Royal 8C Competitizione spotted in Amsterdam...

On Tue, 12 Feb 2008 12:42:10 GMT, Catman
<catman DeleteThis @rustcuore-sportivo.co.uk> wrote:

>Or they just don't care......

You'd think they might with the extended paintwork warranties you get
these days (3 years even for an Alfa).

--
Z
Scotland
Alfa Romeo 156 2.4JTD Veloce Leather
'Oil' be seeing you..
(Email without 'Alfa' in subject will be auto-deleted..sorry!)

Zathras wrote:

> Apparently, the 500 suffers from a fidgety, bouncy ride with the car
> being pushed about on uneven road surfaces. The softer suspended
> 'Lounge' is quite acceptable for this (in its class) but the sport is

There is some confusion with the trim levels. The Popular, Lounge &
Sport have identical suspension setups, the designations are simply trim.

The 1.4 models have uprated suspension and with 16" wheels will have the
hardest ride. The Lounge has exactly the same as the Sport. Believe me
having driven a 1.4 on 16s it doesn't feel hard compared with an Audi A3
and not too dissimilar from a 147 albeit the little car has more bounce.
I wouldn't want it any softer but that is personal opinion based on
having fairly stiffly spring cars (I found a 159 too soft compared with
a 156 Veloce).

In Fiat parlance "Sport" is no more than trim level (you can have a
Punto Grande 1.2 Active Sport which just has different trim, no sporting
pretensions. The "Sporting" variant is the quicker versions (confused?)

Sport is meant to appeal to the younger driver but many think it is a
sportier drive.

> As a girlie *town* car, the 500 Lounge and panoramic roof will excel
> but trying to make it something different will take it into areas it
> simply isn't competent in right now. 'Sport' mode with the current
> slow engine range, performance and handling doesn't sound like a
> particularly good fit.

Like I said Sport doesn't mean sporting, the Abarth versions will
provide that.

The Sport button is a bit of a gimmick, you could turn it around and
have it set to Sport as standard and have a City button to lighten
things up. Although it may appeal to a his and hers mentality where a
car is shared.

As for slow, well the 1.4 is the 100hp unit and feels as quick as the
147. It is only about 1 sec off the 147 to 60 and being a more frenetic
ride feels reasonably quick.

To be honest with its cutesy looks nippiness seems the right quality
rather than hot hatch performance and it revs nicely like a little
Italian car should.

In my view the 147 2.0 doesn't meet the expectations of a 150bhp warm
hatch whereas the 500 exceeds the expectations of a little city car.

> I'll be waiting for the Abarth for a, hopefully, useful attempt at a
> 'sport' button.

Certainly the current 500 range is only Mini One performance and to be
honest its appeal is different to the Mini that it doesn't matter that
the Mini is ultimately more sporting, just as choosing an Alfa over a
rear drive BMW which would win on the track.

The Abarth will move it into Cooper territory and be a true "Sporting"
model.

I wish Fiat would rename the "Sport" trim level as it only deceives.

Cheers
Tony