2007 Alfa Romeo 159 Ti from UK and Ireland - Comments

- Boot release - covered under warranty.

- Heated door mirror (left) stopped heating. warranty.

General comments on the car? One word, brilliant.

I flew to UK in May 08 to buy and drive my 159 back home to Ireland. What a car. When I arrived home I could have drunk a cup of tea and simply turned around and started the trip again! Very comfortable, very.

Driving?

Motorway driving is brilliant.. I've had a chance to recently drive some other cars the length of the country (Cork to Dublin) for work purposes... Audi A6 (1.8Tdi), BMW (2.0 Petrol) and of course a Volvo S40 (can't remember the engine... does it matter?). I always found myself longing to get behind the wheel of the Alfa again... I can't put my finger on it but the driving position, even the weight of the steering wheel feels right (but that's just a personal thing). It also feels a lot nicer to walk up to one in a carpark..

On country/rural 'rough' roads... you have to go slow... sloooooow way down! It feels like you might break the car the suspension is so hard. You see the 'Ti' model has lowered/harder suspension, so that coupled with 19' 40-profile tyres does make the car a 'little' skittish on our terrible Irish roads (but they are improving, the roads that is).

On county/rural 'good' roads... what a blast! The cornering is excellent.. the Brembos all round (on the Ti model) do help with the braking... she feels solid, weighted, planted, stuck to the road. It's a reassuring feeling. The 2.2 Petrol is supposed to have 185BHP... in 1st and 2nd gear it feels like half that power... from 3rd gear up to 6th it feels a lot better.

Interior?

The smell of leather. Need I say more?

...but, the backseats? not much legroom.

Gadgets?

Well I was lucky with my car, she has mp3 USB port (for iPod) Blue&Me system, voice activated control, parking sensors, bluetooth phone thingy and other stuff etc etc.. One thing, I wish I could change the female voice in the car to a setting that sounds like Penelope Cruz or Sophia Lorraine... a car like that need an 'exotic' voice not a London accent! :) Then I could listen to "Please choose from the following commands" all day long...

Fuel/MPG?

It's a 2.2 Petrol. It's an Alfa...

As far as long term... who knows what else will break? I still have our older 156 and wouldn't sell it for the world. The 156 2.0TS engine/exhaust note is still gruntier (if there is such a word).. no argument, but the 159 feels bigger, more refined and more like a better quality car.

Finally I have to admit I don't care/worry about a cars reliability, running costs or depreciation.. I bought this car on its looks and driving experience alone... but then again, on what else should you judge a car?

cherb@eircom.net

Your comments gave me goose pimples :)

My dream is a 159 ti with of course red paintwork :)

I'm on my 4th Alfa - 2000 156 2.0 TS Selespeed - and I am addicted to it, however I have had my share of kind of small issues with missus' 156 - but same as you, I don't care, it's all part of it and it's the drive. Alfa Romeos are an addiction to say the least.

My first Alfa was an 84 Alfasud Sprint, then an 86 33ti, then a 91 33 boxer 16v, and now a 156 - all red haha.

Congratulations on your 159.

Alfaholic - Australia.

Hello Alfaholic.

Thanks for the comments... This has been the 4th Alfa for me too. I've owned two 156's and a GTV before... I still have the last 156.. I can't sell it (don't want to)... My wife uses it now everyday... they get on well!! :)

I hope to one day buy an S4... now that would complete the family..

Cheers.

Hello Irish Alfa person.

I had nightmares with my two 156s, but am sufficiently taken with the 159 to dare going back to the marque, preferably when the 1.8 turbo petrol arrives.

So, I must ask, how is your 159 holding up?

I have a 159 Lusso Sportwagon and love it to bits, much more individual than BMW or Audi. My second Alfa, and if they keep producing such great cars, I will have more in the future.

Happy motoring.

Hello Alfa Irish person here responding to earlier comment.. :)

The 159 Ti is holding up quite well actually, thanks for asking... can't say the same for the depreciation value!... looks like I'm in it for the long haul...

It's Nov 2009 now and I've owned the car for over 1.75 years now... I can honestly say I never get tired of walking up to her in the carpark and getting in, which, I know it's an emotive thing. All cars have the potential to transport you from location A to B etc.. but if you can find a car that gets the proverbial juices flowing and excite when you get in, that, is worth every penny you pay for her in my opinion.

On a practical note, she is going back to the garage for two more warranty issues this week. (1) Air Con pump sounds like a bearing is gone and (2) a heated side mirror is still not de-misting. Hmmmm Alfa reliability? Maybe, or a supplier issue? Either way these need to be fixed, but not a show stopper!

The one gripe I would have with Alfa is the 2.2 petrol (185BHP) engine is about to be replaced with a 1.85 (200BHP) turbo petrol on the model line-up… I hope us naturally aspirated people won’t be left behind! :).. Looks like I’ll have to invest in the supercharge kit from Autodelta.co.uk when the warranty is up on the car… After all, when the 1.85 comes out, the 2.2 will take another hit in depreciation etc. I guess that’s that same with all manufactures etc..

In short I’m personally extremely happy with this car.. it does cost lots for the four 19” tyres (Pirelli P Zero Neros) once a year, the fuel consumption is around 22MPG.. and other things will probably break when the warranty is up…. but show me a European manufacturer now that is clean from defects and reliability issues!

I still own my older 156 by the way… she is 9 years old now and all she needs is oil/filters/belts/pads and @ 154k miles she stills purrs and does NOT drink a single drop of oil! Emissions are still good too (and passing the National Car Test). When this car finally dies she will be upgraded to a 1.9 petrol 159.

Cheers,

cherb@eircom.net

Hi all.

Reading all your comments, and I too am an Alfa owner from Sydney Australia. I used to be a B.M.W. man for a long time till I drove my first 156 in 2001. Loved it and never had a problem with it.

Got my 159 1.9 JTDM 2 years ago, also with no problems. Now waiting for my new 159 2.4 JYDM Ti next week and getting very excited.

I tested the audi A-4 1.8 t. Nice car, very well built, but does not come close to the driving experience of the Alfa. Just so happy with this car, and would recommend it all the time.

From down under.

Well I can only concur with everything said here - why on earth would anybody chose an A4 / 3 Series / Mondeo over the sumptuous 159ti is simply beyond me... still while they do I'll be a very happy man as its keeps my 159ti as exclusive as it is. I love cruising past people driving dull German appliances who deep down want to own an Alfa, but listen too much to the bias media.

Check out the stunning interior on the 159ti (Natural leather is gorgeous) and tell me you'd rather go German... well you might like wearing lederhosens, me I prefer my crafted Italian Armani suite ;-)

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a243/mjw123/DSC_0274.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a243/mjw123/DSC_0410.jpg

I agree with last comment about dull cars... having owned Alfas for years (and as long as I can I will!) I do enjoy the exclusivity of driving a non-aesthetically-styled-domestic-appliance..

Alfas of old have been unreliable... true. But nowadays they are not. But don't tell everyone as I'd hate to see a sea of House of Visconti crosses and Serpents on the way to work in the morning... it would rob me of my enjoyment in traffic in the daily commute..

As an update, my older 156 (year 2000) finally hit the 155k mark and started to stutter in recent days... I'm guessing it's an lambda sensor or some intake issue with the butterfly housing.. must check the diags... either way a decision will have to be made soon to fix or retire.. : (so I'm looking a very nice 2004 156ti at the moment... so a rhetorical question; yes or no?

cherb@eircom.net