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Similar but different

Which Alfa 147 diesel should I choose?

We have two New Alfa 147 diesel manuals on the showroom floor, a Monza 5 door 1.9 JTDm 6 speed and a new 147 Ducati Corse 3 door 1.9 6 speed. So with ½ an hour to kill I thought I’d try to find any differences in the feel and riding dynamics.

Obvious differences first:

The Ducati is a 3 door and the Monza Diesel is only available in 5 door.
The Ducati has a choice of 3 distinct colours where the Monza gives you 8 choices.
The Monza diesel has 110Kw @ 4,000 revs and 305Nm @ 2,000 revs with a 0-100 time of 8.8 seconds.
By using the “Sport” button on the Ducati you get that little bit more being 125Kw @ 3,750 revs and 330 Nm @ 2,000 revs and 8.0 seconds from 0 – 100 kms/hr.

The Ducati has Alfa’s new Q2 suspension, whilst not obvious this is a significant difference. The Q2 is a Limited Slip Differential mated to Alfa’s double wishbone suspension and traction control. The fantastic thing about this is that instead of the traction control reducing power to the wheels if there is loss of traction effectively slowing the car down, which is the norm. The Q2 simply transfers the power to the other wheel virtually eliminating any loss of speed or weight balance.

So after a comparison drive over 6 kilometres of public streets on a fine day I regret that I can’t make the decision for you. On a normal drive at legal speeds the determining factors are 3 doors or 5 doors and colour choice. Both cars feel the same, sound the same drive the same… If you drive on a race track or imagine you do then maybe it’s the Duke for you.

If you are interested in purchasing a 147 judge for yourself and please call Clayton on 9315 9696 for an appointment.

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