JEREMY CLARKSON & QUENTIN WILSON OPEN THE PROGRAMME FROM THE BRITISH MOTOR SHOW AT EARLS COURT. TIFF NEEDELL ROADTESTS THE NEW HONDA INTEGRA TYPE R. MICHELE NEWMAN FEATURES THE 'NEW' ALFA ROMEO 156.
Italian cars had a reputation of dissolving like an Alka-Seltzer over here. ha ha. Listen closely enough when it rains and you could probably hear them fizzing.
Haha, you’re right. The same steering wheel as all of the Panther platform Ford cars like my parents 1992 Ford Crown Victoria. The rest of the interior is gorgeous and bespoke (from what I can see here) at least.
Ford are tossers who don't understand how important a unique steering wheel is to a brand -that's how they managed to trash jaguar, land rover and volvo. By all mean share parts the customer can't see but don't try to stick generic parts where its noticeable over luxury brands. Idiots. I'm glad their on the way out now.
I’ll never understand why European motor journalists judge large luxury cars by handling and performance... That’s why they’ve all become non existent in American manufactures, land yachts get bashed for being what they were designed to be, disconnected from the road, soft and plush, and gentle. Go ride in a Cadillac brougham and compare it to today’s Cadillacs, we’ve stepped backwards in comfort and ride quality... Now it’s all about cornering and speed, even in large luxury cars... makes no sense.
@@jimmy5391 It's possible to have ultra plush suspension and still do well over 70... Look at any modern Rolls Royce, Bentley, 7-Series BMW, S-Class Mercedes, Audi A8. None of those are slow cars, and all of them ride like a cloud. Those cars survived because of their high price tag, and the people who buy them typically already have a sports car in their garage and don't need a 4,000+lbs car with tight suspension.
It's because roads around here are far more involved and windy so a car thats fast and nice to drive is kind of praised above anything. Comfy cars don't really handle so journalists at least here in the UK slate them.
@@1Reddd I know what your're saying, I'm talking about a 70's caddy or a mercury with the long hoods. Everybody in the 70's had them. They drove slow and are entirely made of metal, but their beasts and you feel every corner like butter
Thats a feature. So when the coolant inevitably leaks out the head gasket blows in order to let the oil to move to the coolant passages so you only have to fill one fluid
I had the P11 1.6 Primera and it was a fantastic car, extremely reliable and very good to drive. traded it for a new Hyundai in 2019. kind of regret it financially since the Primera was still going strong and with the lockdowns it would have been even more worth keeping.
Basically yes, it didnt need things like spark plugs until 100k miles. However of course it still required fluid changes etc as normal...my Dad bought one and it was superb!
I really wanted to like the big Deville, Seville, and Eldorado from the 90's/early 00's. Great looking cars IMO, great power, drove nice(contrary to what Clarkson says), very quiet and posh ride. Its just GM stuck all their engineering flunkies over at Cadillac, we all know about the Northstar headgasket issues, but then you stick this engine in transversely where you can't work on it. Then there are a million other daft problems like electronic struts, a $10 part in the transmission that fails and requires you to pull the tranny, not to mention how all the trim bits break, warp or fall off after a few years. You'd think that for the Cadillac premium they'd spec some nicer interior bits that don't break, but nope.
Bet ulrika would have been creeped out at his comment if in the unlikely event she was watching. Oh wait she went for another skinny lizard like receding pencil necked gentleman in sven. Common language i guess.
Interesting that Tiff mentioned having a 6 speed manual here (or the lack thereof), thought that was a relativity recent addition to mainstream cars, seems I'm wrong!
I believe the Mondeo's American cousin was the Contour, as far as being platform-mates. If you're talking market segment (e.g. larger family saloon) then you'd definitely be right.
