volvo v alfa 156 gta estate!

[TEAMWAYSIDE21]

hi guys and gals,

just a question,
my brother's wife is thinking of buying an alfa romeo 156 gta estate,
apparently she spoke to the sales guy of one car for sale,and he said to her that he has had volvo t5's in the past,but when he drove the alfa,the performance was much better!!!!!

is this bloke telling porkies,or have i uncovered an estate car mid market,faster than a volvo t5.

i think he is telling little,white lies,just to get a sale,

but i am opening it up to you lot,
what do you think??????

[mike 850]

the only 156 gta i could find is a 2002 onwards, not sure if thats the same model your looking at? but its 6.1 to 60 and 155 mph with 250bhp and 300nm so pretty impressive, but i wouldnt say that was mid range, plus the fact its a group 19 insurance, tbh if it is the model your thinking of then you'll be paying more for insurance and maybe more for the car for no real extra go? thats my opinion anyways :B_steerin

[T5TIM]

Ive driven both, active member of Alfa Owners club and owned 4 T5's. (my brother has a GTA too)....(which we regularly thrash!)

GTA estate (sportwagen) actually has less boot capacity than the saloon.... amazing but true. Volvo estate obviously huge capacity in comparison.

GTA is indeed very fast........... but hard work driving daily. Ride harsher than any T5 and has you wanting to race everything from the lights! Mid range torque cant match a turbo though and my last T5 with minor mods (mbc etc) was like a rocket midrange whereas the Alfa builds to 7,000rpm and is probably more addictive.

If you want to take to the track........... GTA
If you want a better ride (very important if you intend keeping it for more than a honeymoon period) Volvo.

BUT get the volvo sorted by Volvotuning with a power upgrade. :)

BTW the GTA engine is the strongest Alfa engine of recent years. Cambelt change at a dealer is £650+

Volvo cambelt, probably less than half. Alfa's also depreciate quicker, but the GTA will fair better than most of Alfa's range

[dicky b t5]

Did'nt someone say a Cambelt change on a T5 is about £150.....!
Well under half price... :B_steerin

[steveT5]

Did'nt someone say a Cambelt change on a T5 is about £150.....!
Well under half price... :B_steerin
At a good independent Garage mate, i bet the main dealers charge double.
80000m service on our v40 2.0t was £550. inc belt change !! at main dealer.

[dan_burdock]

I had a 145 cloverleaf from new P reg. 150 bhp, excellent drive, loved the sound of the engine always seemed to be in the 6000 revs, used to eat petrol and tyres, had eight sets on the front in one year. Main problem I had with it was build quality, not sure what they are like now, but I killed mine at 110 when front wishbone snapped. She had only done 60,000. I now drive a T5 which seems cheaper when looking back at the reciepts on the alfa. All said and done, I would have another, but I wouldn't swap for my volvo.
Dan

[audimadmike]

My wife 'shadquattro' had a new 147 2.0 Lusso, nice car and well built.
New engine at 10,000 miles due to a dropped collet, valve went into top of the piston!
New engine fitted under warranty (£4000)
Plus a few other faults, each time went to the dealers 45 miles away, they found problem and always had to go back to have it repaired.
Great looking cars..go well..until they fail. The dealers...well...they live up (down) to their reputation.
156 estate (sportswagon) best looking estate, but has the carrying capacity of a shoe box.

Mike

[BlackBeast]

but has the carrying capacity of a shoe box.



Carrying capacity and size wise the GTA is more of a match to a V40 or the new V50, the only way you can really compare a GTA with the T5 is power, 250bhp.

If you want a load lugger, get a T5, if you want a lifestyle estate to fit the shopping bags in get the sportswagen.

It all depends what your wife wants in a car TWS21.

Ive owned a number of Fiats and financially they are money pits, but the heart rules over the head when it comes to any italian cars, the engines are just fantastic until something breaks or it comes to a major service i.e cambelt time.