True, it wasn't brand new when it came into our hands — before us, our journalist colleagues had already had a chance to drive this Brera. Given the driving style of some of them, I'm genuinely surprised the car even survived to us in one piece — such people would wreck a tank in a couple of thousand kilometers. In short, we have an explosive mixture on the horizon: winter and an Alfa. Let's see what comes of it. Meanwhile, we're driving around Moscow and getting used to the fact that owners of other Alfas (and not only them) now wave at us in greeting.
Our mileage — 1190 km. Total mileage — 20,990 km. Fuel consumption — 24.7 l/100 km.
On the day of our first meeting with the Brera, I apparently got out of bed on the wrong side. It all started when I approached the car not from the front or back, but from the side. And, in my demanding view, it's from this angle, with its short wheelbase and disproportionately large overhangs, that it doesn't look its best. Next, I couldn't get comfortable in the cabin either — at my height of 190 cm, I was almost touching the ceiling with the top of my head. And then we got stuck in traffic. And there, the Alfa began to genuinely annoy me — oddly enough, with its gorgeous engine sound. Yes, it's devilishly good, but the low-frequency hum at idle in a jam is not the best soundtrack for relaxation. In short, by the time I got to the editorial office, I was in an even worse mood.
But during the day we got our salaries, and my mood magically improved. Leaving work, I looked at the Brera with completely different eyes. First, I approached the car from the rear — and its rear end is simply divine. Then I walked around it and looked at the front. I started the engine and, while it warmed up, took a couple more victory laps. She's a beauty, that devil!
And late in the evening, when the traffic had cleared, I floored the gas pedal. And — lo and behold! — the car appeared in a completely different light. I even forgot about the not-so-comfortable seating position. What the hell difference does it make if you feel almost like you're in a supercar behind the wheel? In a word, I didn't even notice how I fell in love.
Feeling that she already had me in her hands, the Alfa immediately demanded almost a liter of oil be topped up. It turned out there wasn't enough from the start. How could I refuse her? True, I had to sweat quite a bit for that. First, I had to go to the Alfa Romeo dealership for branded oil, and then... manage to pour it in. Remember I said our Brera had been in the hands of journalists? Well, they managed to break the hood release handle. The thing is, in Alfa Romeo, unlike most cars, when you pull that lever, the hood doesn't pop up. Instead, another handle comes out of the radiator grille, like on some Mercedes, which you then need to pull. But the colleagues, apparently, didn't know about this and pulled the cabin lever until it fell off. Well done, nothing to say.
After topping up, the Brera didn't ask for more oil. We drove it several hundred kilometers, and at every start the sensor showed the maximum level. The only thing the car asked of us was to check the license plate light bulb.
Our mileage — 1566 km. Total mileage — 21,366 km. Average fuel consumption — 24.3 l/100 km.
"1740 kilograms? Isn't that a bit much for a sports coupe? And an automatic too..." — roughly these thoughts were running through my head while I waited for Vlad Klepach at the black Alfa Romeo Brera. But I didn't have time to delve into the technical specifications — my mobile rang, and a couple of minutes later I was already sitting inside the Brera.
And here I was once again outraged by the stupid engine start algorithm that many manufacturers are guilty of. First, you need to insert the key into a special slot, then press the Start button and hold it until the engine catches. To hell with such mocking compromises! After all, it's much more convenient either to have a regular ignition switch or a full Keyless Go system, where you don't need to take the key out of your pocket at all.
With a displeased growl, the 3.2-liter "six" filled the cold December air with bass notes. You can feel that the engineers worked hard on tuning the exhaust sound. And that's right — an Alfa Romeo should excite the driver even at idle.
However, with 260 "horses" and such a "soundtrack," the ordinary acceleration from a standstill doesn't fit at all. Honestly, from such a "herd" you expect much more fiery behavior. The all-wheel-drive transmission and the presence of an "automatic" cost the Brera dearly — with such mass under the hood, you need at least 300–320 "workhorses." However, somewhere after 120 km/h, the Alfa picks up good pace and...
And what you definitely don't expect from an Alfa Romeo, especially with such pretentious looks, is a "cottony" and long-travel brake pedal! Braking from high speed happens with frightening delay, and avoiding nose dives is difficult even in traffic. As they say?.. "Fail"? Yes, exactly that.
But the "automatic" pleased. It handles six gears quite promptly, and during active driving it quickly adapts and maintains high revs for a while — in case the driver wants to continue accelerating! In general, it works so well that there's no need to use the manual mode.
