Another good review
http://motoring.independent.co.uk/road_ ... 226623.ece
What do you get when you cross the flair and romance of the Alfa Romeo with the rock-solid dependency of Germany's finest? An Italian saloon car that is supremely seductive, says John Simister
3.2
Model: Alfa 159 3.2 Q4
Price: £28,000 approx, on sale December
Engine: 3,195cc, V6 cylinders, 24 valves, 260bhp at 6,200rpm, 237lb ft at 4,500rpm
Transmission: six-speed gearbox, front-wheel drive
Performance: 149mph, 0 to 60mph in 6.9 seconds, 24.6mpg official average
CO2: 167g/km
This dramatic new Alfa Romeo is almost a fine example of a German car. What? Well, clearly the notion is nonsense because an Alfa is surely as Italian as a car can be. That is its fortune, because to drive an Alfa is to enter a world defined by values of aesthetics, engagement with the driving process, aural treats from eager engines, and a flurry of form for its own sake which may or may not add to pure function (which, on its own, is a bit German).
But rational people like rational cars, and an Alfa is a bit frivolous, risqué even, for some cautious souls. Or so they think. They buy BMWs or Audis or Mercedes-Benzes instead, because these cars are German and therefore cooze quality, and are backed by fantastically efficient dealers, and confer upon their owners a kind of quasi-discerning conformity.
Simple notions for people with simple prejudices. :lol: Now, please, welcome Alfa Romeo's handsome, engaging, tuneful and rather daring (to those secure in their big-brand Germans) 159. And face up to reality.
Alfa Romeo's recently installed CEO is a German, Karl-Heinz Kalbfell, who has spent most of his working life with BMW and latterly its Rolls-Royce division. He's also a deep Alfa enthusiast. This is the ideal blend of attributes to make Alfas credible among those who default to the German brands but would secretly like something racier. Kalbfell is aware of the Alfa brand's emotive value, and his mission is to translate that into the sales that Alfas have long deserved. Having the right cars is one thing, having dealers keen to treat customers well is another. He is determined to fix both.
Sorting out the dealers will be well under way by the time the 159 reaches the UK at the end of this year. And the car itself? It's a cracker. Alfa Romeo spark meets German-standard solidity, quality, integrity. But Kalbfell can't take take credit for that, because the design and engineering were largely complete before he arrived. Alfa's creators - including another German, design chief Wolfgang Egger - already knew what was needed, but Alfa's newly acquired German gene transplant doesn't preclude passione e emozione.
The idea is that the 159 keeps the best attributes of the beautiful but frustrating 156 and adds the Germanic dimension hitherto absent, which will make for buyer confidence and long-term satisfaction. So the style is clearly a 156 evolution, bigger, roomier (now with folding rear seats), less classically beautiful but more assertive. Where the shoulderline used to fade out and in again as it travelled through the doors is now a solid, tough ridge, and the concealed rear door handles are no more. But the stubby tail is similar, as are the nose (inspired by that of the Brera coupé concept) and the interior look.
There are almost no parts carried over from the 156. The longer-wheelbase platform is all new, and in shortened form will also underpin the production version of the Brera. The petrol engines are also new, with Alfa's own cylinder direct-injection heads and fully variable valve timing atop blocks from General Motors, the Fiat group's erstwhile business and technology partner.
First to try is the 185bhp 2.2 JTS, likely to be the range's centre of gravity in the UK just as the 156 2.0 was.
It's simultaneously similar and novel to sit in, with familiar dials sunk into pods and angled towards the driver, but with a new feeling of quality and substance. The leather look of the dashboard is convincing, and a 159 interior in black, with contrasting beige or dark red leather seats, oozes Italian style in a highly covetable way.
Firmly comfortable seats and a fine driving position set a promising scene, so it's a pity the handbrake is awkward to use. It's on the right of the centre tunnel, to make space for storage, and in this left-hand-drive car it means I'm groping my passenger if I'm not careful. There'll be less intimacy in a right-hand-drive 159, but the lever will be too close to your pulling arm.
To the road. And have no fears about the new engine's Alfa-ness, because this one sounds almost exactly like the old 2.0 Twin Spark, (possibly the most charismatic four-cylinder production engine of recent years) with a lovely edge to its exhaust note and a crisp, eager response. It pulls better from low speed than its predecessor, too, although the 159's ample mass "just shy of a ton-and-a-half" blunts the thrust a bit.
So far, so excellent. It gets better. The 156 had an unusual steering response, initially soft then very fast. It held the road well but made a real meal out of some bumps, especially the too-stiff Sport-suspension versions. All is fixed in the 159. The steering is more progressive in its response, although still keen and a little too light, and apart from a bit of fidget on ripply roads, the 159 rides well.
Next up, the 2.4 JTD, the familiar five-cylinder turbodiesel, now uprated to 200bhp and a massive 295lb ft of torque. This is the head-meets-heart model in the range, with brilliant overtaking ability and a meagre appetite for fuel.
The range also includes a 150bhp, four-cylinder JTD turbodiesel and a 160bhp petrol engine, both of 1.9 litres,but the pinnacle comes with the 3.2 V6 JTS Q4. The quickest 156, the GTA, had 250bhp, front-wheel drive and questionable decorum in its traction and suspension. This ultimate 159 has 260bhp but four-wheel drive to transfer it to the road, nominally 57 per cent of it to the back wheels, 43 per cent to the front, but alterable as grip conditions dictate.
This is it. This is the best Alfa Romeo saloon there has ever been, the car whose halo will best dazzle the German opposition. Not only is it rapid, with smooth torque across a broad rev-range and lots of energy at the top of it, but it flows round corners with the nonchalance of an Audi laced with the point-and-drift thrills of a BMW. It's taut, responsive, interactive, all those driver-pleasing things, yet it rides comfortably too.
Here is the Alfa that we have wanted for years. This top 159 will probably cost about £28,000, but the range should begin at about £10K below that. If you're bored with the obvious German rivals, it looks like there's an enticing escape route at last.
