SA Road Tests

Welcome

This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here probably applies to the models you can get at home.
*To read one of our road tests, just select from the menu on the left.
*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the reports.


When Alfa Romeo relaunched its 159 executive saloon for 2012 recently, we were invited along for the ride

This is a launch report. In other words, it's simply a new model announcement. The driving experience was limited to a short drive over a prepared course chosen to make the product look good. We can therefore not tell you what it will be like to live with over an extended period, how economical it is, or how reliable it will be. A very brief first impression is all we can give you until such time as we get an actual test unit for trial. Thank you for your patience.

Pics supplied

To the farthest end of the longest road

Published in The Witness Motoring on Wednesday October 19, 2011

Most buyers in the market for a medium sized executive sedan default to one of the German models for undisputed mechanical excellence, spaciousness, performance and reputation.  Prestigious badges and sporting pedigrees don’t hurt either.

According to Oscar Rivoli, Managing Director of Fiat Group Automobiles South Africa, the new Alfa Romeo 159 fulfils that brief: “Alfa Romeo has always been an evocative nameplate, but the revamped 159 range most definitely delivers when it comes to performance, luxury, refinement and affordability. New engines, new trim levels, new market positioning and new pricing makes it an unbeatable package.”

As he has pointed out, wooing new buyers and keeping them depends on the total ownership experience. Alfa Romeo’s six-point plan is based on excellent parts availability, competitive parts pricing, competitive product pricing, maintaining residual value (transferable balance of warranty and service plan) after four years when most buyers change their vehicles, warranty coverage and dealer network. Presently these number 18, covering all major metropolitan areas, with a further four about to come on board and negotiations in progress for more.

“We also contact every workshop customer for feedback,” Rivoli continued, “and see to it that any problems are resolved immediately.” The strategy is paying off, with sales during the first eight months of 2011 being 156 percent higher than for the same period last year. “This is off a low base,” he concedes, “but Alfa Romeo is a niche product, it stands out and we will continue to do better simply by doing everything right.”

The product range consists of five models sharing two engines and a pair of transmissions. There are two 1750 TBi derivatives with six-speed manual transmission and choice of Progression or Ti trim, and a trio of 3.2-litre V6s – six-speed manuals with or without the Ti package and an awd Q4 version fitted with a six-speed automatic.

All models are EuroNCAP 5-compliant with seven airbags, ISOFix attachments on the rear seats, follow-me-home headlights and a full complement of active safety kit including Stability Control, Traction Control and ABS with EBD, braking assistance and Hill Holder. Q2 electronic differential control is standard on both 1750 TBi models.

The basic 1750 TBi Progression features 17-inch spoke-design alloy wheels, front fog lights, electrically powered windows and outside mirrors, electronic key with pushbutton starting, dual-zone climate control, cruise control, fabric upholstery, trip computer and leather multifunction steering wheel.

Ti, for Turismo Internazionale, trim adds a body kit with special exhaust, lowered sports suspension, red Brembo brake calipers with Alfa Romeo designation, skirts and 18” turbine-design alloy wheels with matt black finish. If you really dislike the all-black look, you can swap them for silver.

Interior changes include added recline angle on the heated leather and Alcantara sports front seats, sill inserts with Ti decal, sports pedals and aluminium heel guard, as well as red stitching on the leather steering wheel and gear knob.

All V6s start off with Distinctive trim that adds to the Progression level with electrically folding and heated wing mirrors, interior trim inserts in black aluminium, leather and fabric combination upholstery, sports instrumentation with white backlighting and multifunctional display, Blue&Me hands-free communication system with USB port, Visibility Pack with rain sensor, light sensor and electrochromatic mirror, as well as sports leather steering wheel and gear knob with black stitching.

Inside, all instruments and controls are angled toward the driver, cocooning him or her in an aircraft-like ambience. The finish is mostly black with silvered accents around dials, buttons and knobs and on the steering wheel; quite posh, actually. We started out in a plain 1750 Progression and decided that, for power and responsiveness, no one really needs more. It’s that brilliant. Then came a 3.2 Ti. Naturally aspirated, it drives a little differently and generally feels more muscular. Then there’s that quad-cam Alfa Romeo rumble as you put the boot in. It’s pure music, leading to wicked addiction of the kind that makes you want to drive to the farthest end of the longest road then turn around and come right back again.

The numbers
Prices range from R340 000 (1750 TBi Progression) to R430 000 (3.2 Q4 auto)
Engines:
1750 TBi: 1742cc DOHC, 16-valve, four cylinders, turbocharged
Power: 147 kW at 5000 rpm
Torque: 320 Nm at 1400 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 7,7 seconds
Maximum: 235 km/h
Fuel: 7,8 l/100 km
3.2 V6: 3195 cc quad-cam, six cylinders, naturally aspirated
Power: 191 kW at 6200 rpm
Torque: 322 Nm at 4500 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 7,1 seconds (man), 7,0 seconds (auto)
Maximum speed: 250 km/h (man), 244 km/h (auto)
Fuel: 11,0 l/100 (man), 11,4 l/100 (auto)
Tank: 70 litres
Boot: 405 dm3
Warranty: 5 years/150 000 km
Roadside assistance: AA fleetcare for 3 years
Service plan: 6 years/105 000 km
Intervals: 35 000 km

1750 TBi Progression (back) and 3.2 Distinctive Ti (front)



What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that road test cars entrusted to me are driven only by me. Some reviewers hand test cars over to their partners to use as day-to-day transport and barely experience them for themselves.

What this means to you is that every car reviewed is given my own personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every car goes through real world testing; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

My articles appear every Wednesday in the motoring pages of The Witness, South Africa's oldest continuously running newspaper, and occasionally on Saturdays in Weekend Witness as well. I drive eight to ten vehicles most months of the year (press cars are withdrawn over the festive season - wonder why?) so not everything gets published in the paper. Those that are, get a tagline but the rest is virgin, unpublished and unedited by the political-correctness police. Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so I do actually exist.

I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the central hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go to buy their supplies and equipment, truck their goods to market, send their kids to school and go to kick back and relax.
So occasionally a cow, a goat or a horse may add a little local colour by finding its way into the story or one of the pictures. It's all part of the ambience!

Comments?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you thoroughly disagree with what I say? That's your privilege, because if everybody agreed on everything, the world would be a boring place. All I ask is that you remain calm, so please blow off a little steam before venting too vigorously.