Test Drive Alfa Romeo Brera since 2006 coupe

Duel Cupidon

They are too different for a comparative test, but at the same time it is quite better to drag the same group of buyers - those who are looking for in the car the perfect balance of prices, style and speakers. The sports compartment with the V6 atmospheric motor will compete with a quadruple hatch (so be, with a swimming compartment of Swedish), which has cylinders in the motor only five and the livestock horses less than thirty units, but there is a powerful turbostimulator.

Say that Alfa Romeo Brera is beautiful, it's not to say anything. This machine is expressive so much that it is capable of causing sexual attraction (not to the car, but in general). Contact with Brera awakens increasing agitation in a man. In similar sensations, women are recognized. For individuals of different sexes, various arrows are seized from Cupid Brera, but they are divided equally - love at first sight is guaranteed. The Swedish novelty enchants, on the contrary, gradually. Front C30 looks like a respectable solid Volvo. If she turns a barrel, doubt arises: who said that the Scandinavians have a cold temperament? The back is generally difficult to describe - it is not forms, but a call for immediate acquaintance. Notice when we choose a satellite of life, I want him to be a smart, and is provided, and attractive. Here is a partner and made the Swedes in the face of C30. The symbol of the future automotive design is well suited for women, and for men. This thirty is similar to Brera. Account: one - one.
 
Italian does not need to prove others by others. Alfa Romeo sign gives an answer to all questions. Four-wheel drive and 3.2-liter six - convincing arguments for those who like gambling. Brera is built on one platform with 159 alpha, but has a more compact, low and wide body. And without the good running quality of the donor in the jewelry version should be perfected. But I will not write a point in the account of the tourist in advance - first let's see what it is in direct comparison with one who at first glance is not even an opponent.
 
C30 is a Swedish brand in a completely new role. Everyone used to see in Volvo something ordinary family, unhurried, safe, and here - on you: young, hot, unfulfilled. But the basic principles in Gothenburg have not changed. Creating the smallest Volvo, engineers first thought about the protection of all and all. The C30 body has a unique power construction, in which steel of different strength is combined. The goal is predictable deformation at an accident. The BLIS system is responsible for the safety of maneuvering, for the purity of air - IAQS, for the preservation of the environment - materials corresponding to the ecological standard Oeko Tex, and so on ... Of course, it could not not affect the price, but Volvo did not put before The task is to give up another faceless representative of the mass class S. They found a special niche for the new product and represent the C30 buyer with successful and non-burdened life concerns.
 
  By the way, about the price. The most affordable BRERA with a 2.2-liter 185-strong engine, mechanics and front-wheel drive is sold for 41,600. Lower border for C30 - $ 22 900. Unrequisite victory for Sweden? Do not rush with conclusions. So much asks for a model with a 100-strong 1.6. If you take a version of T5, able to compete in a dynamics with a Turin sports unit, then from your account will write up $ 38,400 with your account. And if you show generosity to yourself, noting in an incredibly long list of options at least those positions that Brera has in the state, then the price It will increase by 10,000-15,000. So the winnings are not unconditional, but for now, purely mathematical. And if you consider the image coefficient (Alfa sportiness is printed in the minds of motorists, and Volvo sportiness is only in her passport), then the draw again. Two - two.
 
Rushing at Brera, you feel the Messenger Alfa. All glances are addressed to you. Many gestures are asked to lower the window to set the first question that came to mind: how much is it? Owners of the coupe of other brands are considered a debt to compete. It does not make up loss of labor. Brera is very acute, but reliably managed, the motor associated with a rather distillery automatically gives a very smooth and powerful acceleration (the highlight - after a speed set, it does not immediately go to the transmission above, but on purpose delayed on high speed, podtaining the driver - well, come on Page more!). And only braking in the floor causes some tension. At this critical moment, Brera more nervously reacts to corrective steering actions than, for example, the 159th. Yes, and the level of comfort is not as high: the suspension is tougher, the sound of the Bassite motor (last, however, without a doubt you write up in advantage).
 
