Very Interesting and encouraging reviews from Mr. Patrick Chong...

Dear forummers,

So far, I have not seen any meaningful comparison of the 159 and the 320i from a Singaporean car buyer perspective. Here is an attempt. As a keen observer of these 2 marques, here's just some personal assessment of the 2 brands. Will not be going through blow by blow the technical specs as I think high engine/chassis spec should be a given for these 2 cars. Moreover, such comparisons have been performed to death by most of the car mags already.

Rather, I will be assessing the 2 cars based on what an ordinary Singapore car buyer will go for - factors appealing to the mind (practicality and economics) and the heart (factors that will make your heart skip a beat). The assessment is based on my test-drives, internet research, as well as talking to existing Alfa and BMW owners. My purpose here is to generate awareness for buyers contemplating these 2 marques, as well as for existing Bimmer and Alfa owners to add on to what may seem inaccurate or incomplete based on my amateur research.

Alfa Romeo 159 2.2 Selespeed
+ good looks (perhaps the best in the 2-litre category)
+ nice interior (awesome leather quality, plus the option to have red leather; BMW's "maroon" leather looks bad, IMHO)
+ really fun to drive (the engine prods you on everytime, very addictive)
+ a 159 owner is one of the few (a rare breed)
+ sales rep are less obnoxious and more sincere
+ operating on a manual platform (no torque converter, more economical)
+ better audio (the blaupunkt is not bad)
+ sunroof option possible (probably cheaper to bring in too as Alfa is more niche, and hence distributor more willing to go that extra mile; as opposed to other brand distributors which bring in cars in volume, and hence will charge you a premium for special sunroof indent)
+ front wheel drive (the understeer is not too bad, and handling is just as great as a RWD; but more importantly, rear center passenger would get greater comfort due to a lower rear transmission tunnel)
+ night cabin atmosphere is the best in class (the red illumination is very very charming)
+ pricing is reasonable (given the strong euro, and considering that it is not assembled in South Africa or India)
+ after sales service is delightful (am told by existing 156 owners that servicing has improved a lot aft new mgt took over. was also told that the local distributor surprises its customers with gifts on their birthdays !! wow !!)
- fuel consumption is still poor (considering the car is built on a manual platform; was told that the FC is 7.5 to 8.5 km/l for 50:50 urban/highway combi; can anyone confirm this. The above FC is based on a survey of 3 friends who drive a 156, so may not be accurate. SE that I talked to claimed 9-10 km/l. But as you know, SE's words gotta be taken with a pinch of salt too !!)
- resale value is poor (due to a small market here and offshore, the depreciation kills)
- spare parts are more expensive due to the low ownership volume
- selespeed gearbox headache (was told by a 156 friend that his selespeed gearbox gave way in the middle of the road. there was nothing he could do, except to stay stranded)
- when driving "auto" or D-mode, the gearbox noise is irritating, due to the sound of the actuator
- selespeed really needs time to get used to (friends who drive Alfa confessed that it took them somewhere in between 3 weeks to a year to get used to the Selespeed, wow !!)
- rear legroom is worse off than the 320i
- audio system comes with only a single-disc front load (but thankfully, there is an option to upgrade)
- stock tyre is quite noisy (was told that continental brands could be better)
- slightly more road tax over the 320i (beos it is a 2.2)
- reverse gear inconvenience (time delay is one, and the other being that it is harder to control; harder to control becos this is not a manual with a clutch, whereby you could otherwise use the clutch to slow the engine and guide the car into the parking lot. for auto-car drivers, this would also mean getting over our many years of laziness of just playing with the brake only when we reverse)
- storage space is really minimal (with a token "cup-holder" that can only fit a small size Evian mineral water bottle)
- car distributor is not doing enough in terms of publicity; while the most recent one being the Pierre Png advertisement (more publicity of the 159 is positive for brand image, and good for the Alfa community here)
- AROC Forum is quite sedate (most postings are quite dated, I wonder why?)

BMW E90 320i
+ better value protection
+ build quality is solid (door slam feel is the best in class !!)
+ FC is good (have been hearing at least 9km/l)
+ sound insulation is good despite the run-flat tyre noise
+ the best looking 3-series ever (in my opinion)
+ better storage space (both internal and bootspace)
+ run-flat tyre is a good innovation
+ rear transmission tunnel is low (space for center passenger)
+ overall bigger rear legroom as compared to the 159
+ PML has a long track record of selling Bimmers (seen as a blue chip distributor and therefore it has great incentive to defend its reputation)
+ less road tax
+ car is idiot proof and easy to drive (meaning that other family
members; eg wife, sister, younger brother can drive too => maximise utlility when you are travelling abroad)
+ side mirrors (somehow, I just like the shape of it, and the enhanced visibiity of these mirrors)
+ auto side mirror folding and cruise control now come as standard package
- the audio is very poor (to-date, none of the SEs can tell me what the OEM system is, sigh !!)
- car interior is really clinical (interior leather and back of front seat's pocket netting is not even part of the standard package, plus it is ugly)
- sunroof option is a lot more expensive (sorry, I am a sunroof maniac )
- most sales people are more $$ oriented, than people oriented (they seemed hurried to close a sale, rather than trying to understand your needs)
- after sales service has been at best been rated "so-so" by friends who are Bimmer owners
- a 320i owner is one of the many
- BMW owners most prob pay a higher margin to the sales channel

Well, the above are written from a pragmatic Singaporean car buyer perspective. Really hope that by starting this thread, there could be more contributions from the rest of the forummers.


Aduh...gara2 baca ini...jadi semangat kerja lagii...
GAnbatee neee nithaaa!!! o(^0^)O

posted by anitahartono at 11:18 AM

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