then finally: wallop them for the price... haha..

[Felipe]

pay more for options?? EA always jus bring in a certain spec and tats it! i dont see wat options other than the usual rims, bodykits, and spoiler which will usually be available outside in a matter of time

[Tron]

well, u can go verify with EA... tat is wat "Mr Ah-Hia" told me himself, tat due to the overall higher OMV of the new range, they will bring in the bare basics for cars lik 159 in order to fight competition & maintain an "alfa-esque" price. Anything more an owner wants,... well u pay all the way..

 

p.s: jus bcos we get thos "courtesy door lights & glovebox etc" dun go taking it for granted & think tat options lists for such (especially conti) cars are short... in overseas markets sometimes the aircon is even an OPTION...

 

it makes sense if u believe Alfa really put tat extra money into the build quality & brand new platform wit which the 159 & brera is based on... if not, well then tat means alfa will be relegated again to second class as compared to its German rivals... nothing new right?

 

hope not!

[Felipe]

yea, im aware alfas have alota different options just that the agent here orders a certain spec and sells it for immediate delivery. those who want the 'special' ones will obviously have to indent and wait 3 mths...so given this scenario, most will just get itchy and buy the instock cars. an eg. this SE tol me was a guy who wanted to buy 147 2.0 manual but ended up buying GT 1.8 cos he dun wana wait. with no disrespect to the 1.8, mus say the 147 2.0 is much better. lighter, faster and quite abit cheaper too!

 

& obviously now i noe y the 159 is quite abit cheaper than bmw. gues they're doin the same like the 147 1.6 base model. perhaps they should bring in a variety, basic and more options type.

[Biohazard]

I thought the 159 is based on the 95 platform? Correct me if im wrong. Thanks

[Biohazard]

Well, this applies to diff ppl loh. For me, i dun need all those luxury stuff. I mean i'll be contended wif the manual gearbox (coz initially the news was that 2.2JTS manual has to be on indent basis).

[Cool_jazz]

Originally Fiat and GM collaborated on the premium platform. GM wanted it for Saab 95 and Fiat for the Alfa Romeo 159 and some Maserati models.

 

Some-way into the production/testing whatever, GM pulled out because the platform was too expensive for them!! So Fiat has the platform exclusively for its group of cars and Alfa 159 + Brera are the first ones on it. (Wonder what platform will GM use for the Saab 95 )

 

It is so rigid that it tops the group, yes even better than the 3 series. BUT the sad part is Alfa is not building a RWD on that platform ..... if they do, my guess is it will be right up there with the 3 series.

Edited April 26, 2006 by Cool_jazz

[Biohazard]

Icic. Thanks for the enlightenment

[Felipe]

sm1 told me having too much power for a fwd is no gd...faster long term damage to drive shaft and all...so other than the drive, tink long term reliability for powerful fwd is a problem too if driven hard? cant imagine the 3.2 then

[Cool_jazz]

you are welcome...

[Cool_jazz]

Hi, don't see the problem on damage to drive shafts, reliability as per your scenario is not an issue. The issue is that the front wheels have 2 main jobs for a FWD:

(1) Steer the car

(2) Put power down on the road

 

There is only so much rubber on the road at any one time so with a really powerful FWD, you tend to get more under-steer. I noticed that I can take the same corners quicker in a RWD than a FWD (just 2L engines), so a more powerful FWD will exacerbate the understeer characteristics of having the front wheels do 2 jobs at the same time.