I?ve long wanted to test drive one of these stunning vehicles, so imagine my surprise and delight when the lady at the car rental desk at Frankfurt Airport gave me the keys to one instead of the Golf I?d actually booked. The Brera turned out to be metallic grey, with enormous alloy wheels, and just as gorgeous as the Ferrari red one I kicked the tyres on at an Alfa Dealer about a year ago. I think it?s great that Alfa put what was basically a concept car into production.
I unlocked the door and climbed in. The seats are covered in highly attractive black and grey and nice smelling leather and, after some fiddling around with the buttons, I found a comfortable driving position. This was a first for me in an Italian car. The fly in the ointment is the head rests which are non-adjustable. The rear seats look attractive but are strictly for people with no legs but, unfathomably, they are fitted with adjustable headrests. Boot space, by the way, is poor but no-one buys something like this for practicality.
Putting the key module thingy into the slot, I pressed the Start Button. Nothing happened. A message on the info panel told me I need to press either the brake or clutch simultaneously to the button. I tried again and then the biggest disappointment of all. Instead of the famous Alfa sonorous howl of a highly tuned 6 or 4 cylinder, the rattle of a tractor engine. Oh dear, it?s a diesel. Reversing out of the parking space revealed the one Achilles Heel of the Giugaro styling. This is a large, wide car, with almost zero rearward visibility and no indication where the bonnet is which, combined with the turning circle of an ocean liner, makes low speed manoeuvring tricky to say the least. Thankfully this model was fitted with parking sensors at the back though it could do with them at the front as well.
Out on the open road, the engine quietened a little, though being a five cylinder still sounded weird, and the car turned out to have accurate steering, and excellent brakes but felt rather nose heavy in bends. I pulled onto the Autobahn and put my foot down ? nothing. I changed down a gear and took off like a rocket, then needed to shift up again sharpish as the engine fell off the torque curve at around 4500 rpm. I took stock of the interior. Nicely put together if not up to BMW standards and very comfortable. There are some ergonomic peculiarities such as a rather strangely calibrated speedo and non-selfexplanatory climate control, but hey, it?s an Italian car. There are 3 instruments in the centre console, one is a turbo boost gauge so you can watch the turbo lag as well as experiencing it.
Onto the unrestricted section and up to 230km/h. Very stable and confidence inspiring and the steering really comes to life at higher speeds. Some wind noise from the frameless windows above 150km/h but otherwise a very relaxing high speed tourer.
Overall I enjoyed my 3 days with a Brera. It gave me a feel good factor to be driving something so jaw droppingly attractive and it literally caused traffic to stop in some of the small towns I drove through where Porsches are so boringly common. For me though, the engine spoiled the picture. It is noisy, has a narrow power band and never leaves you in any doubt that its main purpose is to save money rather than enhance enjoyment. So I?m still going to test drive a dealer model, only next time it?ll be the 3.2 V6.
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You're right about the engine. At the risk of upsetting diesel-lovers, diesels are for mimsers or tightwads. IMHO of course :-)
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The only reason there isn't one on my drive is the lack of rear legroom. I love them
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www.alfaromeo.co.uk/brera/
You can actually listen to the engine sound. Brill what a superb looking car, makes the Honda Civic look like a jelly mould.
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The one I had had those 7-hole alloys like the red one in the intro. I notice they don't mention the diesel version which I drove and which, according to the registration document, was a 2.4l 5 cylinder. Is it not sold in the UK?
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The 2.4l 5 cylinder block has been arround for quite a while. My 1998 Fiat Marea Weekend has the same block, but it only develops 125hp. It seems the interceding years has made dramatic leaps in performance. I would love the 200hp engine in my car, it would certainly shift - and my car is no slouch.
--
Roger
A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.
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You're right about the engine. At the risk of upsetting diesel-lovers diesels are for mimsers or tightwads. IMHO of course :-)
Funnily enough everyone on Pistonheads reckon that the diesel is the best. Several owners have slagged off the GM based V6 as very poor, no nice noise, poor performance & very poor fuel consumption. Some of the poor performance & consumption is down to the weight of the 4wd system whereas the others are fwd. The diesel in the Alfa is probably one of the best oil burners around, but turbo lag is endemic with high power diesels unfortunately as is the limited power band.
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I drove a 156 with the older version of this 20v M-Jet diesel (producing 175 bhp against the 200 bhp in the Brera) and it had nothing like the turbo lag described in this review. Yes, it was very revvy for a diesel, and was willing to bury the tacho needle well into the red up just over 5,000 RPM indicated, but it pulled like a train from well under 2,000 RPM and the response was very satisfactory as power was applied. I drove it 4 up and the performance was excellent in every respect. Proper, back-in-the seat muscle and a over 3,000 RPM of it. Unusual for a diesel.
It was also a fantastic sounding engine by any standards, not just diesel. A lovely deep chested offbeat warble overlaid with a satisfying turbo whistle. I haven't driven another diesel that got close to it to be quite honest.
It seems that in squeezing out the extra 25 bhp, they've taken away a lot of the driveability.
Cheers
DP
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Again this peaky short but power band is typical of deisels tweaked and blown beyond its natural capabilities.
I dont see the point. Deisels are great becuase they pull from low with nice flat power band. Spike them up and you defeat the purpose of a deisel.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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I dont see the point. Deisels are great becuase they pull from low with nice flat power band. Spike them up and you defeat the purpose of a deisel.
Yes, nice flat power band. One thing I didn't mention in the original post is that I actually managed to stall the Brera whilst trying to take advantage of all that nice nice low end torque. You have to give keep this engine above ca. 2000 rpm and it's all over at 4500 rpm. Give me a nice, linear, sweet sounding petrol engine any day. I'll happily pay the extra for the fuel. I still want to drive this car with a decent engine, it's crying out for it.
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You're right about the engine. At the risk of upsetting diesel-lovers diesels are for mimsers or tightwads. IMHO of course :-)
Mimsers no. Tightwads yes! (I am one - when it comes to mpg anyway.)
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There are 3 instruments in the centre console one is a turbo boost gauge so you can watch the turbo lag as well as experiencing it.
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LOL!
The Brera does look rather tasty...
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I've found myself thinking a lot about this car......
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I really like the lines of the GT. Anyone driven both? How do they compare?
PS: Good of the hire company to give you a Brera instead of a Golf! Could have been a problem if you had the family with you .....
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Test drove both recently. GT would have been suitable for the family but the interior quality was well below what the Brera offered. It just felt 'last generation'. Unfortunately, if you've got more than three people in your family....forget it.
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Right, which rental company was it, and how quickly can I get to Frankfurt this weekend?
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It was Sixt, my preferred rental car company when in Germany (no connection to the company, etc.). Make sure you tell them to give you a Brera with a V6 petrol engine;-)
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