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So despite it being a cold, drizzly day, I took some more photos. And it still manages to look stunning.
Want a review? 'Course you do.
(Disclaimer: I originally wrote this for petrolhead friends who aren't familiar with this car - or indeed Alfa Romeos - so there's a lot of stuff that even non-quad owners in this group will be aware of. So just bear with on that.)
I'll start with the easy stuff: The way it looks.
SUVs are a thing of necessity; of practicality. You buy one because you have kids, or a big dog, or because you still don't know that home delivery is a thing that exists. You certainly don't buy them for their looks. Even the really desirable marques like Range Rover Sports or Bentley Bentaygas. They're big and they're imposing. They have presence. But so does Lurch from the Addams Family. They're not "pretty".
This though? Well beauty is always in the eye of the beholder, but as I left the house to go walk the dog this morning I saw this in the sunrise, and I did stop to admire it. For me, this is the prettiest thing I've ever owned.
And before you say it: I checked. I don't actually own my wife. So there.
But more than that, this car is all about the little details. The 'alfa romeo' signature in the headlights; the Cloverleaf door sills which I didn't even notice until this morning, the alfa emblem in the headrests; the steering wheel in which the designers couldn't decide whether to use leather, alcantara, brushed aluminium or carbon fibre, so they just put ALL of it in there.
It just feels more than it is. It feels like a car designed by people who not only actually give a ****, but LOVE what they do. It feels special.
How is it to drive?
In an anecdote? Jekyll and Hyde. Bruce Banner and the Hulk. I'm... running out of similar dichotomies. You get the idea.
The car has four driving modes: It gets the usual 'D-N-A' driving modes all new Alfas get (Dynamic; Natural; All-Weather), but with an added fourth option: Race. More on that 'box of frogs' mode later.
I'd mistaken 'A' mode for eco-mode yesterday. It reduces the power output, quietens the exhaust, and changes gears at much lower RPM. Squeeze the throttle a bit harder and you get a throaty burble from the engine hinting at the car's true nature. Turns out: No. This is 'all-weather' mode, and it's designed for tricky driving conditions and/or off-road driving. As if you'd even want to go off-roading in this. But you can... if you don't care about the paintwork. In this mode you can have 'soft' or 'mid' suspension settings. My advice: Soft. Always soft. Britain's roads aren't good enough for anything else.
'Natural' is its 'eco-mode'. It will switch off 3 of the 6 cylinders to save fuel, bringing them back to life as and when you decide to drive a bit faster. In both this and 'A' mode, the car is quiet and very comfortable. I expected the ride to be very firm in this kind of car, and whilst it's no Rolls Royce - the 21" alloys have all the 'give' of steel, so avoid bumps - it's not bad at all. The BMW M6 was a much harder ride. It's actually just a really nice car to drive 'normally'. Even the engine can be quiet if you want it to be.
'Dynamic' is a sports mode. You get more power from the engine, better throttle response, and is the highest setting you can have whilst still having soft suspension. 'Race' commits you to a minimum of 'mid' suspension (which already feels rock-hard) and the race suspension mode is basically a go-kart. There's no body roll, but also zero give over bumps and creases.
'Race' is - and I want to be clear about this - absolutely fucking insane. 0-62mph in 3.8s, and many owners claim that's a very modest figure; it's actually even faster than that. And honestly between the 4WD system and the way this thing just takes off with even the tickle of the throttle, I actually believe them, too. I reckon the actual time is closer to 3 seconds than 4. It would leave my old M6 trailing behind.
Also: That exhaust. It's the exhaust every red-blooded petrolhead wants. It crackles and burbles on the overrun; it pops on the gearshift, spitting out just a hint of fire, but only if you tell it to (i.e. if you drive the nuts off the car). In either of the two more gentle drive modes it settles down nicely, and becomes a very civilised car.
One that turns heads as you burble by, because did I mention how pretty it is!?
But I'd be remissed if I didn't talk about the engine. Holy ****. What an absolute masterpiece! It's not the sheer amount of power it puts out, or the fact that the turbos are mapped so there's no (evident) turbo lag. Or how it sounds. It's all of these things, but more than that: It's the way this thing revs! It loves to be driven, and driven hard. I was in it last night babying it because it's a new car, new engine and needs to be eased in. But no. It was begging me "More! Harder! Faster! Let's go go go!"
No wonder I came out of the car with a semi
ahem yes. I've done countless track days, driven Ferraris and Porsches and Lamborghinis, and proper racing cars, too - Formula Renaults and a 1994 Arrows Formula 1 car being the best things I've ever driven. There are more powerful engines, but none more exciting than this one. I doff my cap to you, Alfa Romeo. That's one hell of an engine.
Go on then, what are its faults?
I mentioned this car is all about the little details, and the same is true for its faults. For starters, the brakes are quite 'grabby' at low speeds. I thought this was due in part to it being a new car with new brakes (new brakes need time to 'bed in') and mostly due to the fact they're HUGE, as they need to be able to stop a 1.8-tonne SUV from 180mph (and ideally more than once, too). But when I mentioned it in this forum last night and someone (EDIT: Thanks, @ALFAOFFROAD !) explained it's more to do with the Brake-By-Wire System, which can be a little overzealous. So it'll never get better and I just have to get used to it. Oh.
Secondly: This car has lovely brushed aluminium paddle shifters mounted to the steering column (NOT the steering wheel, so they don't move when you turn the wheel). This is fine - and they're great - but they've also mounted the indicators and wipers stalks behind those paddles. It means your fingers have to sort of reach around behind those paddles just to reach the stalks. I'll get used to it, I'm sure, but for now it's just so fiddly.
