Gorgeous Italian will be a classic
With the face of an angel and the hooded gaze of a gunslinger, the GT Alfa is one Italian classic you can afford, writes Dave Moore.
Derived from the underpinnings of the almost as desirable Alfa 156 sedan, the GT actually drives better than the slightly prettier Brera coupe that superseded it. However, it does have that old habit of front-driven Alfas of adding a measure of torque-steer to the negotiation of bumpy twists and turns, but Alfisti will know and expect a little unruliness. Fortunately, the car’s standard traction control makes a fair fist of quelling such waywardness, and on smoother roads, the car is a delight, with pleasingly communicative steering and excellent handling. Ride quality is a bit wanting on bumps, and this is exacerbated by lower-profile wheels and tyres, but all is forgiven where either the JTS four or the range-topping V6 engines start to sing.
The cabin displays the strides made by Alfa Romeo since the late 90s in terms of assembly and material choice and with the dark carpet and tan leather of the car pictured here, the GT adds affordable quality to a car that visually inside and out could not be anything but Italian.
The rear seating suits children and teens better than full-sized adults, while up front, despite requiring you to adapt to a longarm, short-leg style driving position (often an Alfa prerequisite) there’s good space and plenty of stowage. The boot’s a good size and all in all, the GT is a remarkably versatile car. As well as excellent smooth road driving qualities, and a familysized cabin, the GT is a refined and relatively quiet car when touring, and the good thing is that you don’t need to break the bank to fuel or own one. The manual transmission is slick and great to use and while the semi-automatic option might be preferred by those who find the driving position a tad awkward, it takes some getting used to. Mind you, once persevered with it’s not unpleasant at all.
BEST TO BUY:
Available in Europe with a 1.9-litre turbodiesel four, a 2.0-litre JTS petrol unit, or that lovely lastof-the-line V6, there isn’t a bad engine in the GT line-up. The diesel is rare in New Zealand, but worth snapping-up if you hear of a thus-equipped ex-UK baggage car, but don’t be too disappointed with the petrol four, it sounds nice and throaty has plenty of go and doesn’t guzzle. The V6 is undoubtedly the star, making the best music of any V6 in recent decades, and when you look under the bonnet it’s a shiny, pipey, sculpture that celebrates motoring like few others, regardless of price. It does need specialist servicing, but mechanically, like the fours it’s strong and relatively dependable.
WEAKNESSES:
Electrically, the GT can present problems and we’d advise a good, preferably dealer-driven diagnostic check for peace of mind. The low-slung front and undertray can be caught out by deeper potholes and steeper driveways and shopping mall ramps, so check underneath for scrapes and and bent bits, preferably from an inspection pit. The doors are long and heavy and have a weak detent, so check for the kind of damage and associated retouching likely from owners who have habitually opened their doors against other parked vehicles. With the scrabbling front drive wheels the steering can catch people out the first time they experience it, so check that you can live with such unruliness.
YOU’LL HAVE TO LIVE WITH:
A pretty car about which many have their own opinions. If anyone says they ‘‘prefer the way the Brera drives’’ they obviously haven’t driven both cars, and it may not have quite the cutting edge flat-out performance of a WRX or Evo, or the utility of a Golf GTi, the GT won’t cost as much and the police certainly don’t notice them as much as the aforementioned machines.
RUNNING COSTS:
Factory servicing costs no more than a VW or other mainstream European, while in terms of fuel consumption the combined EU figures for the GT aren’t bad at all, with the 110kW 1.9 JTD managing 6L/100km, and the JTS petrol needing 7.5L. The 3.2-litre 177kW V6 does drink heavily compared to its four-cylinder counterparts, but in return for that charismatic engine note and the performance the fact that it used less than an Aussie sedan is neither here nor there.
WHAT TO PAY?:
Alfa-Romeos have improved noend in terms of reliability over the years, but former owners have long memories which tend to unfairly label the cars with a negative reputation that the company shrugged off well before the 21st century.
This is good news, as the cars we found were brilliantly priced and all were low mileage. Knowledgable Alfa fans and owners will most likely belong to an ownership club and have friends with similar tastes to help with advice and they might even know someone who has a good example. The least expensive example we found was a 2004 2.0-litre model on 125,000km, stickered at $11,000, while a string of others, also four-cylinder with mileages of 58,000km to 75,000km could be had from between $10,500 and $18,000. The sole V6 we found was a 2004 manual and had 115,000km on the clock and a nearest offer price of $19,995.
BUT WAIT:
If coupes are your bag, you could look at the VW Scirocco, a BMW 3-series Coupe, a Holden Monaro or Alfa Brera, while the earlier C200 Benz rear-drive hatch is an interesting choice. However, none has quite the appeal of the wellpriced Alfa GT.