Alfa Romeo thread - back from the dead!

[Friesiansam]

A member on another forum posted today, about driving his new Toyota Corolla. Said how with it's adaptive cruise and lane keeping, it pretty much drives itself on the motorway and, how wonderful this is. This got me thinking, so many cars now are just travelling appliances, about as much fun to drive as watching Michael McIntyre on the telly.

Small hatchbacks used to be fun. For a few years I had a Mk2 Renault 5, bigger engined version, not fast but, alive with feedback. Great fun to zip up and down twisty roads on the Mendip Hills, where I grew up, like Cheddar Gorge in the winter, when it was quiet.

 

[plastic penguin]

On Sunday I treated the Alfa to a good wash and polish. Had some basic Turtle Wax shampoo and separate polish. The bodywork comes up nice for 19 year old paint.

Had it confirmed by a real Alfa geek, I have a very rare Alfa indeed. Not just the external colour but interior. It's a rare Alcantara door cards, centre armrests (back and front) and headrests.

This guy has said he's only seen two with the same interior since the 2000s. They were a factory option. Most went for leather but a few were decked out in Alcantara. And he believes this option was only for the Veloce model.

 

[12th Monkey]

Looking very tidy indeed. Always liked Alcantara - my previous car had it for the upholstery.

 

[plastic penguin]

Looking very tidy indeed. Always liked Alcantara - my previous car had it for the upholstery.

When I purchased the car 8 years ago I was unaware of rarity of the colour and the Alcantara. I did know that JTS engine wasn't common in Sportwagon variant.

 

[plastic penguin]

Well, done my good deed for the month. The ECU light kept coming on the ma-in-law's 2013 Mini Countryman. She got in touch with the dealer where she purchased the car, as it's still in warranty.

They arranged to have the car checked out at a BMW main dealer 22 miles away on Wednesday. Dropped the car off and brought her home.

To cut a long story short the main dealership phoned her and told her the front brakes were damaged: the pads were down to the bare metal, which in turn had damaged the discs. I looked at past MOTs and for the past 3 years the advisory was front brake pads low. Looking online, the day before she took delivery of the car it had failed, no reason was given. The people who MOT'd the car are the same dealer who sold the car to her. Basically it was a potential death trap.

I nipped around to the dealer who sold her the car, they are in the next village to me (TW Whites, Effingham) and asked a lot of questions. They agreed to pay for the cost of the brakes. All she had to pay for was the health check and re-setting of the ECU.

The ma-in-law said, "if it wasn't for you I could have been in a serious accident. Thank you so much. How much do I owe you?" I said no need to pay me anything, buy something for Mrs. P if you feel the need.

For someone in her 80s it could have been fatal.

 

[plastic penguin]

Yesterday after getting petrol an old Citreon look-a-like pulled up behind me. It might be genuine, not sure.

 

[plastic penguin]

On Saturday, drove a 2007 Mazda MX5. They always a get good reviews from owners and mags. It drove quite well but somehow I was a little underwhelmed by the driving experience.

It was based on the Lotus Elan, but having owned a + 2 Elan, the Mazda isn't a patch on the Lotus for both performance or handling.

Like to hear if anyone else has owned or driven a MX5.

 

[DougK1]

Never owned any sports cars, PP, I prefer bikes for thrills. The MX5 was never really intended as an Elan competitor, the only principles they carried over was the front-engine rear wheel drive layout, plus decent handling. It was the motoring press which lauded it as an Elan-esque replacement.

When did you own your Elan?

 

[12th Monkey]

On Saturday, drove a 2007 Mazda MX5. They always a get good reviews from owners and mags. It drove quite well but somehow I was a little underwhelmed by the driving experience.

At the moment, evo devotes its final page to 'Greatest Misses' - cars that would have been expected to be (at least) very good, but which fell a long way short of expectation. The Mk3 version of the MX5 from 2005 featured in February's issue - passed me by at the time, but it was something of a fall from grace. Earlier models are supposed to be much better, as is the version from 2015 onwards. And the Mk3 was improved over time - just not enough, it seems.

 

[plastic penguin]

Never owned any sports cars, PP, I prefer bikes for thrills. The MX5 was never really intended as an Elan competitor, the only principles they carried over was the front-engine rear wheel drive layout, plus decent handling. It was the motoring press which lauded it as an Elan-esque replacement.

When did you own your Elan?

No, but the designer of the original MX5 owned a Elan. Granted, it was built as a budget Elan, but given the rave reviews from the likes of Top Gear and many others, it fell well short of my expectations.

Owned my Elan early 90s and that was a real eye opener, even compared to the Alfas. But not family friendly.

 

[plastic penguin]

Finally found out why Alfa recommend Petronas engine oil. Apparently, they took over the Italian brand of Selenia, which is the oil I use: Petronas Selenia 10W 60. Seems to be recommended for most Italian cars: Fiat, Lancia, Alfa....

 

[bigboss]

On Saturday, drove a 2007 Mazda MX5. They always a get good reviews from owners and mags. It drove quite well but somehow I was a little underwhelmed by the driving experience.

It was based on the Lotus Elan, but having owned a + 2 Elan, the Mazda isn't a patch on the Lotus for both performance or handling.

Like to hear if anyone else has owned or driven a MX5.

I had gifted a Mazda MX5 to my wife on our wedding day in 2010. We had participated in a Mazda MX5 event earlier which was in a village on top of a hill in Yorkshire. We drove down the hill and back up and absolutely loved it! So I ended up getting it. I was thinking about Porsche Boxster as well but decided on the Mazda instead, mainly due to metal retractable roof. One of our most memorable experiences was driving along the coast in Wales with open top.