But honestly, if those are my only gripes, it's a small price to pay for such a phenomenal car.
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Want a review? 'Course you do.
(Disclaimer: I originally wrote this for petrolhead friends who aren't familiar with this car - or indeed Alfa Romeos - so there's a lot of stuff that even non-quad owners in this group will be aware of. So just bear with on that.)
I'll start with the easy stuff: The way it looks.
SUVs are a thing of necessity; of practicality. You buy one because you have kids, or a big dog, or because you still don't know that home delivery is a thing that exists. You certainly don't buy them for their looks. Even the really desirable marques like Range Rover Sports or Bentley Bentaygas. They're big and they're imposing. They have presence. But so does Lurch from the Addams Family. They're not "pretty".
This though? Well beauty is always in the eye of the beholder, but as I left the house to go walk the dog this morning I saw this in the sunrise, and I did stop to admire it. For me, this is the prettiest thing I've ever owned.
And before you say it: I checked. I don't actually own my wife. So there.
But more than that, this car is all about the little details. The 'alfa romeo' signature in the headlights; the Cloverleaf door sills which I didn't even notice until this morning, the alfa emblem in the headrests; the steering wheel in which the designers couldn't decide whether to use leather, alcantara, brushed aluminium or carbon fibre, so they just put ALL of it in there.
It just feels more than it is. It feels like a car designed by people who not only actually give a ****, but LOVE what they do. It feels special.
How is it to drive?
In an anecdote? Jekyll and Hyde. Bruce Banner and the Hulk. I'm... running out of similar dichotomies. You get the idea.
The car has four driving modes: It gets the usual 'D-N-A' driving modes all new Alfas get (Dynamic; Natural; All-Weather), but with an added fourth option: Race. More on that 'box of frogs' mode later.
I'd mistaken 'A' mode for eco-mode yesterday. It reduces the power output, quietens the exhaust, and changes gears at much lower RPM. Squeeze the throttle a bit harder and you get a throaty burble from the engine hinting at the car's true nature. Turns out: No. This is 'all-weather' mode, and it's designed for tricky driving conditions and/or off-road driving. As if you'd even want to go off-roading in this. But you can... if you don't care about the paintwork. In this mode you can have 'soft' or 'mid' suspension settings. My advice: Soft. Always soft. Britain's roads aren't good enough for anything else.
'Natural' is its 'eco-mode'. It will switch off 3 of the 6 cylinders to save fuel, bringing them back to life as and when you decide to drive a bit faster. In both this and 'A' mode, the car is quiet and very comfortable. I expected the ride to be very firm in this kind of car, and whilst it's no Rolls Royce - the 21" alloys have all the 'give' of steel, so avoid bumps - it's not bad at all. The BMW M6 was a much harder ride. It's actually just a really nice car to drive 'normally'. Even the engine can be quiet if you want it to be.
'Dynamic' is a sports mode. You get more power from the engine, better throttle response, and is the highest setting you can have whilst still having soft suspension. 'Race' commits you to a minimum of 'mid' suspension (which already feels rock-hard) and the race suspension mode is basically a go-kart. There's no body roll, but also zero give over bumps and creases.
'Race' is - and I want to be clear about this - absolutely fucking insane. 0-62mph in 3.8s, and many owners claim that's a very modest figure; it's actually even faster than that. And honestly between the 4WD system and the way this thing just takes off with even the tickle of the throttle, I actually believe them, too. I reckon the actual time is closer to 3 seconds than 4. It would leave my old M6 trailing behind.
Also: That exhaust. It's the exhaust every red-blooded petrolhead wants. It crackles and burbles on the overrun; it pops on the gearshift, spitting out just a hint of fire, but only if you tell it to (i.e. if you drive the nuts off the car). In either of the two more gentle drive modes it settles down nicely, and becomes a very civilised car.
One that turns heads as you burble by, because did I mention how pretty it is!?
But I'd be remissed if I didn't talk about the engine. Holy ****. What an absolute masterpiece! It's not the sheer amount of power it puts out, or the fact that the turbos are mapped so there's no (evident) turbo lag. Or how it sounds. It's all of these things, but more than that: It's the way this thing revs! It loves to be driven, and driven hard. I was in it last night babying it because it's a new car, new engine and needs to be eased in. But no. It was begging me "More! Harder! Faster! Let's go go go!"
ahem yes. I've done countless track days, driven Ferraris and Porsches and Lamborghinis, and proper racing cars, too - Formula Renaults and a 1994 Arrows Formula 1 car being the best things I've ever driven. There are more powerful engines, but none more exciting than this one. I doff my cap to you, Alfa Romeo. That's one hell of an engine.
Go on then, what are its faults?
I mentioned this car is all about the little details, and the same is true for its faults. For starters, the brakes are quite 'grabby' at low speeds. I thought this was due in part to it being a new car with new brakes (new brakes need time to 'bed in') and mostly due to the fact they're HUGE, as they need to be able to stop a 1.8-tonne SUV from 180mph (and ideally more than once, too). But when I mentioned it in this forum last night and someone (EDIT: Thanks, @ALFAOFFROAD !) explained it's more to do with the Brake-By-Wire System, which can be a little overzealous. So it'll never get better and I just have to get used to it. Oh.
Secondly: This car has lovely brushed aluminium paddle shifters mounted to the steering column (NOT the steering wheel, so they don't move when you turn the wheel). This is fine - and they're great - but they've also mounted the indicators and wipers stalks behind those paddles. It means your fingers have to sort of reach around behind those paddles just to reach the stalks. I'll get used to it, I'm sure, but for now it's just so fiddly.
But honestly, if those are my only gripes, it's a small price to pay for such a phenomenal car.
