The three incomparables
01/06/2016
In the summer of 1983, the German car magazine "mot" printed a comparison test that brought together three interesting cars. Obviously, a trip to the Dolomites provided the occasion to bring the two German sports saloons BMW 323i and Ford Sierra XR4i together with the Italian coupé Alfa Romeo GTV 6.
However, this was certainly triggered by the convincing entry of the Cologne-based company with the Sierra XR4i, as the Alfa and the BMW had already been around for a little longer.
The fact that the two sports saloons from Germany were compared with the sports coupé from Italy was probably due to the fact that no compact saloon with a six-cylinder engine was available in the Alfa range at the time.
And the BMW 325i, which would probably have looked a little better in the three-way battle with 170 instead of 139 hp, did not yet exist at the time.
It was a close race, which the Alfa Romeo dominated above all in terms of the engine, as it was able to exploit its extra power through better driving performance and even lower fuel consumption. The BMW scored with its clear body, good power steering (at extra cost) and precise gearbox, while the Ford was the most spacious of all, offered a variable luggage compartment and was also ahead in terms of suspension, road holding and build quality. In the end, the Ford Sierra XR4i actually won with 187 points ahead of the BMW with 177 and the Alfa with 166.
However, author Holger Glanz also had to admit: "Even though the 'hot three' were pitted against each other in a comparative test, it is difficult to measure them with the same yardstick. And that's why the test result can only be a guide, but in no way answer the question of which of the three is ultimately the better buy. The characters and probably also the demands of the customers are too different ..."
How right he was. And how different the world looks today, 33 years later. Who would decide against a GTV 6 today because the "Italian V6 acknowledges high revs with such a clear noise that neither listening to the radio nor conversation is a pleasure for the occupants"?
For the sake of completeness, here are the most important comparative values from the test, so that everyone can draw their own personal conclusions ...
| Alfa Romeo GTV 6 | BMW 323i (E30) |
Ford Sierra XR4i | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The price | 34805 | 28601 | 28601 |
| plus power steering | not available | 1059 | 908 |
| plus air conditioning | 3027 | 2636 | not available |
| plus leather seats | 2219 | 1793 | not available |
| plus sunroof | 1009 | 982 | 817 |
| plus alloy wheels | standard | 1128 | Standard |
| plus electric front windows | standard | 766 | 633 |
| Displacement ccm | 2492 | 2316 | 2792 |
| HORSEPOWER | 158 | 139 | 150 |
| with PS | 5600 | 5300 | 5700 |
| max. torque Nm | 213 | 205 | 216 |
| at PS | 4000 | 4000 | 3800 |
| Length cm | 426 | 432.5 | 445.9 |
| Width cm | 166.4 | 164.5 | 172.5 |
| Height cm | 133 | 138 | 139.2 |
| Weight kg (full tank) | 1230 | 1170 | 1230 |
| Trunk liters | 280 | 480 | 430 |
| 0-100 km/h | 8.8 | 8.6 | 9.1 |
| 60-120 km/h (4th gear) | 13.1 | 17.3 | 12.8 |
| Top speed | 215.2 | 203 | 211.1 |
| Interior noise at 100 km/h dB(A) | 72 | 68 | 69 |