But with handling, the picture is again not too rosy. No, of course, the Brera is not a clumsy oaf; it confidently takes corners at decent speed. But the soft suspension and the car's gigantic mass kill all the desire to "get wild." And although the excellent winter asphalt tires Pirelli SottoZero hold up well, I'd rather drive more calmly.
And then it suddenly dawned on me. What the hell sport is this? The Alfa Romeo Brera is a typical Gran Turismo coupe! It's not a Ferrari, but rather a Bentley. And it's precisely as a GT that the Brera is miraculously transformed. Then all the drawbacks for extremists turn into advantages for most people.
Handling isn't brilliant? But the Brera handles rough roads beautifully, not making you bounce to the ceiling on joints or desperately grip the wheel in ruts. Not too eager off the line? But on the highway, that's not felt at all. Besides, the cabin is quite quiet, and if desired, you can seat a couple of masochists in the rear "+2" seats. They won't last long there, but they'll definitely survive until the end of the trip — on the Brera, you don't notice how the kilometers fly by.
Moreover, the Brera has an amazing property. Behind the wheel of the Italian beauty, you don't want to think about the multi-liter V8 under the hood or the handling of racing cars. Instead, you want to glide smoothly and unhurriedly to the bass "breathing" of the engine and enjoy the admiring glances of those around you. However, perhaps it's better to order her a "dress" of a different color — in black, many bright details become invisible.
Our mileage — 2072 km. Total mileage — 21,872 km. Average fuel consumption — 25 l/100 km.
Italy is an amazing country. Only here can a shop not open after the lunch break because the seller simply got tired and wanted to go home. Probably, Italians are the happiest nation in the world. So what if economically they don't measure up to England and Germany! But they live for their own pleasure.
We deliberately decided to publish the official photo of the Brera's interior. It's very Italian to do a studio shoot of the cabin and forget to straighten the steering wheel. Our Brera is still pleasing us — it drives, doesn't break down, doesn't eat oil. But during our time with it, we found a bunch of moments that can only be called "Italian."
First of all, of course, it's worth mentioning the funny gauges on the central panel with the inscriptions Benzina, Acqua, and Olio, which the Alfisti decided not to translate, unlike everything else. And, I must say, they did the right thing. Next comes the interior trim. Overall, the Brera is great — the plastic is decent, and aluminum is generously placed. Although when one of my acquaintances said she "likes the silver inserts in the Opel Astra more," I was offended. It turns out there are those for whom gray plastic is better than metal! But it's unclear why, with such an abundance of aluminum in the interior, the door handles are made of cheap plastic? Or take the climate control unit. It could be considered the standard of ergonomics... But, alas! The temperature adjustment knobs turn in such a way that it's almost impossible to adjust the temperature "blindly" — you have to get distracted and look to see if you did everything right. And do you know where the Alfa's trunk release button is? In the armrest box between the front seats!
But you can truly feel like a hot Italian when you're driving on a highway at a decent speed with the window slightly open, and suddenly you want to close it. You press the corresponding button—and the glass, instead of going up, goes all the way down. It happens, yes, and quite often. The emotions are indescribable! However, of all the things listed above, only this is annoying. And everything else can be easily forgiven to the Alfa... Honestly, everything can be forgiven to it. Perhaps you just need to be a bit Italian too, take life more simply, and cars even more so.
Our mileage — 4,300 km.
Total mileage — 24,100 km.
Average fuel consumption — 18.9 l/100 km.
If our Brera could talk, it would surely have plenty of interesting stories to tell. When this striking Italian was being prepared for shipment to Russia, it probably had no idea what surprises awaited it here. But the Alfa has character, and it's still holding up—for which we are especially grateful.
Not long ago, an adventure happened with the Brera (and me along with it). I had a meeting scheduled near Lyusinovskaya Street. Anyone who's been there knows that cars are constantly parked along that road. Spotting a suitable gap between two cars, I decided not to overthink it and parked there too. As I got out of the car, I consoled myself with the thought that tow trucks were unlikely to clear the entire street in ten minutes—especially since there are no-parking signs there.
As you might have guessed, I didn't manage to "get back to the car." It turned out that tow trucks have a weakness for Italian sports cars—the RAV4 parked nearby didn't interest them for some reason. Fortunately, I had the number of a unified information service in my phone, and within a couple of minutes I knew where to find my beauty. Given that the Brera is a rarity in our area, I didn't even have to memorize its license plate.