B5? I had an early one with a venerable but smooth 2.6. Actually chose it after a 156 2.0ts i went to look at sold on the day. Bankrupted me but it felt so solid. Was only 19 couldnt get insured on a 406 coupe v6. Most people my age at that time who were not rich kids ran finaced clio 1.2 billabongs new c2s or outright owned something old they modded. Like an old corsa or fiesta. That audi gave me 18 months of expensive but relaxing motoring. Had beautiful leather and quattro bits like wheels and skirts but no ac 😳 windy rear windows and was basic af but it just felt class from the door thunks to the relaxing waftability. Wasnt fast only 150bhp but it felt a cut above. Everything was so nicely damped and finished inside. Got a new 307 after which was loaded for the day, auto lights foldy mirrors and climate control on an 03 but was tinny by comparison.
Will Poundstone: you're wrong. The Taurus wasn't "the Mondeo's American cousin". The two cars had nothing to do with each other, including the platforms they were sitting on. Not to mention, the Taurus was a size bigger than the Mondeo. The Mondeo's American equal would be the Contour. The two were basically identical.
I'd say those Alfa 156s have stood the test of time the best in terms of looks over everything shown , seems to be the case with Italian cars, forward vision
The gs300 is anything but a corolla wth is he talking about. I understand the connection and resemblance between a ES300 and a Camry or a IS to a corolla, but the GS is a full sized luxury sedan and it’s rear wheel drive how is it at all corolla
@@herrfister1477 somehow i understood that weak attempt at english. It's not prohibited but manufacturers sure as fuck are trying hard to make cars as soulless and as boring as possible.
It started as a motoring program out of local tv in Birmingham in the sixties. Think Longbridge, at the time the largest car plant in Europe. Morphed a number of times.
1:20 that steering wheel is from a 1992 Ford Taurus (You british have never heard of the Taurus, so I'll tell you, it was the Ford Mondeo's American counterpart
No they didn't, but they should've. I think it would give the NSX a challenge. IMO the 88-89 Si Preludes have the best engines of all model years of Prelude. Making it with VTEC would make it a badass engine.
This shows how car reviewers have no clue on what they're talking about. Calling A gs300 with a 2jz a big Corolla! And calling the North Star v8 a good engine! Meanwhile hating on the ls1 corvette seriously wtf
Nobody really knew about Northstar headgasket problems back in 1997, these cars were still at most 4 years old back then. And when its running right, it is a sweethart of an engine.
It's a European view of the cars. The GS300 wants to be a luxury sedan, but in Europe that is a tough market to compete in. The Lexus brand has no value in Europe and they see it as a disguised Toyota with a markup. It's not technically a corolla, it's a Toyota in the eyes of Europeans and the corolla is used as an example and because they have similar looking headlights (that's why they had a shot zooming in on those headlights). They praised the North Star engine for being innovative and the problems with the engine weren't known back then, they crapped on the corvette for the disappointing handling and the overall plasticy build quality. They did not critique the LS1 engine, which is really good. Not everything anybody says is just straight forward what they mean, especially in media there is a lot of symbolism to convey the actual message.
When look now at those old BMW's and Audi's you see that 156 interior quality is not really there, but it still looks and drives better than both, especially that horrible Audi. The thing is, no one really cares for handling, while design is mainly subjective thing, also Audi looks nice today. That is why Alfa Romeo will eventually disappear, they are great at things that almost no one cares for, things that can not be explained with numbers and measures, things not possible to touch and comprehend easily. If there is one thing that makes BMW great, it is the fact that they managed to put some of those things into their cars and still sell well.
@@BojanBojovic never had one tho when I will afford a Giulia gtv6 I'll have one. I lived in northern Italy and I know many people who have Alfas. Engines are usually very reliable but electronics and especially suspension repair is very expensive and rust proof wasn't good either. Good looking and fun to drive but I never heard anyone calling them even remotely reliable. A few passionate enthusiasts are willing to accept all the challenges that come with owning a Alfa but the larger audience just doesn't want to be bothered. Myself I would loved to have one for daily use but after all the problems I saw my friends having, ( usually small problems, a sensor malfunction, a door not closing and other minor things but after having issues like this as frequently as once a month ,one after a year or 2 gets fed up with it).
