Alfa Romeo 146 Boxer

...that was never to end..The Alfa 146 Boxer was the first car I bought and owned for 5 years in UK. During my 5 years of ownership I can safely say that every single day of my ownership was trouble free and it’s been a real pleasure owning and driving this Italian beauty.

The Legend ~

Say the words Alfa Romeo and you are taken away into reminiscing the days of past glory, a marque associated with a rich heritage and history ...
...sold with.

ALFA 146 BOXER

Alfa Romeo launched the 146 model in the UK in 1995. It was a replacement to the Alfa 33’s if any of you remember those, but with a totally new chassis, body styling and sporty looks. I bought my 146 Boxer brand new in late 1995. At the time of launch the car was available in only 2 engine sizes: 1.6 (8v) and 1.7 (16v). Being my first car I opted for the smaller 1.6 engine to keep my insurance ... more

The title says it all – this was my first Italian love affair that was never to end..The Alfa 146 Boxer was the first car I bought and owned for 5 years in UK. During my 5 years of ownership I can safely say that every single day of my ownership was trouble free and it’s been a real pleasure owning and driving this Italian beauty.

The Legend ~

Say the words Alfa Romeo and you are taken away into reminiscing the days of past glory, a marque associated with a rich heritage and history synonymous with motor racing. Alfa Romeo was the first team to ever win a Formula 1 Championship back in 1950. I never thought that I would enjoy this car as much as I did over the years. For those not familiar with the marque I will provide some background about the models in this range, the engines and the warranties that these cars are sold with.

ALFA 146 BOXER

Alfa Romeo launched the 146 model in the UK in 1995. It was a replacement to the Alfa 33’s if any of you remember those, but with a totally new chassis, body styling and sporty looks. I bought my 146 Boxer brand new in late 1995. At the time of launch the car was available in only 2 engine sizes: 1.6 (8v) and 1.7 (16v). Being my first car I opted for the smaller 1.6 engine to keep my insurance costs low. There was a choice of 2 levels of equipment a base model or the ‘L’ version which had ABS, Immobiliser and Alarm as standard. I opted for the 146 L version.

Exterior ~

From the outside this car appears wedge shaped at the exterior with smooth sideline contours. An aggressive sloping V shaped grille emcompasses the front bonnet with the historic alfa romeo logo embedded in the ‘V’. It combines sporty looks with the practicality of a 5-door family hatchback.

Interior ~

The minute I sat in this car 5 years ago I knew it was for me! I sank into the sports Recaro seats which hugged my waist at all the right places and I knew we were in for a great ride. Everything about it oozed serious style and performance without looking tacky. The dashboard provides a clear display of panels through the 3 spoke leather steering wheel, with 1 large centre panel comprising the digital LED speedometer light up in green, and 2 side panels on either side showing the fuel tank and the all important rev meter! The dashboard and controls are clear, easy to read and functional, there are no funky, extra gimmicks added here such as titanium coloured gear stick or matching colour pedals. As I mentioned I bought the 146 ‘L’ version this includes a few extra gadgets such as a door check panel with a small diagram at the front highlighting the 5 doors-the 5th door being the boot. Other standard features include electric windows, stereo cassette with 6 speakers.

The seats are very comfortable in the recaro sports style with grey velour cloth embroidered with the Alfa Romeo logo. I can also mention at this point after 5 years of use the car’s interior was like new, the velour seats had not faded in texture or quality. The boot is quite spacious and can be opened by an electronic boot release from inside. There is also a handle inside the boot to grip to help you hold open the boot, so you are not holding onto the outer boot. I have fitted 2 large suitcases and plenty of extra travelling bags in. I have even helped transport my brother to University with all his stuff, so that may give you an idea of its boot space! In theory, that’s a boot capacity of 380/1225 (dm3).

PERFORMANCE & Handling ~

Ok , now down to the serious bit of the car..the engine the drive!! Turn the red key in the ignition and just listen to that glorious roar of a boxer engine!!
This car loves to perform and be pushed. I have driven this car in all conditions from sunny to wet conditions and boy does it grip the road well. Road handling is super. What I will say against it in windy conditions at high speeds it does sometimes feel unsafe, this maybe something to do with it’s wedge shaped body design.

City driving is lively and thrusty and you can hear that beautiful boxer engine purring away quietly. The gears are slightly notchy, and it may take some getting used to. Hit the accelerator to national motorway limits and you know you are in for a serious drive, woah! Being only a 8v 1600cc engine the 0-60 time isn’t impressive it’s about 11 secs, but once you’ve attained that speed it’s easy to keep going along at 70-90mph without any problems. This car reaches it’s maximum power at 6500 rpm attaining a whopping 95 bhp, which isn’t bad for a car that’s only got a 1.6L engine with 8v.

