ONE of Alfa Romeo’s most recent advertising slogans – Beauty is not enough – could be interpreted as either a statement of intent, or an admission of guilt, depending on how you choose to look at it. Either way, that pay-off line rings very true for Alfa, which for many years has been making gorgeous, but ultimately failed cars that only enthusiasts of this inspirational Italian marque could really consider buying. Cars such as the capable new GT and impressive 159 mark a fresh start, but these have their problems, too – the GT still features previous generation (iffy) trim plastics, and the 159 is too expensive. Can the much-vaunted Brera, the GTV replacement, finally put Alfa Romeo back where it always should have been? Let’s find out…
First shown as a concept car at the 2002 Geneva Motor Show, and designed by style master Guigiaro, the Brera has been a much-hyped newcomer for almost half a decade now. But just look at it… It’s really easy to see what all the fuss is about. If coupés are all about style and drawing admiring glances, then the Brera has this game all wrapped up. That said, it doesn’t possess what you’d label a classically beautiful coupé shape, but rather an interesting fastback one, with a long, sculpted bonnet and a rounded rear end. The standard 17-inch wheels fill their aches nicely, and as a whole, the 1,83-metre wide, 4,41-metre long and 1,37-metre high Brera looks purposefully squat. To achieve its compact appearance, it rides on a shortened 159 platform, with a 2,52 metre wheelbase. And it is here that the problems start…
Open one of the long doors and you’re greeted by a cabin that at best can be described as cosy. The ribbed leather seats are not the problem. Rather, the sloping roofline has robbed the car of headroom (even for front passengers), and the chopped wheelbase has made the two rear “seats” completely useless. Even when a driver of average size takes a comfortable position behind the steering wheel, the seatback pushes against the base of the rear seats! So, not a 2+2 then, but rather a strict two-seater with lots of space for shopping bags. The boot, by the way, is decently sized, measuring 324 dm³ with the back “seats” up, and total utility space with them down is 740 dm³. Although the boot is big, the high rear end means you have to really put your back into it when hoisting heavy stuff.
The interior is certainly luxuriously equipped, with standard items including leather trim, radio/ CD, steering-mounted audio controls, cruise control, climate control, electric windows and mirrors, heated seats etc. Oh, and it has no fewer than seven airbags.
The driving position is good – the seat has tilt adjustment for the base to improve under-thigh support, and the steering wheel can be moved up as well as a long way out to suit any size of driver’s preferable position. In fact, sitting in the cosy cabin with its low roofline, and with the steering wheel pulled far out, it feels like you’re wearing the car, rather than just sitting in it.
This “entry-level” Brera is powered by a four-cylinder, 2,2-litre direct injection engine that delivers 136 kW at 6 500 r/min and 230 N.m of torque at 4 500. These are not exactly impressive figures, especially when compared with the Brera’s rivals, and even more so when you take into consideration the car’s weight. Tipping the scales at just over 1,6 tons, it has an unimpressive 84 W/kg power to weight ratio. Power goes to the front wheels via a relatively slick six-speed manual gearbox.
Now, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand that 84 W/kg is not going to result in explosive acceleration, but even so it remains somewhat disappointing to note that, during our performance testing, the Brera took 9,36 seconds to reach 100 km/h, and topped out at 208 km/h. In reality, the Brera doesn’t even feel as fast as these unimpressive figures make it sound! And even sadder is the fact that, in reality, this is not a bad engine at all – it is refined, revs eagerly, and seems to offer plenty of torque from low revs. But when faced with lugging all that weight, it is simply not suited to the job.
This is a great pity, because even without enough engine power, the Brera’s fine dynamics shine through. It rides on a double wishbone front and multi-link rear suspension set-up. Alfa’s electronic stability programme (VDC) is fitted and programmed to be relatively unobtrusive to allow enthusiastic drivers to have fun with a safety net. Ventilated disc brakes (measuring 305 mm) and solid rear discs (278 mm) are fitted. ABS with EBD and BAS also feature. The Brera performed impressively in our emergency stopping tests, clocking an excellent average stopping time of 2,88 seconds. It has to be said, however, that an earlier attempt at doing our emergency braking test routine had to be aborted due to an illuminated ABS warning light…
Although the Brera’s suspension is obviously firm, it still manages to absorb bumps and other road irregularities rather well. It is a fine cruiser. But this Alfa’s real talent is actually its handling. The steering is fast (2,4 turns lock to lock), and is superb for cutting into a corner at speed. Understeer is, of course, the name of the game, but never so much that it becomes annoying, and the car has good traction out of corners, too. Body control is impressive. All this, however, makes the Brera so much more frustrating, because the driver is always wishing for more power to really enjoy the chassis. It leaves you with a whetted appetite, but hungering for so much more…
Test summary
Some of us have seen the Brera concept car at motor shows and have liked it very, very much. So much so that we were very vocal in encouraging Alfa Romeo to build it. Ten out of ten for their doing so… We thought the Brera would be the final confirmation that Alfa Romeo is back to its glorious best. But it’s not.
In 2,2-litre form, the Brera simply does not have the power to sufficiently exploit what is certainly a fine chassis. And this is hugely frustrating, because dynamically it really seems to be very good. For the man in the street, however, of greater concern is the fact that the Brera’s performance lives up to neither its looks, nor its crazy price tag. In fact, Alfa has simply priced it out of contention. And then there is still the matter of the poorly packaged cabin… In final analysis, we were disappointed. At a more reasonable price, we may think differently, but as it stands now, the Brera’s beauty really is only skin deep.