@@dumyjobby I have over 500 000 kilometers in my 3 Alfas so far, I owned the first 146 TI for 6 years, second 156 1.8 TS for two years, and now I have 159 JTDm for more than 6 years. All 3 cars were purchased used, 146 with 74 000 km on the clock, 156 with 60 000 km, and 159 with 100 000 km on the clock, only 146 was from Germany while 156 and 159 were imported from Italy. I sold 146 TI with 200 000 km on the clock, no major problems except suspension bushes which are somewhat standard problem on Italian cars from 90's and 2000's. Interior was good enough but not the same quality as some German rivals, all switches were working well, all lights, no electric problems. Variator was good except few seconds of rattling after start during winter months. I really enjoyed this car, it was fast and the handling was great, not expensive to operate, and for me really reliable. Then I bought 156 1.8 TS and sold it after just two years at 100 000 km on the clock. This car was imported from Italy with broken gearbox bell, so we replaced it, then putted the new clutch and after that it was like new. The car was like new, gearbox was very expensive to fix in Italy so the car stayed in place most of the time until it was sold. Here where I am from it was around 600 Euro to fix it. Variator was ok on this car as well, no electrical problems, everything was working perfectly, I sold it because it was slower than my previous 146 2.0 TS, and it was way too soft for my taste because it was Turismo without any sport pack. Other than that I did not like that 1.8 Twin Spark, it does not have counter-balancing shafts so the engine is not as smooth as 2.0 one. The only problem with this car was its oil consumption, it was little bit higher than what I used to with 146, but it was somewhat normal for Twin Spark, just I did not like to take oil with me when I travel, and I travel a lot. I still have 159 JTDm, which I bought over 6 years a go, this car now has 215 000 km on the clock and it still runs great. No electrical problems, everything works in the cabin, every switch, every light, no problems what so ever. The quality of this car is right there with Germans, Audi and BMW, interior is great, finishing is good, no rattling, no squeaks, it is like Audi but much prettier, and with much better handling and driving dynamics. I like to travel with my family so we make few thousand kilometers trip in our Alfas every year. Two years a go we traveled 4500 kilometers with this 159 through Italy, last year 4000 kilometers through Turkey, three years a go we were in Greece and drove for 3500 kilometers, and so on. The only problem with this car was last year in Turkey where we replaced our clutch. When on vacation the clutch suddenly broke, and we need to replace it. It was already replaced 2 years a go, and that clutch was 50 000 kilometers old, however it was a bad part so we needed to replace it again. No one knows what happened, but it was Valeo which is not very popular here, but I could not find Luk and this happened. It was not original clutch that came with 159, but a replacement that I bought form a Valeo dealer here. My experience is not an axiom of course, but for me Alfa Romeo is as reliable as any other car on the planet. There is few reason for this, one of them is the fact that I have really good mechanic who loves Alfas and he knows how to maintain them. Other reason is how I drive and the fact that I am technically literate, also I know what not to do with the car, and when to maintain which part. Also I know some people with their VW's, Audi's and other German cars that say:" Oh, I never put a single Euro in my car, it still drives well", and then I try their cars, oh it is hard to describe that disaster. Everything is broken, seats, suspension bushes, switches, air-condition, steering, engine noise, driving those cars is like a bad dream, but they still brag about how reliable they are. I could drive my Alfas the same way, they will still work, but I do not want to. This is the reason I can drive anywhere on the planet with my cars without fear. As for you wanting an Alfa, well you know what they say about it: The life is too short to drive a boring car. :)
@@richardhammer187 The new civic is a grower I kind of like it now I'm used to the design. I think it was a bit radical at first and had to get over the shock of that back end especially the Type R it's still a bit too much I think. But I'd still buy one because it's a Honda Civic ☺️
@@waynester71 steve berry the token regional accent with the weird smile. Who remembers the autistic guy on jeremy kyle years ago bears a striking resemblance to him.
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