Well i've got one of these as a hirecar at the minute while my VX220's being repaired. I've been dong my 40mile B/A road commute each day.
Initially I thought the driving position was too van like, its like many modern cars in that its too tall all over due to pedestrian safty etc. I've got used to it a bit but it still feels un-natural, really as if your sat up above the chassis not in it so its a little disconnected. However it is a very nice place to be, it does go very well and is overall a very nice car.
I've driven plenty of sub 2 litre modern direct injection turbo diesels and not seen what the fuss is about, small power band, the feeling of torque and not much else, the speedo still moves slowly. This thing however moves (once the turbo spinning hard 1.5bar above 1600rpm), pulling off in 1st i've now stalled it twice, its weak, realy weak below 1500rpm, dabing the throttle to get the revs up doesn't work, its as if you've not done it when you do. You have to rev it and slip the clutch to get off the mark at any speed and slip it to pull off normally else its verging on stalling. I scared myself pulling out of a junction into a small gap in the traffic as I had my foot flat to the floor, clutch out, the car was moving but at a crawl. Once your at 1700rpm though, right through to 4500 it really pulls like a train, dreadful torque steer and i bet in the wet it'd doing nothing but spin the wheels, dry though its fast.
£30,300 it was, a lot of money. Driving it about I'd not prefer to be in the same age & value BMW, Audi or Merc though. The Alfa is very nice, it also sounds great, god knows how they've done it but the straight 5 sounds more like a V6 petol n/a. It also looks great.
210bhp/295lbs respectable for a 2.4Diesel.
Alfa 159 2.4JTDm
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Alfa 159 2.4JTDm
'02 VX220 2.2 n/a Daily driver - Exige Size TD 1.2 - TAT shorty Diffuser - HardTop - Chris Tullet 4-1 Manifold.
'97 mk1 Mazda Eunos Turbo track car with 260bhp/ton - soon more as Chris Wilsons going to build me an engine over the winter ) .
'97 mk1 Mazda Eunos Turbo track car with 260bhp/ton - soon more as Chris Wilsons going to build me an engine over the winter ) .
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Re: Alfa 159 2.4JTDm
Such a shame you couldn't have a petrol one. I always thinks diesels in an Alfa is absolute blasphemy seeing as Alfa are renowned for making beautiful sounding petrol engines.
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Re: Alfa 159 2.4JTDm
That front end is quite litterally pant wettingly sexy.
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Re: Alfa 159 2.4JTDm
matt_mr2t wrote:That front end is quite litterally pant wettingly sexy.
what he said, love those headlights
Re: Alfa 159 2.4JTDm
It is a very good looking car, it does make BMWs', Audis, Mercs look.. well boring and dull.
'02 VX220 2.2 n/a Daily driver - Exige Size TD 1.2 - TAT shorty Diffuser - HardTop - Chris Tullet 4-1 Manifold.
'97 mk1 Mazda Eunos Turbo track car with 260bhp/ton - soon more as Chris Wilsons going to build me an engine over the winter ) .
'97 mk1 Mazda Eunos Turbo track car with 260bhp/ton - soon more as Chris Wilsons going to build me an engine over the winter ) .
Re: Alfa 159 2.4JTDm
Use to have a 2.4JTD 156, wasn't a bad car, was a great car after i fitted a tuning box.....
Re: Alfa 159 2.4JTDm
They do look awesome, shame its not RWD
Re: Alfa 159 2.4JTDm
Damn.
I just looked at the front and wet my pants again.
I just looked at the front and wet my pants again.
Re: Alfa 159 2.4JTDm
steve b wrote: pulling off in 1st i've now stalled it twice, its weak, realy weak below 1500rpm, dabing the throttle to get the revs up doesn't work, its as if you've not done it when you do.
It takes a bit of getting used to going from a petrol to a diesel. Clutch out, start to roll and then floor it. Take it round to near the top of it's power band (about 3.5k) in first and then into second. If you keep it above th 1700 rpm mark where thr turbo kicks in it'll pull gthe skin of the proverbial rice pudding and ripple the tarmac. Drive it like a grandad though and every entry to a roundabout will be a scary, slow crawl. Drove my Dad's one of these for a couple thousand miles in France when he was incapacitated and loved the way it left a big grin on my face at every traffic light GP.
Your right about the wet though, it is smokes tires in the wet. Trying a 'spirited' get away on a wet hill is a bit hit and miss with all the torque and sometimes starting off in second can be better trick.
Re: Alfa 159 2.4JTDm
How hard can it be to stay above 1.5k revs, they idle at 1k surely?
Re: Alfa 159 2.4JTDm
Turbo Diesels tend have to have low first and second gears because of the engines restricted effective rev range.
You can get them off the mark briskly but you have to thrash them and tolerate an unpleasant din in doing so.Petrols get away better and with far less effort.
Diesels strengths are torque once rolling and,of course MPG.
You can get them off the mark briskly but you have to thrash them and tolerate an unpleasant din in doing so.Petrols get away better and with far less effort.
Diesels strengths are torque once rolling and,of course MPG.