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Finally....

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Finally....

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Mrski1

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Nov 4, 2003
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........Getting away from terrible Italian cars and bought a Spanish bull with a hint of German sensibility :cool:

After a year of owning an Alfa 147, which, to be frank is the worst car i have ever had the displeasure of owning, I stumbled across a cracker today just by chance, a 2004 Seat Leon Cupra 1.8T!

I have no idea why i stuck with Alfa so long, the Leon rides and handles much better than the Alfa, gives better mpg, is quieter and more comfortable and has a much better gearbox, also it can be easily mapped to 210 bhp :cool:

So this week once the Alfa is MOT'd, i shall bid it farewell, and i shall never return to the Alfa brand!
 
Sorry to loose you mate. what you doing with the old girl?

my alfa is gone and it is unbearable. i love the 145. but i will be back in the fold very soon.....
 
Im going to sell it later this week once all the electrics and suspension have been sorted for the mot by Kirkhill autos.

Cant beleive how much better a car the Leon is though, the only area where the Alfa is better is with the look of the interior, but as far as build quality and driving experience go, the Seat wins hands down.
 
I have heard a lot of good things about those Seat's but IMO, they are a bit dull (also VERY expensive)

Shame about the Alfa, i think you got a lemon there. my 145 was amazing and the puma just can't compare.

Was the oil consumption still horrible? or did it calm down?
 
They are not too bad, the newest range i dont like, every model looks the same and the center console looks as if it has been made by placing a stensil on the side of a wheelie bin.

The last models, the one i bought, shares golf/A3 underpinnings but was tuned slightly to be the more sporty of the VAG group, it was also cheaper at the time than the Golf and A3. The interior is lifted straight from the A3 too. I dont think its dull at all, i would say the golfs are fairly bland but the Seat Leon has an understated cool about it.

What dont you like about the Puma? I know it is fairly basic and crude but its a cracking drive on any back road.

It wasn't as bad as first thought, although it still uses oil more than most normal cars which is fairly standard for the twin spark.
 
Well, amazingly, my Alfa has passed its MOT, all it needed was a wheel bearing which was expected. The body control unit has also been replaced so the car is due to go for sale end of this week.

Bring on the Cupra on Friday.
 
Mrski1 said:
What dont you like about the Puma? I know it is fairly basic and crude but its a cracking drive on any back road.
Click to expand...

About the puma:

I like:
The low down power is good
Excellent gearbox
Looks nice
nice ride over bumps
handles and performs well

I don't like:
Poor rear visibilty
Shocking windscreen pillar blindspot
Steering very heavy
chronic wind noise
Engine completely uninspiring
not as "sharp" in the corners as the 145
no foot rest and MASSIVE central tunnel means no place for my left leg
Ugly interior
no support on the seats mean i fall off
heavy clutch/throttle

It is agony to drive but i do actually like it.

Roll on my "new" car though.

And i hope you enjoy your new car :)

Is anyone ending the week with their same car?
 
Well I picked the Cupra up today and after the drive home from Aberdeen have to say I made the right choice in changing from the Alfa.

Now this may offend the Alfa faithful, but I truthfully think that the whole 'soul' 'passion' and 'character' IS a load of crap, mainly to make the owners feel better about them when the cars inevitably go wrong. When I first started looking for my Alfa I knew all about the potential issues with the Italian brand but thought it couldn't be anywhere near as bad as what some people say, my 147 just proved me wrong, admittedly a few problems were hidden by the seller, but other faults appeared over time just proving all of the Alfa reliability issues.

After having driven both cars today I am now convinced that the Alfa is massively under developed compared to the Seat, the Leon may be a mix of Golf and A3 parts but it feels and drives like a quality product where as the Alfa feels somewhat lacking, even with all the electrical and suspension issues resolved. I also believe that if it wasn't for Alfa being able to design such pretty cars, the sales figures would be even worse than they already are.

Until Alfa begin to develop the cars up to a good standard, then I will stay well away from the brand for the near future.
 
ive got the best of both worlds im into german and italian cars the germans are reliable and the italians look sexy lol
 
Mrski1 said:
Well I picked the Cupra up today and after the drive home from Aberdeen have to say I made the right choice in changing from the Alfa.

Now this may offend the Alfa faithful, but I truthfully think that the whole 'soul' 'passion' and 'character' IS a load of crap, mainly to make the owners feel better about them when the cars inevitably go wrong. When I first started looking for my Alfa I knew all about the potential issues with the Italian brand but thought it couldn't be anywhere near as bad as what some people say, my 147 just proved me wrong, admittedly a few problems were hidden by the seller, but other faults appeared over time just proving all of the Alfa reliability issues.

After having driven both cars today I am now convinced that the Alfa is massively under developed compared to the Seat, the Leon may be a mix of Golf and A3 parts but it feels and drives like a quality product where as the Alfa feels somewhat lacking, even with all the electrical and suspension issues resolved. I also believe that if it wasn't for Alfa being able to design such pretty cars, the sales figures would be even worse than they already are.

Until Alfa begin to develop the cars up to a good standard, then I will stay well away from the brand for the near future.
Click to expand...

out of interest, what didn't you like about the Alfa? I think yours must have been a real dud. mine is brilliant. absorbes every bump, corners like it is on rails, no body roll at all and it is fast! (faster than the puma after 3k, and i could say as fast as the 145). The build quality seems excellent too, the interior is stunning and seems really well put together

The only thing i don't like about the 147 is the awfull gearchange.
 
Where do i start! Probably best with the things i like! I like the steering, direct and a nice weight, I like the brakes and i like the styling of the interior and exterior.

Things i dont like, fuel and oil economy, Inconsistant ride which is crashy on bigger bumps but also very soft so rolls through the corners, the handling is also not great with the car moving around, especially at the back over country roads and the body roll does not help, i also get the impression the chassis is not up to much even if i had spent time, and even more money on aftermarket suspension mods. The gearbox is terrible and the interior has several rattles and squeaks.
 
you bought a bad one then every company has bad batch's even volkswagen and mercedes !

You've got to look at every detail in a car to see if its one of the bad ones or not thats what i had to do with my punto i checked it all over mechanically then i took it a extensive test drive and ive not looked back because iv.e never had a problem with it in 1 1/2 years.
 
Amittadly we missed a few things when we bought the car, but that was mainly to do with electrics more than anything else, the car had just had a fresh mot and service and at the time was running well and the suspension was quite tight. The first time i took it for a 'proper' drive over some country roads I was dissapointed with the handling, It was far too easy to understeer even in the dry, and lacked composure when pushed to that point.

I have since covered more than 20k miles in less than a year of Alfa ownership, and the common faults which the buyers guides all mentioned, i did not beleive could happen in such a short period but once more i should have paid attention to the buyers guides, again this may prove the cars lack of development, i mean why does an Alfa cambelt only last 35k miles when most other cars are at least double that?

The 147 had the potential to be a very good car, but just doesn't quite make it.
 
DSCF2533.jpg

DSCF2473.jpg
 
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