Am I Mental..?

[Cameron 16]

Am I mental for even considering this?

 

I'm looking to sell my Mondeo daily barge and Miami 205 for a car that can satisfy my needs for both a comfy reliable spacious daily commute and a fun, exciting toy in one vehicle. Currently my sights have been focused firmly on a Subaru Legacy GTB estate as something that will tick all the boxes, until today, when I realised that I could get one of these for similar money.

 

 

Alfa 156 GTA Sportwagon.

 

Now I'm overcome with a mixture of emotions.. I LOVE these cars and had absolutely no idea I could afford one! But I know they have a reputation, and the fuel economy is even worse than the Subaru.. but I kinda don't care!

 

So.. as above.. am I mental? Would you let your heart rule your head and buy one? I'm really struggling to find a reason not to!

[allanallen 528 2 Cars]

That looks lovely, I can honestly say I don't think I've ever seen one before. V6?

[Cameron 16]

Yeah it's the V6.

 

Just phoned them, I'm going to have a look at it this weekend. I won't be buying this exact one as a - I don't have the money and b - it needs the cambelt done and the service history seems to be AWOL, but I want to see if I like it as much in the flesh.

[Baz 421]

Yep.

[Anthony 1,003]

That's a whole new level of potential bork right there...

[welshpug 1,657]

Yep

 

 

lovely engines, is it the 3.2?

[Cameron 16]

Sure is!

 

I know it's mental.. but I'm really struggling to see how the poor reliability and bad fuel consumption can outweigh those looks. I'm not fussed on fuel economy really, as I only live 6 miles from work and very rarely do any long distance trips nowadays. The Subaru is nice, but the only decent colour is white and tbh I'm not really keen on having a white car. This thing is just stunning inside and out!

[Tesstuff 222]

You mentioned spacious? No.

 

I used to use mine for the odd business run where stuff was needed to be loaded up in the back, and the Sportwagon has less space with the seats folded flat than a Ford Focus.

 

Not a thing went wrong in three years and 42,000 miles though

[Cameron 16]

Spacious compared to a 205..

[Tesstuff 222]

Spacious compared to a 205..

 

You know what, I would even contest that. Seriously.

Length yes, capacity for loading stuff in....possibly not.

[Cameron 16]

I'd agree with you actually..

 

 

I didn't even have to move the driver's seat.

[johnnyboy666 195 1 Cars]

Spacious compared to a 205..

 

pfft I m pretty sure I've had nealy an entire 205 inside a 205 before!

[kyepan 291]

pfft I m pretty sure I've had nealy an entire 205 inside a 205 before!

PARADOX

[BlueBolt 156]

Is that a GTA??

 

Lovely car, terrible for reliability, cost, and tyres!!

 

Gorgeous none the less though!!

[Tesstuff 222]

Haha, Cameron, that load in the 205 would definitely not go in the 156 Sportwagon like that. You would have to crush it in....a lot

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

Go drive one and see what you think, I had a go in a mates 147 GTA and although it is a seriously nice place to be, and sounded nice, it didn't seem to have enough shove for my liking. Bear in mind we were out on a run and I'd just got out of my 205 turbo though.

[Tesstuff 222]

Go drive one and see what you think, I had a go in a mates 147 GTA and although it is a seriously nice place to be, and sounded nice, it didn't seem to have enough shove for my liking. Bear in mind we were out on a run and I'd just got out of my 205 turbo though.

 

I nominate this for worst ever mention of Tom's 205 Turbo by Tom Fenton....ever.

 

By the way for anyone who hasn't read Tom Fenton's posts, he likes to mention his very fast 205 1.6 Turbo a lot....infact all the time.

 

p.s Did I mention Tom has a 200bhp 1.6 Gti turbo?

[Baz 421]

At least he offers a free ride in it when you buy something from him though!

 

 

Is that a GTA??

 

 

More proof you have trouble reading!!

 

 

Alfa 156 GTA Sportwagon.

 

[Tesstuff 222]

At least he offers a free ride in it when you buy something from him though!

 

 

LOL!! Yes he even mentioned it when the subject matter was a TV sale

[GLPoomobile 958]

If your commute is only 6 miles, you'll more than likely find the fuel consumption even worse than you are expecting. Will you be able to live with 18mpg? Less if traffic is bad. My 166 sees up to 23mpg on my 6 mile commute IF traffic is clear and I don't get caught at too many red lights. On a bad day, expect to see 14mpg. I takes my 166 7 minutes in warm weather, or 9 minutes in winter, to reach operating temperature, by which time I'm about a third of the way through my journey.

 

I don't know about the 156, but take anything about reliability with a pinch of salt. I don;t think they are likely to be any worse than most other modern cars. My 166 has been fine, and only needed money spent on things that you expect to be worn out on a car of it's age and mileage.

 

Floorpans are known to rot extensively on the 156, so look out for that.

 

If you do get one, I would highly recommend spending £600 on an exhaust from somebody called Wizrdofov on the Alfa Owner Forum. He's been making these custom systems for the last year based around the internals from an extremely expensive Jap system made by Unicorse. His system sounds slightly different to the Unicorse, but they are amazing systems. The sound is to die for. Have a look on Youtube for Alfa Unicorse, or Alfa Wizard, or Alfa Wizrd and you should get some results of 156s and GTVs with his system. Turn the volume up!

[pp205 17]

My 156 never missed a beat, it was a 2.0 twinspark but never had any reliability or bodywork issues. I can only imagine the 3.2 would be an amazing drive and the sound to be immense!

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

The point I was trying to make was, the 147GTA didn't feel fast, but it probably wasn't a fair test having just stepped out of a 200bhp/ftlb 900kg 205.....

 

 

 

I nominate this for worst ever mention of Tom's 205 Turbo by Tom Fenton....ever.

 

By the way for anyone who hasn't read Tom Fenton's posts, he likes to mention his very fast 205 1.6 Turbo a lot....infact all the time.

 

p.s Did I mention Tom has a 200bhp 1.6 Gti turbo?

[shalmaneser 26]

Nothing to add but that car looks lovely

[Cameron 16]

If your commute is only 6 miles, you'll more than likely find the fuel consumption even worse than you are expecting. Will you be able to live with 18mpg? Less if traffic is bad. My 166 sees up to 23mpg on my 6 mile commute IF traffic is clear and I don't get caught at too many red lights. On a bad day, expect to see 14mpg. I takes my 166 7 minutes in warm weather, or 9 minutes in winter, to reach operating temperature, by which time I'm about a third of the way through my journey.

 

Then you, sir, are the ideal person to answer this question!

 

Would you choose an equivalent car over it?

 

Thanks for the heads-up on the exhaust, makes me want one even more now!

[welshpug 1,657]

Volvo V70 T5