ALFA ROMEO 159 1.9 JTDM 16V 5dr (2008)

Alfa 159 - Lots of fun... when it's working

Thing about Alfa is, once you've driven one it is difficult not to go back, even though you've been hurt before haha... ugh I dunno, the repair bills are just getting too much now. I still love my Alfa Romeo 159, but my better half has long since given up on it and just wishes I'd sell. So basically, the problems have been:

- odd looseness of the rear view mirror

- engines seem to be made of lego, it's had 2 new engines!!

- some sort of persistent rattle noise from the dashboard, which the dealer swears he can't hear

- generally flaky windscreen wipers

Also it gets through tyres like nobody's business (front ones are the worst). I got it all done on the extended warranty I got from the dealer (I know the Alfa reputation already)

Well then, those are the bad points. Apart from that (!) it's ace. The seats are comfy for a car like this, even for epic journeys. I took it back to the Italian motherland for one holiday and it was fine for that. We had our little girl in the back too and she seemed happy enough back there. Worth pointing out: I spose the back seats wouldn't actually have been much good for anyone but a child. Fine for us though. And the boot was big enough for all our gear. We were fully catered though, so only had summer clothes and stuff with us.

I admittedly don't know all that much about the Alfa Romeo 159 engines, but they sound absolutely brilliant. Ours is one of the smaller ones cos I knew it would be thirsty, but it still gives a nice return when you floor it. It's not that thirsty I suppose, but I was a bit gutted when they released an 'eco' version the year after we got ours, which apparently gives much better mpg. Still ours isn't bad on that score.

When the Alfa 159 is not in the garage being fixed it's a dream to drive, especially on big open roads in the sun. It clings to the road really well, and the roar and power from the engine are crazy, I swear nobody else can make a diesel produce that sort of noise.

But yeah, just annoying that it's got so many things going wrong all the time. The extended warranty is gone now so I might have to rethink if the bills start mounting.