182/Trophy For 20k Miles A Year?

[BERTONE]

Im thinking about ditching my Alfa 156 for a 182 or Trophy but how would it fare doing 20,000 motorway miles a year?
Would it be comfortable enough?
Would it be buffeted by motorway winds etc?
Would reliability be a worry?
Would it be a waste buying either one to do such high mileage?

 

[tommyboy]

A full fat 182 will fill that role comfortably. Just get a gooden

 

[BERTONE]

A full fat 182 will fill that role comfortably. Just get a gooden

Thers a nice one locally but its 9.5 grand for a 25,000 miler on an 04 plate........still trying to knock him down!

 

[rich[182]]

If you WANT a 182 dont think about it too much, just get one and be done with it, you only live once.............................

If your looking at a shade under £9.5k you can pick them up with as little as 8k miles privately too

 

[Hawk]

Hello Bertone, I swapped a 2.0 147 for my FF 182 and haven't looked back. I do about 15K a year, and yes the Alfa was a better cruiser, but the 182 is so much faster and more economical to o, I get 5 extra mpg minimum.

My 182 does give wind noise over 80mph, and a whistle around the windscreen, and the dashboard rattles also upset cruising time most days, but the car is so much faster, i just love it!

As for 20k a year being a waste, it will still depreciate a lot less than an Alfa even with that mileage going on.

 

[BERTONE]

Hello Bertone, I swapped a 2.0 147 for my FF 182 and haven't looked back. I do about 15K a year, and yes the Alfa was a better cruiser, but the 182 is so much faster and more economical to o, I get 5 extra mpg minimum.

My 182 does give wind noise over 80mph, and a whistle around the windscreen, and the dashboard rattles also upset cruising time most days, but the car is so much faster, i just love it!

As for 20k a year being a waste, it will still depreciate a lot less than an Alfa even with that mileage going on.

Good points, my 156 cost 20 grand 5 years ago, its now done 90,000 miles and its worth no more than £3,000!

Thought about a 147 as well but got one as a coutesy car at the moment and its a bit like driving a bus!

But how comfortable is the 182, I can do a 4 hour trip, work for 12 hours then have to drive home again........would a 182 suit that lifestyle?

 

[MarkCup]

I went from a 51 plate Mondeo V6 to a 172 Cup almost 3 years ago.

66K miles further down the line and it's the best, most irrational thing I've ever done...and I'm so glad I did.

I look forward to the drive in/home every day, and am always fighting the urge to just go out for a blast

They cope perfectly well with 25k+ p.a.

 

[Neil G]

Comfortable cars and quick when you need them to be...a full fat 182 will fit the bill nicely

 

[chiefsilverback]

Just upgrade the sound system and you won't hear any of the rattles....

 

[Alex_225]

Full fat is the way to go, get leather, climate control so lots of toys and lots of performance!!

Just get as lower mileage as possible. My gf recently picked up an 05 182 Cup with out 6500 miles on it for a bit over £9.5k!!

 

[Sir_Dave]

i did 18k miles in my 182 ff and it was perfectly fine, best car ive owned and cruise control is a blessing

 

[Iain C]

gotta be better than a 156...

 

[mwatts_tci]

why dont you move house?

and THEN buy a 182?

 

[al]

Megane 225, 6 speed box for motorway, and a little more comfort and space.

 

[Clio 1.216v Dynamique]

Probably wont fall apart like the Alfa

 

[Fishy Dave]

Nothing wrong with the Alfas IMO, i'm a big fan of these and Fiats. The 156 has better build quality IMO and more interior space obviously. It also has the benefit of far lower revs at 80mph motorway cruising and so quieter as a result.

On the upside, the 182 has cruise control and other nice toys, in particular the auto wipers and excellent Xenons may be useful to you in the winter. It will give you better economy on a motorway run (unless you have the JTD?), providing you keep to 80mph, I personally find a huge economy difference between 80 and 90mph - at 80mph you are about 4k revs.

As mentioned already, depreciation may be lower, although it sounds like yours haslost the bulk of it already?

Once away from the motorway their is no contest, the 182 is such great fun. I would look at a 182 with cup packs, rather than a trophy or cup if in your position.

Also, don't rule out a late 172, you can save thousands, and their isn't a huge amount of difference, or nothing that a few modifications couldn't sort out. The 172s from mid/late 02 seem to have the ESP and cruise control as standard IIRC.

I have covered over 20k miles in my 172 in the last year, including a lot of motorway and track work.

Cheers, Dave

 

[Hawk]

The Clio has very comfortable seats, easily the equal of the Alfa, and the ride is more pliant than an Alfa with 17s on, but similar if it has 16s.

The interior quality of the Alfa 147 is streets ahead, but the switchgear, gearbox, throttle, suspension etc feels a lot better put together in the Clio if that makes sense. The Alfa always felt like a leggy car even when I bought it on 8,000 miles, the Clio feels much better put together in the drivetrain department.

The Clio chassis is also way ahead, the traction systems come on a lot earlier in the Alfa, but the Clio system only stops play when you really need it, so hardly ever! I drove a 147 GTA recently and it was awful, everytime I tried to have fun "Computer Says No!".

My only worry for you is the wind noise and rattles, but its solid on motorways and it feels as steady as the Alfa at 130mph, and will go 10mph higher if you want to!

Id say go for it, I certainly havent looked back!

 

[lee_cup]

You need Diesel power!!!!

but out the two, i would say a 182 would be ideal