Taka Car review ~ Alfa Romeo GT
08-12-2004 | 10:12 AM
#1
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New Member
Joined: Mar 2003
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From: Melbourne, Australia
Taka Car review ~ Alfa Romeo GT
As talking to Michael the other day, he strangely suggest to test drive an Alfa GT rather than seeing a stripper in the City... strange suggestion. Anyhow, here is my typical "blunt but honest" report :p
Transcript is found in HERE
“Gran Turismo” or “Grand Touring”, GT stands for “fun”. This is what I aimed to find out. Alfa Romeo in a sense now becomes a fashion statement. Dealership in Melbourne is not big but the market is certainly growing. The pretty blonds match their Louis Vuitton bags with the 147s pacing in Toorak, while the alopecic, vertical challenged cruise down the bayside in the open top Alfa Spider struggling to put their right elbow on the door. Will the new Alfa GT impress a high-cushion sense young professional wearing a checker red Declic shirt?
The Alfa GT shaped in a coupe hatback. Ironic combination, don’t you think? What is strange is that they aimed to create a 2 door GT car by matching a grunty V6 with a front wheel drive chassis. Anyhow, let’s concentrate on the styling of the new GT. The exterior has a trademark Alfa look for the front, nothing is special there. The rear end has borrowed the design from the 156. To make it slightly different, Alfa have thrown in hatch back with a 40-60 split rear seat. That allows great useable boot space. That’s I think is the best feature for a GT car. The interior finish is the same styling as the 147, or maybe with a stronger built and slightly more refined. The GT is packed with features like duo climate control, sound control in the steering wheel, MP3 player and matching Bose system. They even throw in the reverse parking sensor, too. The well stitched leather seats are something VERY VERY special. It is the most comfortable seat I have ever put my butt in. It hugs you with great support, especially on the shoulder areas. I wish I could have the chance to test drive the car for an hour or 2. They are heated too; there will be no cold behind anymore.
The mechanical side was on par with what I tested in a 147GTA. The engine makes an excellent rumble upon turning of the key. It sounds like a straight pipe but much less in the intensity. How can a 3.2L V6 sound this good, is that the chrome coloured manifold? Is it something to do with the 10mm exhaust tips? I don’t think so, the 147GTA have the same thing but sound nothing like this. Between the dealer and me, we can not work it out. So we just jump in the GT, wind down the window and off we go. The power is progressive and smooth – it is the same Alfa V6 feel. However, I don’t feel the punch as in the hot hatch 147GTA. The gears are certainly taller, the car is heavier and the torque curve is certainly different. It is more tuned to a luxurious style. Guess what is the first disappointment so far? I guess this is very Italian and certainly fits to an enormous ego for an Alfa GT owner - they have a long stick to run the gears. To further disappoint me, there is a long throw between gears and long travel of the clutch. The pedals are well placed otherwise, easy to heel-toe even to a novice like me. The handling is great for the front wheel drive despite of the conservative stability control. The chassis is softer than traditional sport car but on par with a luxury sport. The suspension is soft too but the car turn well to where the steering wheel is pointing to, it is likely a credit to the 225/45-17 Potenza S02. It is still too soft and too much sway for my liking but certainly have improved from the 147GTA.
In general sense $88500 is an enormous price tag. But there are 9 exterior colours and 4 interior leather colours to choose from. You can even get a red car with tan leather! I am sure even Paris Hilton can find a strange match of colour here. Style is here, fun is limited, and my pocket is safe for another day. In the meantime, I am dreaming what I can do with the spare $20000 to the say, a 350Z, an RX-8 or an STi.
Transcript is found in HERE
Originally Posted by TAKA Car review page @ step-hen.com
“Gran Turismo” or “Grand Touring”, GT stands for “fun”. This is what I aimed to find out. Alfa Romeo in a sense now becomes a fashion statement. Dealership in Melbourne is not big but the market is certainly growing. The pretty blonds match their Louis Vuitton bags with the 147s pacing in Toorak, while the alopecic, vertical challenged cruise down the bayside in the open top Alfa Spider struggling to put their right elbow on the door. Will the new Alfa GT impress a high-cushion sense young professional wearing a checker red Declic shirt?
The Alfa GT shaped in a coupe hatback. Ironic combination, don’t you think? What is strange is that they aimed to create a 2 door GT car by matching a grunty V6 with a front wheel drive chassis. Anyhow, let’s concentrate on the styling of the new GT. The exterior has a trademark Alfa look for the front, nothing is special there. The rear end has borrowed the design from the 156. To make it slightly different, Alfa have thrown in hatch back with a 40-60 split rear seat. That allows great useable boot space. That’s I think is the best feature for a GT car. The interior finish is the same styling as the 147, or maybe with a stronger built and slightly more refined. The GT is packed with features like duo climate control, sound control in the steering wheel, MP3 player and matching Bose system. They even throw in the reverse parking sensor, too. The well stitched leather seats are something VERY VERY special. It is the most comfortable seat I have ever put my butt in. It hugs you with great support, especially on the shoulder areas. I wish I could have the chance to test drive the car for an hour or 2. They are heated too; there will be no cold behind anymore.
