I’ve had a few of these Alfa 33’s. To be honest every one has disappointed. I think the styling, of the early ones, is great, and the bizarre mechanical layout attracts me. But, the driving experience is never what it ‘should’ be.
I had:
1) An A-reg 1.3. unfortunately the engine popped before I got this on the road, so no driving impressions.
2) An E-reg 1.7 estate. This was horrible, wobbly suspension, rough engine, foul driving position and gearchange. It was a sh*t example mind you.
3) An F-reg 1.7 hatch. This was in good nick but still the engine was rough, lousy steering, torque steer and frankly dull handling. It felt like the bodyshell was about as stiff as a fugging carrier bag.
I’ve had a J-reg alfa 75 2.0 and it was wonderful. It took me a while to appreciate its qualities but when I did, booting it round the back roads was a joy. Probably as nice as any car I’ve ever had in that all the ‘functions’ of steering, engine, suspension, gear ratios, etc just seemed to operate together so well, the car as a whole was just an absolute honey. No other car I’ve had was as enjoyable to punt.
So now I’m getting that 33 bug again and there are 2 unrusty ones on French eBay, in the south in fact so they should be unrusty, for a few pounds; but they are both 1300s. I wonder if this is a good thing, perhaps the balance of the car will be better overall. Perhaps a less powerful engine would be smoother and tax the suspension and bodyshell less, thus delivering a better drive overall. Anyone else got any fwd alfa experience?
I had:
1) An A-reg 1.3. unfortunately the engine popped before I got this on the road, so no driving impressions.
2) An E-reg 1.7 estate. This was horrible, wobbly suspension, rough engine, foul driving position and gearchange. It was a sh*t example mind you.
3) An F-reg 1.7 hatch. This was in good nick but still the engine was rough, lousy steering, torque steer and frankly dull handling. It felt like the bodyshell was about as stiff as a fugging carrier bag.
I’ve had a J-reg alfa 75 2.0 and it was wonderful. It took me a while to appreciate its qualities but when I did, booting it round the back roads was a joy. Probably as nice as any car I’ve ever had in that all the ‘functions’ of steering, engine, suspension, gear ratios, etc just seemed to operate together so well, the car as a whole was just an absolute honey. No other car I’ve had was as enjoyable to punt.
So now I’m getting that 33 bug again and there are 2 unrusty ones on French eBay, in the south in fact so they should be unrusty, for a few pounds; but they are both 1300s. I wonder if this is a good thing, perhaps the balance of the car will be better overall. Perhaps a less powerful engine would be smoother and tax the suspension and bodyshell less, thus delivering a better drive overall. Anyone else got any fwd alfa experience?