Then I had to learn the art of rescuing my iron friend—this was my first such experience. I didn't want to drag my colleagues from the editorial office into this; I was to blame myself. Home was just a stone's throw away, so I first went to get my car. As it turned out, that was the right decision. I'll never forget that nighttime trip out of the city and the search for a street that isn't on any map (I'm talking about Novobatyuninskaya). Without the help of a local guy who was slightly tipsy, I definitely wouldn't have managed—sitting in the passenger seat, he confidently pointed the way.
The establishment where protocols are drawn up turned out to be surprisingly hospitable. At the entrance, dubious characters hover, offering their services, while those who refused them pass the time waiting. The crowd there is quite civilized—everyone chats and jokes, understanding that they won't get any sleep that night. Those who finish their business are seen off with applause and wishes of "See you next week!" The traffic police officers are also polite and don't mind joking, though they don't forget the "commercial" side of things when the opportunity arises.
In the end, I got the Alfa out, and as I was leaving the impound lot, I noticed another Italian beauty being brought in. Of course, I couldn't resist filming it. But the Brera's misadventures didn't end there. It got sharply colder in Moscow, and our car started acting up. It started without problems, fortunately, but the side windows seemed to go crazy. When closing the door, they should rise and press against the seals. Imagine my surprise when, after locking the car, I noticed the glass brazenly sliding down! Well, "hello, thieves." I didn't need such adventures, so I spent another five minutes methodically working the window regulator and opening and closing the door, hoping everything would sort itself out, cursing the Italian engineers with not the kindest words.
Everyone already knows that the Brera has a hearty appetite—I persistently associate it with the phrase "Out of gas!" When the fuel gauge needle once again rapidly dropped to zero, I hurried to a gas station. And there it turned out that the fuel filler flap refused to open. In summer—no problem: a light press and it's done, but in winter... In short, I stood there amusing the entire gas station, trying to open that cursed flap, realizing that without it I wouldn't leave on my own. In the end, sleight of hand and ingenuity helped, but if a fragile girl had been behind the wheel, she would never have managed.
Still, don't rush to write the Brera off as a bad car. As it turned out, it's quite practical and can boast a spacious and deep trunk. Out of curiosity, I once used it as a delivery van—and it handled it with ease. So it's just specific. If it could talk, it would surely complain that it's hard and, perhaps, boring for it here. This marvel of technology isn't for Moscow traffic jams. The whole essence of the Alfa is revealed when, on an empty highway at 100 km/h, you suddenly press the gas pedal. That's when you understand what it's all for. So, to enjoy both myself and the Brera, I have to leave home at 6:40 in the morning, even without breakfast—I really want to press the Start button again, hear its incomparable sound, and race along empty roads. And then you forgive it everything. Especially since it's all just little things...
By the way, you've probably noticed that since the last note, the Brera's fuel consumption has noticeably dropped. We'll definitely tell you how we managed that soon!
Our mileage — 4,650 km.
Total mileage — 24,450 km.
Average fuel consumption — 19 l/100 km.
This winter is clearly not spoiling us with snow or frost. But that's only to our Alfa's advantage. Even at peak minus twenty, it started instantly, didn't scrape its underside on the roads, and accelerated as briskly as in summer. All-wheel drive, after all. In short, there have been no winter surprises from our "Italian" so far—just minor flaws. The only thing that's upsetting in winter is how quickly the car gets dirty in our slush, and along with it, the door handles. So, guys, the Alfa needs to be washed more often!
Even dirty, it looks gorgeous. Sometimes the attention from fellow drivers even gets annoying—at a traffic light, you're tempted to roll out a meter past the stop line just to avoid catching more curious glances. And in a traffic jam, you feel like a pretty girl—all the men look at you and literally want you.
The Brera is perhaps too beautiful, and it suffered for that very reason. Once, leaving the car on the street for a couple of hours, I went about my business. I come back—and there's a scratch about fifteen centimeters long on the rear fender. Oh well, what can you do with these people?
Our mileage — 4,950 km.
Total mileage — 24,750 km.
Average fuel consumption — 19 l/100 km.
I really wanted to test Vadim's theory that the Brera is not a sports car but a Gran Turismo in practice. Somewhere in the Swiss Alps or on the California coast... But after estimating how much a flight with the car to the US West Coast would cost, I decided to limit myself to a run around the Moscow region, namely most of the Golden Ring.
