Alfa Romeo

The Alfa Romeo is in the same league as the BMW 3-series, Mercedes C-class and the Audi A4. The 159 has been very successful. In fact, earlier this year, Fiat had imported a couple of Alfa 159s to chauffeur Chairman Luca di Montezemolo around during his visit to India. We managed to get our hands on the Alfa and were blown away by its looks. It got more attention than a BMW, Merc or Audi and that says a lot.

The gorgeous grille and well-proportioned nose with its numerous surfaces and row of stunning triple headlights make this a very good-looking car and it’s hard to keep your eyes off it. The interiors looked sporty and also impressed us and more importantly, the car drives better than any front-wheel-drive ought to. The steering loaded up beautifully, body control around corners was exceptional and the car reeked of decades of thoroughbred breeding.

The petrol car selected for India will probably be the 2.2 JTS and the 3.2 V6 will also be imported. Though Alfa wants to price these cars competitively it will be at a cost disadvantage as Mercs and BMWs are locally-assembled. The 159 is estimated to be sold at an entry price of Rs 28 lakh. It’s the 260bhp V6 motor and four-wheel-drive system that are likely to get the attention of car enthusiasts. Alfa Romeo is one of the carmakers responsible for getting the trend for compact, high-revving V6 motors going, with the Alfa 75 being the trendsetter in the 1980s. At the time, all comparable motors were straight six engines, and it’s only recently that the world at large has acknowledged the inherent strengths of this type of motor. In fact, it was also Alfa Romeo that led the way for twin spark plugs in the 1960s with the Giulia.

In addition, Alfa Romeo is also responsible for another popular form of technology. In 1977, Alfa Romeo launched the Alfa 156 which just happened to be the first car that was powered by a common-rail diesel motor. And, one of Alfa’s new-generation diesels, either a 150bhp 1.9 or a 200bhp 2.4, will be part of the range. The 2.4 especially is capable of massive bursts of speed and power and is particularly popular in Europe. A group of exclusive dealerships that will be set up in the next few months will be responsible for selling the cars. Dealerships will be given to the best Fiat dealers in India, who will now get access to the famous brand.

In South-East Asian countries like Thailand, Alfa already has very successful distributorships. Given that the brand is recognised here as well, Alfa Romeo could actually be quite successful in India also, if of course, it prices its cars competitively. However, only once the cars come here will we know how well they can handle Indian roads.