1988 Alfa Romeo 75 3.0 V6 from Sweden
Summary:
The best driving experience I've ever had
Faults:
The little unit that regulates the heat in the engine didn't work correctly when I first bought the car. Nothing serious, the car worked fine, but I still had to fix it for a cost of about 400 euro at a mechanic when the winter came.
I had a lot of electrical problems with the car. One example of this being that one of my side indicators stopped working after I had the car a couple of months, turned out that it was just an electrical problem, so I didn't have to switch any bulbs or anything like that.
The car rusts like no car I've ever seen before. Tho, I bet it's just the specific car I had that have this problem, seems like other Alfa's from the same period resists rust better than mine. I should also mention that the reason I sold it last month was that I got tired of all the rust on it.
General Comments:
Only had the car for 6 months, but those were 6 interesting months.
First of all, the Alfa Romeo 75 3.0 V6 is a real thrill to drive - you don't get a more thrilling car for under 20 000 euro than this!. With the pedal to the metal on the first, or even second gear sometimes, this car will provide some serious wheel spin, not to mention how easy it'll start to slide when given the proper amount of steering, even on pure asphalt!. I bet some of it had to do with the fact that my wheels were kinda old, but still - this car has loads and loads of pure power, no matter if you're doing 3 000 RP M's or 6 000 RP M's!. I could also say that my car felt rock solid until about 170 KMH when it starts to get a little bit too exiting. Tho, this car is made for speedy trips on small roads, not highway racing!
It also provides decent comfort, the driving position is a lof better than what car critics usuallt tells us. I'm 1,82 cm tall, and I had a comfortable ride, both when I drove it myself and in the backseat when friends drove it for me.
The Interior is OK, but not extremely well built.
The handling of the car is real good, even when you drive it hard, just what you expect from an Alfa.
To mention something negative about this car, to change gears isn't a joy at all, if you don't take it slow, the transmission box starts to squeak and crackle in a way you don't want to hear. A real shame, 'cause if you take it slow the transmission feels rock solid.
I could also mention that this car isn't very suitable for big sound systems. First, it was a real pain to get the cables to my two 12 inch bass units, and amplifier, out of the trunk, and into the the car itself. Second, this cars fuel tank is placed in such a way that it disturbs the bass you get from a fairly huge sound system, it causes a lot of extra resonances that you don't want to hear. Still, you can live with it since the car is such a gem to drive!
One last thing that must be mentioned is the sound of the engine and the exhaust - Wow! - it's one of the best sounding engines I've ever heard to be honest. V6 engines from Alfa really is something special in many ways, and the sound of them is absolutely one of these things that makes these engines so good. A pure bliss that turned the head of many people, not to mention the satisfaction it gives to the driver and passengers.
The negative aspects of the car should however not be taken to lightly on. This car isn't very reliabe, it had a lot of small errors and things that needed to be taken care of. Tho you really are able to forget it everything when you drive it fast and hard.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 28th July, 2004