While most people were still sleeping off New Year's festivities, I, barely coming to my senses, quickly got ready and, pondering the new fine schedule, dashed out of Moscow.
The first section along Yaroslavskoe Highway told nothing new about our Alfa. The car confidently holds a straight line at high speeds, and thanks to the soft and energy-intensive suspension, you don't feel any discomfort while driving. After taking a couple of shots along the way in twenty-degree frost, I turned toward Sergiev Posad.
And it was in this fine town that all the delights of owning such a car in regions where roads are far from ideal became apparent. Not only do you cautiously navigate the local speed bumps, which resemble anti-tank fortifications, but you also feel every pothole, of which there are plenty in Posad. While the car passes small joints almost imperceptibly, larger holes are felt throughout your entire body.
But the biggest discovery was the snow! Yes, exactly, the snow surprised me. First of all, because it exists in the Moscow region. Not like in Moscow between buildings, but right on the road! And our Alfa Romeo isn't fitted with studded tires—it has Pirelli SottoZero on its rims. Although it's a winter tire, it still prefers asphalt. And the asphalt in the usual sense of the word ended after Pereslavl-Zalessky and Rostov.
After Rostov, I decided to take a shortcut and head to the town of Teikovo. Oh, that stretch of secondary road is a true paradise for speed enthusiasts. The configuration of this almost rally track is very interesting: there are practically no straight sections, just continuous turns of various angles and slopes, and snow, snow, snow... The Brera with its all-wheel drive confidently glides over the snow waves, and you get true pleasure. Until you pass Teikovo...
Since it was getting dark, I had to skip visiting the city of brides and turn toward Suzdal. That's where the real fun began. One of the sections turned out to be so riddled with potholes that, trying to save the long front bumper, I was weaving zigzags at 5 kilometers per hour, which from the outside might have looked like the driver had gone mad or was dead drunk. After barely making it to Vladimir and hitting the M7 highway, the Brera finally sped toward the capital.
In the end, after almost 800 kilometers behind the wheel of the Alfa Romeo Brera, I was left with a mixed feeling. At first, the car gave no trouble, and the journey was a pleasure. But as soon as the good asphalt ended and something indescribable began, I quickly got exhausted, weaving between potholes. You constantly worry about the low-profile tires, the nice alloy wheels, the suspension, and the huge front bumper where most ordinary cars drive without any problems. The only saving grace is that the Alfa's seats are simply excellent. Throughout the entire trip, neither I nor my companion ever wanted to fidget in the seats to stretch our backs. The heating in frost down to minus twenty also worked perfectly, although sometimes a light frost appeared on the windows from the inside, but it quickly disappeared under the flow of hot air.
There is another drawback — the body. Its aerodynamics are in perfect order; the designers and engineers did a thorough job. But the front optics are a real problem. Just a couple of seconds driving behind another car on a dirty road, and you can't see anything. The headlight washer helps only partially, so sometimes you have to stop and wipe the Alfa's "eyes" manually.
And, of course, the trip cost me more than two thousand rubles. True, but I finally managed to reduce the average consumption to a "modest" 18.9 liters. This is largely thanks to free highways and constant speed. To be fair, I note that such an appetite of our Alfa is not only its fault, but also a consequence of the fact that few could resist the temptation to press the gas pedal. And overall, Vadim's theory was confirmed one hundred percent. The Brera is a true Gran Turismo! For the Alps, German autobahns, islands, and sea coasts. In short, where roads are of good quality, and not somewhere near Teykovo in the Ivanovo region.
Our mileage — 5,150 km.
Total mileage — 24,950 km.
Average fuel consumption — 20.2 l/100 km.
And now winter has finally come into its own — snow started falling, and the roads were covered. Wonderful! As soon as the snowfall began, I took the Brera and went to the test site. There, our old acquaintance Alexey Kolontai, who heads the "Master Class" counter-emergency driving school, was already waiting for me. I gave him the keys, and we went together to test the Alfa on snowy surfaces.
It immediately became clear: the Alfa desperately lacks studs! If on asphalt the Pirelli Sottozero tires behave quite confidently, then on snow and, especially, on ice — there are no miracles. But the Q4 all-wheel drive pleasantly surprised the old man! It is, it should be noted, quite unusual here. Firstly, despite the fact that the car is basically front-wheel drive with a transverse engine, the Brera with the Q4 suffix is more rear-wheel drive in character! The Torsen center differential with locking in normal conditions sends 57% of the torque to the rear axle and only 43% to the front. The wheel differentials are free; their locking is handled by electronics.
