Wait for a new Alfa or buy and A4?

["Doug Gould" <wdgould@domain.elided>]

I'll weigh in to this debate with my $0.02. When my last 164 was killed by a
falling tree an Audi A4 was near the top of my list for a (newer)
replacement. The car looks good, reads well on paper, but I found it a huge
disappointment to drive. In fact I cut the test drive short and returned the
car to the dealer.

Ultimately, I bought another 164, but it is now getting toward its use-by
date with just short of 200,00 km on the clock. In Australia I am fortunate
to have the choice of a 166, 156 or 147.  I had my eye on a 166, but some
Alfa club members have expressed disappointment with the auto trans and
unlike the 164, it is now the slowest in the stable. I like the look and
finish of the 147 better than the 156, but on paper its actually slower
(same engine, less weight but still slower - I guess they changed the
gearing). Does anyone on the Digest have experience with the new generation?

As an aside, I drove a new Subaru Liberty B4 last night. Its an interesting
car. I'd put it several rungs ahead of the Audi!!

Regards

Doug Gould
Melbourne, Australia
Blue 91 164
White 85 GTV6

[demime 0.98e removed an attachment of type text/x-vcard which had a name of Doug Gould.vcf]

--
to be removed from alfa, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided