164 reactions, 156 test drive

[Lawrence Leong <leongccl@domain.elided>]

ok, a bit of a misleading title, but not totally inaccurate.

Colleague was considering changing his car (Mazda Astina), so I 
offered to drive out for lunch in my "new" 164.  the unspoken 
part was to visit a car dealer.  His first consideration was
automatic gear box.  2nd consideration was a bigger rear seat.

The general reaction at lunch, was that the 164 is a good car.  
The car is still tight, no annoying rattles, squeaks etc.  
Suspension good as the car handles bumps and uneven roads with 
aplomb.  Engine still good for a 7.5 year car.  Generally, all 
were impressed considering their cars were Mazda Astina, Mitsubishi 
Galant, Honda Accord.  

Good show Alfa Romeo.


Next headed for the Alfa Romeo showroom - and no, I didn't tell
him where we were going.  Until he saw the nice big AR script
on the cam cover (see later), he thought I had brought him to a 
Mazda showroom.

No 166 on display (pity, becoz one other wants to sell his 5 year 
old Galant, problematic with lots of minor breakdowns, just like one
of those notoriously problematic Alfas :-) ).

Two 156s on display, the 1.8TS and the 2.0TS Selespeed.  We head
for the Selespeed....... (my 2nd time in one, but first time in 
the backseat)

Colleague is impressed by the interior, good fixtures and switchgear.
Exterior also impresses with the tight close lines, biggish boot,
and funky rear door handles.  In fact, the first time he saw it, 
he didn't realise it was an Alfa until we opened the bonnet and 
he saw the bright red Alfa Romeo script on the cam covers.  

He remarked that the lines did not look like an Alfa.  He associated
Alfa styling with the 164, 75, 33, Sprints, Spiders etc.  Not the
smooth styling of the 156.  So for those of you who don't like the
156 lines, here's ammo :-)

After some sales talk while the sales guy gives a run down of the 
cabin interior, we take it for a spin.  Initially he thought the 
shift buttons on the steering wheel were not too convenient.  After 
a few minutes of us egging him on eg 80kmph at 5th gear (std auto), 
drop it by 2 gears and pull out, he was impressed.  More so when I
calmly pointed out, "Richard, you might be interesed to know you're 
at 160kmph".  Very stable.  Did a few more 80-160kmph stunts.  Very
good torque, excellent for overtaking.  Everyone was more impressed
when reminded it was just a 2L engine, performance wise it beat 
the Accord 2.2 and Galant 2.0 engines.

Next tried redlining it all the way from standing start (in manual
mode).  Everyone was very impressed at the way the car ran up to 
7000rpm without fuss.  

Admittedly he was not intending to buy - S$145K -- and you think 
that a US$30K car is expensive.  Can't be a cheap b*st*ard if you
want to own any car in Singapore :-)  but he sure was quiet on 
the way back.  I think he's hooked.  I think I also spoilt his
weekend, now he's probably thinking of the 156.  Afterall, it
drives like an auto, but has the performance of a manual.  The
bigger rear seat also fulfilled his 2nd requirement.  The a/c
is very efficient, matches any Japanese car for cooling
effectiveness.

I don't think he's going to spend that much for a car, but at least
there's one more person out there who won't be associating 
Alfa Romeo with poor quality fittings, poor fixtures and substandard 
build.

Geez.  I should be getting a commission!

This was a really fun lunch today.  Gotta do this more often.


Cheers
Lawrence

86 33 1.5 QV (for sale)
92 164 2.0 TS

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