Recommendations for a luxury car

anewman

Skoda Superb. No, seriously! http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/newreviews/233438/skoda_superb.html

darich

Tilt wrote: »

Funny. In your previous post you decribed it as being 'poor'. Alfa isn't the only make which 'sticks' leather into a turbodiesel... I believe Jaguar/Mercs/BMW do also which I believe to be described as 'luxury' cars. At least Alfa's look as though they have been through a proper design process as they have to be one of the most attractive and unique desgins on the road.

To be fair, Jag/Merc/BMW are all at least one or two levels above Alfa in quality regardless of how they may drive.

As far as most attractive and unique designs - attractive is subjective - attractive to you could be hideous to me.......and the Austin Allegro was unique....neither of which mean I have to like the Alfa.

In general, I'd much rather have any car from Germany when compared to a similar one from Italy.

Empty_pockets

My old man has a older GS and a newer CC, not sure of the model codes.

Lovely drives, but thirsty.

motorguy

Tilt wrote: »

Funny. In your previous post you decribed it as being 'poor'. Alfa isn't the only make which 'sticks' leather into a turbodiesel... I believe Jaguar/Mercs/BMW do also which I believe to be described as 'luxury' cars. At least Alfa's look as though they have been through a proper design process as they have to be one of the most attractive and unique desgins on the road.

Nice car to look at, relatively poor compared to best in class.

Unique design does not make it a good car.

Its a nice car to look at, but a poor alternative to the class leader the Ford Mondeo. Far too heavy for its own good, fairly so so engines, some iffy quality interior trim, questionable residuals and an unrealistic list price. Even the mighty V6 is, from memory, a rehashed Vauxhall unit, compared to the peach of an engine that was in the 156 / 147 GTA.

Not by any stretch of the imagination does an Alfa 159 fall into the 'luxury car' bracket. Its a family car - at best a small executive saloon - and not a particularly good one at that.

motorguy

anewman wrote: »

Skoda Superb. No, seriously! http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/newreviews/233438/skoda_superb.html

No. Seriously.

Tilt

pgilc1 wrote: »

Nice car to look at, relatively poor compared to best in class.

Unique design does not make it a good car.

Its a nice car to look at, but a poor alternative to the class leader the Ford Mondeo. Far too heavy for its own good, fairly so so engines, some iffy quality interior trim, questionable residuals and an unrealistic list price. Even the mighty V6 is, from memory, a rehashed Vauxhall unit, compared to the peach of an engine that was in the 156 / 147 GTA.

Not by any stretch of the imagination does an Alfa 159 fall into the 'luxury car' bracket. Its a family car - at best a small executive saloon - and not a particularly good one at that.

Well we will agree to diss-agree then. Not sure that most people in the motoring industry would agree with your comments about Alfa engines.

motorguy

Tilt wrote: »

Well we will agree to diss-agree then. Not sure that most people in the motoring industry would agree with your comments about Alfa engines.

Loving the way you casually drop in 'the rest of the motoring industry...' :rotfl:

Well, heres the first summary i found of the 159, from 'What Car?'

"No question, the 159 is a good-looking car, and the decent 2.0-litre diesel engine makes this our favourite version. The rest of the car is well off the compact executive pace, though."

Tilt

pgilc1 wrote: »

Loving the way you casually drop in 'the rest of the motoring industry...' :rotfl:

Well, heres the first summary i found of the 159, from 'What Car?'

"No question, the 159 is a good-looking car, and the decent 2.0-litre diesel engine makes this our favourite version. The rest of the car is well off the compact executive pace, though."

YAWN... any more? Do keep them comming!

motorguy

Tilt wrote: »

YAWN... any more? Do keep them comming!

Its easy - google Alfa 159 review and you'll find 98% of them are saying the 159 is decidedly average.

Its genuinely a shame. I've owned several Alfas in the quite recent past and at one point would have been a great advocate of the brand but not so now.

Another friend of mine bought a 147 GTA back in 2004 - beautiful car. Went to look for the 'equivalent' now and they offered him a 1750 TBI Giulietta 5 door.... seriously??

motorguy

Tilt wrote: »

YAWN... any more? Do keep them comming!

But for the sake of argument, heres Top Gears review...

"It's strong and quick and typically turbodiesely, but lacks the last notch of finesse you find in cars like the 3-Series, C-Class, A4 and even the Insignia. It's hardly loud but isn't as hushed as it should be - you're always aware it's there - and there's an oddly distant whine coming from the engine, like some sort of high-pitched alien frequency. The gearchange feels a bit knobbly too; the lever never seems to slot crisply into place.
This might sound a bit harsh - neither flaw is a huge problem - but for £23,850 you can reasonably expect something much closer to perfection. The competition can manage it, after all.
Of course, those gorgeous curves still make this a wonderful-looking car but, as Alfa Romeo knows better than most, beauty is only skin deep."