As a result, the car's behavior is very understandable. And although the weight distribution of the Brera is far from ideal (64/36), behind the wheel you don't feel it at all! A sharp press on the gas, then release and careful addition of traction — and the Alfa goes through the corner almost like a rear-wheel drive! The "rear" is very easy to control — catch the drift with the gas to the desired angle and steer. Then you straighten the car, almost like a front-wheel drive. Yes, it's not all-wheel drive like the Impreza WRX STI or Lancer Evolution, but it's very good!
Plus, on the center tunnel there is a "Sport" button. It not only changes the "automatic" algorithms but also makes the throttle response sharper — even in manual mode of the gearbox. So it's easy to control the car even without a "manual". True, the problem is again the tires — it's sometimes hard to pull the car out with the gas; the wheels simply have nothing to grip. Oh, if only we had studs here...
But all this is if you turn off all the electronic assistants of the Alfa. With a single press of the button, the traction control system is turned off, and if you hold it longer, then the stability control too. If you don't touch anything, then in a corner the Brera quite successfully copes with both drifts and understeer. But we drove in this mode for only about five minutes, and the rest of the time we enjoyed controlled slides. As it turned out, on the Brera this is a real pleasure.
Our mileage — 6,800 km.
Total mileage — 26,600 km.
Average fuel consumption — 20.3 l/100 km.
If you have a Brera (even in winter) — it's great. But on February 4 of this year, the "health" ended. I got to spend the last test weekend with the car. After that, with some sadness, I returned the keys and documents to the owners. And the car itself, by the way, too.
Over two months with the "Italian", no serious breakdowns happened. The winter trials and the onslaught of hot heads from DRIVE.RU, the southern beauty withstood with dignity.
We added oil only once — for a true "alfist", this is almost a record. Plus, by the end of the test, we had to replace the front brake pads — before us, someone had repeatedly overheated them, and they wore out considerably. The replacement together with labor cost 4,846 rubles. But after that, the problem with the tight and "cottony" brake pedal disappeared. Normal feedback appeared, and the car began to slow down confidently.
Overall, the Italian quality of the Brera can be treated differently. The first look is rather negative. It must be admitted that even the former vice-president of BMW, a tough and effective manager Karl-Heinz Kalbfell, could not completely eradicate the notorious Italian carelessness in production. Assembled from excellent materials, with excellent sound insulation, a full-fledged premium coupe in small details remains that very Alfa, whose owner is a regular customer of the car service.
Here are a few examples. By 26 thousand kilometers of mileage (albeit very difficult test mileage), the car had accumulated a whole bouquet of "pleasant" little things: power windows living their own life, a broken mirror retainer in the driver's visor, a passenger door that opens with difficulty, a burnt-out high beam lamp, a dead ball joint... The climate control works intermittently, and the windows fog up in wet weather (it seems it's time to change the cabin filter).
On the other hand, this particular Brera is a car with a truly difficult fate. Test cars are usually unloved (even if someone like me falls in love with them). They have no owners, no one looks after them. And this Alfa is also from the first batches. As practice shows, the longer production goes on, the better and more refined Italian cars become. It would be good if the Brera were also perfected.
To do this, two things need to be done: remove the Australian engine from under the hood and perform "liposuction". By the way, in circles interested in the Italian auto industry, rumors have long been circulating that both will happen during the restyling. Then the Brera could be forgiven for all its glitches.
After all, there is something to forgive! It will charm anyone! The "sharp" and sensitive steering, rear-wheel drive character, perfectly tuned energy-intensive suspension. And I wouldn't call the ride soft. The shock absorbers smooth out small irregularities well at low speed, and with an increase in load and travel, they "tighten up". Therefore, when you really "plunge" into a corner with a loaded steering wheel and most of the torque on the rear axle, the Brera carries you very enthusiastically, and you simply merge with it.
True, in bad weather, to the huge fuel consumption, you should boldly add the immoderate consumption of "washer fluid", which quickly leaves the six headlight washers and two for the windshield.
We were ready for this: beauty requires sacrifices, and dolce vita is extravagance. Rational criteria seem inappropriate when evaluating such "matters" as the Brera, but most buyers "operate" with them. Hence the small sales, and exclusivity... During the entire test, we met other Breras on the street only a couple of times. They are a great rarity on our roads. And many buy this Alfa to stand out from the grayness of the car flow.
So, they are ready to pay. They pay. And they will continue to pay.