All Cars, All the Time

Alfa Where Art Thou?







With the US debut of Alfa Romeo suffering delay after delay, many of us auto fans have cried out for the day we can drive one of those sexy Italian machines. However, after a more critical look at Alfa’s current lineup, I’m happy that they are waiting until they shore things up. The lineup that is eventually heading to the US is based off a platform that was developed with General Motors (back in the day when Fiat and GM were still holding hands). GM was going to have a Saab based off of this platform (amongst other models), but decided that it was too costly and gave Alfa complete ownership. The problem is that the platform is FWD/AWD and in the premium segment that can mean trouble if the handling is finely tuned. In a recent Auto Express review of the AWD Alfa Spider V6, the reviewer carped that the convertible suffered from a lot of shake over even minor imperfections in the road and the car was prone to understeer due to its heavy nose. The ride quality was also deemed less than stellar.

Autoweek echos many of these comments in a review of the 159 from July of 2005. The author felt that the 159 was too portly and complained of “some jiggle over rougher surfaces.” In December of 2005 Autoweek reviewed the Brera coupe and stated that “the Brera at any trim level is not one Alfa can start off with in the United States.” In July of this year Autoweek felt more charitable towards the Spider “The suspension (double wishbone front and multi-link rear) is agile and the steering is highly responsive. The ride is reasonable by open-top standards.” Autoweek’s reviewers were different, Matt Davis drove the 159 and Brera while Greg Kable drove the Spider and that could explain the difference in attitude.

The bottom line is that Alfa’s triumvirate of the Brera/Spider/159 sedan aren’t truly ready for prime time. It would be a shame for Alfa to return the USA with anything less than exemplary products. What troubles me is that I’m not sure how much Alfa can fix by the late 2009 planned introduction. I will end on a positive note: all reviewers complimented the build quality of the Alfas.