 

[plastic penguin]

I had gifted a Mazda MX5 to my wife on our wedding day in 2010. We had participated in a Mazda MX5 event earlier which was in a village on top of a hill in Yorkshire. We drove down the hill and back up and absolutely loved it! So I ended up getting it. I was thinking about Porsche Boxster as well but decided on the Mazda instead, mainly due to metal retractable roof. One of our most memorable experiences was driving along the coast in Wales with open top.

I remember that because you asked on this forum how to present it to her, if memory serves me. 😉

I know they completely different cars, but the Mazda didn't have that driving 'zing' of the Alfa. I've driven a few recently - classic and modern - Inc my daughter's BMW-built Mini Cooper and they aren't as driver-focused as the Alfa - even my daughter prefers driving the Alfa.

Think I would have to 'up' the budget considerably to match or better it.

 

[bigboss]

I remember that because you asked on this forum how to present it to her, if memory serves me. 😉

You've got a great memory!

Here's that thread:

https://forums.whathifi.com/threads/which-roadster.48238/#post-502966

 

[plastic penguin]

You've got a great memory!

Here's that thread:

https://forums.whathifi.com/threads/which-roadster.48238/#post-502966

Can't get into the link. But yes, I remember it fairly well.

I'm not saying the MX5 is a bad car just didn't excite me. The Alfa is quite old skool in many ways, you get good feedback from the steering on fast corners, something that most modern cars don't have, due to electronic steering etc etc.

 

[12th Monkey]

The Alfa is quite old skool in many ways, you get good feedback from the steering on fast corners, something that most modern cars don't have, due to electronic steering etc etc.

I suspect yours (like mine) is a bit of a fossil in many ways - manual gearbox, HPAS, naturally-aspirated engine etc. All reasons why I have no intention of ever changing.

I have it valeted every 5-6 weeks and treated the leather to a refresh, and there's a small piece of corrosion in the nearside front wheelarch which is being sorted next week. Wheels were refurbished last year, so it's (fingers crossed) pretty much back to where I want it to be. I do fancy changing the exhaust to liberate a tiny bit more power and a little more volume, but we'll see.

 

[plastic penguin]

I suspect yours (like mine) is a bit of a fossil in many ways - manual gearbox, HPAS, naturally-aspirated engine etc. All reasons why I have no intention of ever changing.

I have it valeted every 5-6 weeks and treated the leather to a refresh, and there's a small piece of corrosion in the nearside front wheelarch which is being sorted next week. Wheels were refurbished last year, so it's (fingers crossed) pretty much back to where I want it to be. I do fancy changing the exhaust to liberate a tiny bit more power and a little more volume, but we'll see.

Yup, everything is standard: Manual gearbox, not too many toys other than essential ABS, no digital speedo, standard warning lights... but does have a ECU.

Drove the bro-in-laws Tesla Model 3 a few weeks ago. It's very fast but it's a laptop with wheels and lacks traditional driver involvement.

 

[DougK1]

Drove the bro-in-laws Tesla Model 3 a few weeks ago. It's very fast but it's a laptop with wheels and lacks traditional driver involvement.

And a total lack of the wonderful soundtrack of the Alfa and Audi V10. Soulless!

 

[12th Monkey]

And a total lack of the wonderful soundtrack of the Alfa and Audi V10. Soulless!

If by the latter you meant me, alas I am two cylinders short!

 

[DougK1]

If by the latter you meant me, alas I am two cylinders short!

Oops, my mistake, I did mean V8 That kind of sound stirs the soul.

 

[plastic penguin]

Oops, my mistake, I did mean V8 That kind of sound stirs the soul.

The biggest production engine of an Alfa is V6. It does have a wonderful soundtrack. Real hairy chested brawn. That said, I prefer the V8 of a TVR - it sounds like a 1970s F1 car. Fabulous.

View: https://youtu.be/a3N36uSuZv8?si=4jVx8pfAE--42dej

 

[12th Monkey]

In one of the Grand Tour specials, Clarkson says his favourite three engines are Alfa's Busso V6, the RS4's V8 and the Lexus V10 from the LFA.

 

[Friesiansam]

The biggest production engine of an Alfa is V6. It does have a wonderful soundtrack. Real hairy chested brawn. That said, I prefer the V8 of a TVR - it sounds like a 1970s F1 car. Fabulous.

View: https://youtu.be/a3N36uSuZv8?si=4jVx8pfAE--42dej

I know not many were built but, don't forget the 8C with it's 4.7L V8, although I know it was a Ferrari engine.

 

[12th Monkey]

I know not many were built but, don't forget the 8C with it's 4.7L V8, although I know it was a Ferrari engine.

Wasn't it a Maserati engine? Heard on woofle by a couple of years ago and it sounded lovely. I know there's cross-pollination (even more so now), but this was definitely a cross-plane V8, (hence the woofle) whereas Ferrari's are almost always flat plane. Looking it up, it was made by Ferrari, but was cross plane.

 

[Friesiansam]

Wasn't it a Maserati engine? Heard on woofle by a couple of years ago and it sounded lovely. I know there's cross-pollination (even more so now), but this was definitely a cross-plane V8, (hence the woofle) whereas Ferrari's are almost always flat plane. Looking it up, it was made by Ferrari, but was cross plane.

I may be wrong but, in so far as I can find out, it is indeed a Ferrari built engine, principally for use by Maserati and, you are right about the cross-plane crank, rather than Ferrari's usual flat-plane crank.

EDIT: Autocar's Steve Sutcliffe taking one for a drive:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxdBcV0Fwak