C30 does not provoke car enthusiasts for interactive. But if you slowly roll along the immense parking before Mega, then through the open window you will not hear the exclamation after: wow! Is it volvo? Yes and no. You sit down in a regular chair, you run the motor and looking at the dull arrows, you think: Typical Volvo. Turn on the first, cheer on gas and ... it's not Volvo! Whitish 18-inch low-profile rubber thirty breaks off and picks up a hundred inmount, just have time to pull the pengress knob. The controllability is less than the ostera, the machine reacts to longitudinal irregularities, but at the same time more predictable in emergency braking. Its engine sounds quieter, piquantly launching turbine, but is ready to speed up on any revolutions. Difference thirty forces, say? In fact - zero. C30 with a T5 nameplate leaves Brera a chance just to keep up with itself. But do not overtake. Total: three - three.
Knee city. Sitting in Brera for the first time, you immediately feel a light influx of adrenaline. Leather chairs with large embossed folds provide low sports fit and fix the body well, despite the weakly pronounced side support rollers. Electrical adjustments are quite extensive. The visibility forward, sideways and the side mirrors are excellent, and through the inner mirror is sufficient, so one pleasure in the urban stream on this sport accumulation. Pedals are slightly more tights than in ordinary cars. The quality of plastic questions does not cause. Upholstery textile materials are pleasant to the touch and practical. The steering wheel, skin-sheathed, is comfortable in cross section, has a smooth, but not slippery invoice. From aesthetic point of view, the black and gray interior of the test copy is unlikely to seem to be a standard of beauty, but actually clients Alfa Romeo to complain. For the same Brera in Alfov Centro Stile, nine color variations of the cabin were developed, and some of them look like a real work of art. The exterior of the machine can also be adjusted under the personal tastes - 10 types of paints and varnish coatings, four types of wheeled disks. In the future, the corporate aerodynamic kit will also appear.
Tattoo for the bride. The first impression of the salon is limousine! Chairs are covered with soft textured light skin. On the floor - expensive thin-fiber carpet. On the front seats is spacious, the roof does not prescribe. But, having examined, it becomes sorry that such a bright model, like C30, almost without change inherited the interior from the fortieth. Everything in Swedish is simple, extremely rationally, humanly comfortable, but ... sad. The dashboard is not remarkable. Soaring the central console with small buttons (reproach, which has become traditional) acquired a picture, but the frivolous elegant tattoo does not make a noticeable revival into a massive static interior. You will not have to adhere to the quality of materials - among premium cars there are those where plastic worse and fabric is easier. But the possibilities for changing the design at least debugs. Steering wheel, lever PPC, decorative inserts - all this when ordering a car you can arrange to your taste. This also applies to the body. Choose a coloring (14 options), wheels (15 species), add a spoiler, aerodynamic body kit, both on our car, "will turn out Volvo, which will not have twins on the road.

You should not focus on the parameters of the economy declared by automakers. Both vehicles provoke drivers for a much more active driving manner than it is customary to be guided by standard fuel consumption measurement procedures. For example, in our test both cars drove the same urban segment (with a flow meter zero at the beginning of the path) and in the same speed mode. At the end of the way, the on-board computer Alfa Romeo Brera showed consumption of about 16.7 liters per hundred, and C30 - 14.2. The difference is decent - two and a half liters, but it should be noted that the Swedish turbocharged motor is more economical at the expense of the manual gearbox.
Volvo C30 is declared as a quadruple car, and even looks like a five-seater, but sitting on the rear sofa will feel only slightly cozy than in Alfa Romeo Brera with its plant formula 2 + 2. Choose-climb on the gallery - the process is long and inconvenient, the roof lies right on the head of the passengers, the theoretical fifth sedodes elementally will not slide in width (and it is unlikely that it is generally voluntarily let down the sitting behind). But for the carriage of goods both cars are more or less adapted, despite the fun 230 liter trunk. It is enough to throw back the backs of the rear seats so that the volume increases at least twice.

Alfa Romeo Brera 3.2 Q-Tronic
 
Gasoline engine, V6
Working volume (cube. Cm) 3195
Power (hp at rpm) 260 at 6200
Moment (nm at rpm) 322 at 4500
Corner full
Gearbox 6-speed, automatic
Length / Width / Height (mm) 4410/1830/1341
Mass Curb (kg) 1740
Maximum speed (km / h) 240
Acceleration up to 100 km / h (c) 7.0
Fuel consumption (city / highway, l / 100 km) 16.9 / 11.5
Price in Moscow (Price of the Tested Car) from 52 600 (55 350)
Volvo C30 T5.
 
Gasoline engine with turbocharging, 5 in a row
Working volume (cube cm) 2521
Power (hp at rpm) 230 at 5000
Moment (nm at rpm) 320 at 1500-5000
Drive front
6-speed gearbox, mechanical
Length / Width / Height (mm) 4252/1782/1447
Mass Curb (kg) 1437
Maximum speed (km / h) 240
Acceleration up to 100 km / h (c) 6.7
Fuel consumption (city / highway, l / 100 km) 12.5 / 6.5
Price in Moscow from $ 38,400

Thank you for helping the organization of shooting Major, (495) 793-0303, and representative office of Volvo in Russia, (495) 745-9780.

Text Ruslan Tarasov
Photo Andrei Danilov
 

A source: "Autopilot"