So whats fuel consumption like..well with a full tank capacity of 51 litres its claimed to give 44.8mpg at around 56mph, but as I do a lot of city driving too, I never got that much. The estimated urban consumption is about 26 miles.

The sound of that glorious roar of that boxer engine as I work up through the gears is beautiful. It reaches its peak torque at 4300 revs, but by this point the engine noise is loud but sensational. The brakes are not –self- ventilated so are not as responsive as the larger self-ventilated ones. (like in the twin spark models). The front brakes consist of they are about 257mm ventilated disc and the rear have 240mm discs.

It’s not as quick as the new generation ‘twin-spark’ engined alfa romeo’s but it sure is in a league of it’s own with a glorious purring engine. Road handling on all roads is superb, it really grips the road well and I feel in total control!

Cost of Ownership and Warranty ~

For those thinking alfa’s are prone to rust, long gone are those days as the cars are fully galvanised and all Alfa Romeo’s come with 3 year paintwork and 8 year anti-corrosion warranty. In my 5 years of owning one the paintwork was great as well as expected on a 5 year old car and there was absolutely no signs of rust.

Service intervals are every 12,000 miles or 12 months with the first ALFA service comprising of the standard oil filter change which costs about £60. The next major service is at 24,000 miles, which will require the spark plugs replacing etc, this cost me about £200 at a main Alfa Romeo dealer. Note-you can get this done cheaper but I wanted to maintain a Full Alfa Romeo Service History.

The biggest standard service you are likely to spend the most on is the 5 year/ 72, 000 mile service which requires the cambelts changed. A cambelt only cost about £20, but the labour time estimated at authorised dealers is in excess of 4 hours! So official authorised alfa service on the 72k service could be up to £500! Bear in mind though this is no more than any other big service cam belt change service at main authorised dealers e.g. BMW, Audi, VW, etc. That’s probably why most owners try to sell their cars before the 5 year or 72K mark. If you are looking to buy a Used Alfa make sure it’s had its cam belts changed if it is around 5 years or 72,000 miles on the clock, as that is the most expensive service you will incur.

In my 5 years of ownership the car has never failed me, the only items I have had to replace are normal wear and tear items such as brake pads (front), discs and exhaust.

Prices ~

At the time of purchase in 1995 this Alfa Romeo cost £13,000 NEW in U.K for the luxury ‘L’ version, with the base model starting at £11,000. Today, Used car figures will allow you to purchase one of these for as little as £1000. Make sure you buy one with Full Service History. One very IMPORTANT point when looking to buy a USED Alfa Romeo make sure it has the Master Key with it , this can operate the engine management system and allows access to the Alfa CODE which is a key feature in the ignition key and allows access to transponder to immobilise the car. To replace a Master key can cost over £1000.

Finally the Insurance is not too high on this car with only a 1600cc engine it comes in safely in Group 9 insurance and is quite cheap to insure both because of it’s engine size and its safety and security features (immobilsor, alarm, ALFA CODE etc).

Alfa Romeo stopped making the Boxer engine 146 in 1996 and replaced all the 146’s with twin-spark engines. The twin sparks are 16v and have an enhanced output performance. As a result of the Boxer 146 (8v) being replaced by the 146 (16v) twinsparks, the price of these Boxer engined 146's plummeted further. I sadly lost my Alfa Boxer in a car accident on Valentine’s Day but only to be re-united with another faster and improved Italian beast the 146 ti- (twin spark –see separate opinion), but I do miss my Boxer engine Alfa and one day hope to own another Boxer!

If you are new to world of Alfa Romeo’s there is a lot of dedicated enthusiasts out there and many User clubs where I would urge you to join to ask for help. Users are very friendly and genuinely very helpful, one of the biggest User Groups in the World is the alfa-digest run from USA by Richard Welty. All useful links attached at end of this opinion. There are of course Owner’s Club and the official Alfa Romeo website that you should check out.

So overall, if you are on a limited budget and want a sporty ride I would recommend trying either the 146 Boxers –you’ll love the sound of that engine! Or the more recent more improved but quieter 146 twins parks for a little more money starting from £3000 onwards. Or if money is no object then you will be not mind going for the latest model of the 146, which is the 147! Yes, Alfa Romeo sadly stopped making the 146 in the year 2000 and replaced it with the new 147. Based on its superb value and features I am awarding this a generous 4 -star rating, perhaps 3-star may be more realistic, but I am a tad biased towards the Italian marque and for a 1995 model it was way ahead of its time.

So why not reawaken those memories and bring alive the sporting legend ..and make an alliance with a never ending Italian passionate affair….
And as the saying goes ‘Cuore Sportivo’.....ciao!

More than 3 years on I miss this car dearly...

For further details:-

www.alfaromeo.co.uk
http://www.digest.net/alfa/
http://www.aroc-uk.com/

connoisseur_haggler©ciao 2001, 2004, 2005 

...less