The mechanical side was on par with what I tested in a 147GTA. The engine makes an excellent rumble upon turning of the key. It sounds like a straight pipe but much less in the intensity. How can a 3.2L V6 sound this good, is that the chrome coloured manifold? Is it something to do with the 10mm exhaust tips? I don’t think so, the 147GTA have the same thing but sound nothing like this. Between the dealer and me, we can not work it out. So we just jump in the GT, wind down the window and off we go. The power is progressive and smooth – it is the same Alfa V6 feel. However, I don’t feel the punch as in the hot hatch 147GTA. The gears are certainly taller, the car is heavier and the torque curve is certainly different. It is more tuned to a luxurious style. Guess what is the first disappointment so far? I guess this is very Italian and certainly fits to an enormous ego for an Alfa GT owner - they have a long stick to run the gears. To further disappoint me, there is a long throw between gears and long travel of the clutch. The pedals are well placed otherwise, easy to heel-toe even to a novice like me. The handling is great for the front wheel drive despite of the conservative stability control. The chassis is softer than traditional sport car but on par with a luxury sport. The suspension is soft too but the car turn well to where the steering wheel is pointing to, it is likely a credit to the 225/45-17 Potenza S02. It is still too soft and too much sway for my liking but certainly have improved from the 147GTA.
In general sense $88500 is an enormous price tag. But there are 9 exterior colours and 4 interior leather colours to choose from. You can even get a red car with tan leather! I am sure even Paris Hilton can find a strange match of colour here. Style is here, fun is limited, and my pocket is safe for another day. In the meantime, I am dreaming what I can do with the spare $20000 to the say, a 350Z, an RX-8 or an STi.
Last edited by takahashi; 12-22-2004 at 05:06 PM.
08-12-2004 | 07:17 PM
#5
Banned
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 3,535
Likes: 2
From: Gold Coast Australia
Taka
I agree with you the seats in the ALFA GT are great , did you notice the poor visibility in the rear window the two headrest totally block the rear view .?
The reason you didnt feel the urge in this car as opposed to the147 Alfa GT is that the engine has been considerably detuned and the Alfa GT is also a lot heavier .
THERE ARE ALREADY aftermarket chips in UK that are being used to upgrade the power to the engine .
But at the price of $80.000++ ON roads plus the poor resale values that Alfas traditionally have , they can keep it .
cheers
michael
I agree with you the seats in the ALFA GT are great , did you notice the poor visibility in the rear window the two headrest totally block the rear view .?
The reason you didnt feel the urge in this car as opposed to the147 Alfa GT is that the engine has been considerably detuned and the Alfa GT is also a lot heavier .
THERE ARE ALREADY aftermarket chips in UK that are being used to upgrade the power to the engine .
But at the price of $80.000++ ON roads plus the poor resale values that Alfas traditionally have , they can keep it .
cheers
michael
08-12-2004 | 07:27 PM
#6
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Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 9,944
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From: Melbourne, Australia
I looked and realised it. I did not think it is that of a problem as the side and the rear window are easy to see.
I don't think it is that much of a detune but it is just heavier and the gearing is ****. $88000 is very pricey but the paint job is very nice.
EDIT: I should add about the 4 pot Ferrari 360 "sized" brakes as well. They are good but not magic. RX-8 is better
I don't think it is that much of a detune but it is just heavier and the gearing is ****. $88000 is very pricey but the paint job is very nice.
EDIT: I should add about the 4 pot Ferrari 360 "sized" brakes as well. They are good but not magic. RX-8 is better
Last edited by takahashi; 08-12-2004 at 10:54 PM.
08-12-2004 | 11:28 PM
#7
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 212
Likes: 0
From: Sydney
Originally Posted by Lock & Load
Taka
I agree with you the seats in the ALFA GT are great , did you notice the poor visibility in the rear window the two headrest totally block the rear view .?....
cheers
michael
I agree with you the seats in the ALFA GT are great , did you notice the poor visibility in the rear window the two headrest totally block the rear view .?....
cheers
michael
Alfa will never completely sort their coupes out until they get back to their roots and abandon FWD. ....and build the things at an affordable price. The one area where they seem to be making real progress is interior quality, with most of the latest models being way, way ahead of the flimsy rubbish fittings with pathetically inadequate ergonomics you used to get from them in the 1980's and early 1990's.
11-11-2004 | 05:43 AM
#8
RainMan is Back
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 2,650
Likes: 0
From: SF Bay Area
Anybody care to add this to their video collection? I have a comparo video of the Alfa Romeo GT 2.0 JTS and the RX-8. It's just over 5 minutes long in Dvix format and roughly 31 MB. The show is from Deutsch World Television but spoken in English. All performance and consumption values are metric.
Anybody care to host this? I could try to eMule it, but I don’t care to leave the PC running for days…
Anybody care to host this? I could try to eMule it, but I don’t care to leave the PC running for days…
12-22-2004 | 05:08 PM
#10
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New Member
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 9,944
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From: Melbourne, Australia
It is small as the usual car and yes it is small for a GT car. I think our cars are at least 20mm stock.
What should I go and test next?
Renault Megan Turbo?
OR
Honda Integra Type S?
What should I go and test next?
Renault Megan Turbo?
OR
Honda Integra Type S?
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