The more I look into them, the more I like the Alfa 146...

"RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars" (rallydarkstrike) 01/04/2017 at 11:34 • Filed to: Alfa Romeo 146

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How daft would I be to ever import one to Canada? Love the styling, especially that pert, sloped little behind....very pretty car, plus hatchback! Plus, there is a Ti and Cloverleaf version! :D

Are they incredibly unreliable? Anybody with any experience with the 145/146?

Shady Balkan Subject, Drives an Alfa > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 01/04/2017 at 11:51

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The 145/146 gen are mixed bag. Get the older boxer engine and you have a decent engine power-wise and decent reliability, on top of nice sound, you have the typical electrical problems of Italian cars and above average reliability on other parts. Get a TwinSpark and you are in a world of hurt more or less and too costly maintenance for car this old. Get the diesel JTD version and you have an indestructible engine.

Driving dynamic is good for FWD and they don’t have much problem with rust. Still more or less the least successful Alfa ever.

Fun fact the 145 was done by Chris Bangle and it kind of shows.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Shady Balkan Subject, Drives an Alfa 01/04/2017 at 12:07

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Oh? As they were never sold here, I don’t know much about them, but short of reading that the later TwinSparks require timing belt changes more often, I thought the TwinSparks weren’t too bad? I’d also read the Boxers were the ones that were a bit less reliable? Boxer models are prob hard to find nowadays though...

The electrics wouldn’t bother me as much as long as they weren’t important electrics. I’d be after a more base model one anyway as I’m not as worried about features!

Shady Balkan Subject, Drives an Alfa > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 01/04/2017 at 12:44

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Look it like that the boxer engine as an exotica of sorts, are the more sought after just for that. The early TwinSparks were well powered, gas hungry, unreliable messes(not that it improved a lot with the 156/147 family) that liked to kill variators(the variable valve timing system of Alfa)like it is their business.

Klaus Schmoll > Shady Balkan Subject, Drives an Alfa 01/04/2017 at 13:53

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My dad had a 145 1.4 boxer in the late 90s. Drove it a few times and quite liked it. At low revs the engine is petty much gutless, but that turns the gas pedal into a noise pedal. I liked punching it with the windows down between the tower blocks of downtown Hamburg and listening to that boxer rumble. If you want to actually go any faster, you have to rev the living shit out of it.

The interiour was a grey mess of plasticness, and the anti-theft system liked to annoy the whole (upscale) neighborhood by honking like crazy at ungodly hours.

It finally died because the engine caught on fire on the Autobahn. My dad pulled over and killed the fire with bottled water, but the damage made it a write-off.

My bit of anecdotal evidence.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Shady Balkan Subject, Drives an Alfa 01/04/2017 at 16:25

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A shame...that means a lot of later Alfas aren’t going to be a good choice if they were all using the TwinSpark for awhile! :(

Shady Balkan Subject, Drives an Alfa > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 01/04/2017 at 16:58

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Hahaha, the TwinSpark is the best engine ever, if compared to the JTS used in 159/Brera. The 90s-00s were buy a diesel or don’t bother with Alfa Romeo.

I mean the TS is not such a bad engine as it looks from my description, it is just more cumbersome to maintain, than analogues from other manufacturers. It is not like it will blow every time you turn up the key.

It offered good power from displacement in its early life, but with bad fuel economy. The 2.0l TS had the same fuel economy as an entry level 6-cyl BMW engine.