Well the horse itself has spoken, Tzecheah.. short and sharp!
I dont own an E46 but a mighty E36 328i and a screaming 156 2.5V6, Btw this is not my first AR, I had a 146ti back in 2000 for about 4 years, way before my Bimmer. Dont ask me why I move to the Germans.. Im a person who wants to try evrything, life is too short just to enjoy 1 make..
Firstly, we must understand that Alfa's and Alfisti's are almost like a 'cult' anywhere in this world. They have great pride and honour to the brand itself, very high in spirit... again, dont ask me why.. Ferrari, Porsche also kena cucuk one! Bmw no need say la, No1 rivals ...
Performance - by all means both cars have great performance, me think it has got a lot to do wt gear ratio's and likesaid Astroboy, lighter engine internals and power to weight ratio also plays a big part. Pick-up and topspeed is exactly what Tze has said, theres no two monkeys about that. The 156 & 328 side by side, the 328 takes off first but as the 156 hit 2nd we are neck to neck all the way up to 4th. So i guess a 325 will be off no match to the V6. Another thing that slows down the Bimmers are their slowmo autobox, rolling start 60kmh - the 156's kickdown(this is awesome, addictive) just pulls away from the Bimmer, can only catch up after 4th gear! And Yes, the 156 surely needs a brake upgrade, they suck big time whereas the Bimmers stock set up is sufficient for our streets.
Handling - Here's where the Bimmer shines, the weight distribution is just right while the V6 is a very nose happy car due to its heavy engine. Some say the 2.0TS handles better than the V6 due to this. Getting the 156 to handle well isn't as easy as bimmers, you need coilovers wt a lot of trial and error involved. The 36 simply feels more firm and swift, be it at high speeds or sapu corners. Im not sure about the 46, but wt the 36 i surely can stay longer at speeds above 200kmh. The steering feel of the 156 is lighter than the 36 at high speeds. I feel a lot safer in the 36 than the 156 at 240km/h, especially switching lanes and hard braking at high speeds. The 156 can feel a little shaky when hard braking whereas the 36 comes to standstill rock steady. Both cars are lowered wt B8 shocks. Anyway Im not a big fan of topend, love the turns, evry corner i see, i want to sapu.. hehe. Try both cars, attack a 90degree corner(KL sentral) at 70-80kmh, you will see the Bimmer exiting first.. Ok i know the Bimmer is rear wheel drive.. but the funny thing is that, when taking corners with the bimmer I always have fear of losing the tail and hell yeah I've lost it countless times, thanks to the ASC that acts quickly bringing me back to a straight line. Never lost any tail wt the 156 so far, touch wood..Take note the 156 doesnt come wt any kind of traction assist, ur on ur own mate,iirc, only post 2003 comes wt traction assist, mine doesnt! And pls dont get me wrong here, im not saying the 156 has bad handling...
Build Quality - Again hands down to the Germans. After the 146 .... nothing feels really conti in the 156 apart from its trademark ROAR.. this is sex on wheels! i would like to stress in the interior department, likesaid earlier, the Germans really think of every detail. All dials and instrument panels are nicely fitted to drivers convinient. Even the seating positon of bimmer is perfect, i cant get it right wt the 156, too high, cant see speedo in full view.. My 1997 bimmer dashboard is like a plane cockpit wt all the lights on, rock steady, feels very luxury while there's nothing to shout about in the 156. 2002 car also rattles a bit here and there. Cheapo plastics i guess. Air cond also not cold, takes ages, but thay have rear vents for passengers. :stupid:
Comfort, Maintainance & FC - As a matter of fact any Conti comes wt a price here. I dont like to talk about this as its not in my dictionary, you want comfort, get a MERC, nothing comes close, thats why I got a slowmo W202(boring car) to take my ah moi go shopping and see movie on Sunday, haha. A pregnant woman can deliver on B8's. Low maintenance and low FC, you all know what car to buy ler! Go Banzai :thefinger:
In short, the AR is a hardcore, PURE fun car, the adrenalin rush is crazy .. BMW - all purpose, ada gaya lagi.. a business man will still drive a 46 to his meetings and function and still look appropriate but not an AR ... AR will be pefect as a second car at least here in Bolehland due to its many limitations.
So Safua, it all boils down to you ... try both cars, go for which ever that makes you wet ... there's so much more to talk about... damn, must get back to work now.. come have a cup of coffee wt me and i can speak all day...
Good Luck
