... Before I bought the Alfa 147 back in 2003 I owned a pretty modest Nova 1.2, which was my very first car. It was nice and reliable but I was dying to get behind the wheel of a car that was more up-market, and when I saw a little red Alfa on a forecourt nearby I thought I'd have a go.
The ... Read review
Advantages: Fantastic free revving engine, bags of style Disadvantages: Dodgy service support
...Before I bought the Alfa 147 back in 2003 I owned a pretty modest Nova 1.2, which was my very first car. It was nice and reliable but I was dying to get behind the wheel of a car that was more up-market, and when I saw a little red Alfa on a forecourt nearby I thought I'd have a go.
The Test Drive
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So I went into the dealership and asked if I could have a test drive. They were only too keen ... .../>
Alfa Romeo 147 Turismo
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One of the first selling points for me is the look of the thing. This is a beautiful car. The low-slung sweeping hatchback body style, with a snarling, chromed front central grill. This car oozes style like no other car in this class. I bought one in Alfa Red, which for me is definitely the best colour.
I seem to have fallen into a habit of only reviewing things that I really like, so to add a bit of balance I thought I'd write a review on something that I have mixed feelings about. Before I bought the Alfa 147 back in 2003 I owned a pretty modest Nova 1.2, which was my very first car. It was nice and reliable but I was dying to get behind the wheel of a car that was more up-market, and when I saw a little red Alfa on a forecourt nearby I thought I'd have a go.
The Test Drive _______________
So I went into the dealership and asked if I could have a test drive. They were only too keen to get me in the car, bums in seats sells cars et all. The first thing that I noticed was the interior. The dials are sunk in like a Ferraris and instead of 'Revs' it says 'Giri', which to me sounds so much nicer. The interior feels really special, as if somebody has spent a lot of time ensuring that it looks and feels nice, even down to the leather hand stitched steering wheel. I put the key in the ignition a turned it. The car started up with quite a roar, which was music to my ears. So I engage first gear and aim to gently pull away, only I'm not used to the aggressive clutch action, and nearly hit a wall!
Out in the open road this car performs really well for a pretty modestly sized engine. The engine is aggressive and rorty, it encourages you, as if it wants to be driven hard. The revs (or giri) are free flowing, more so than any other car that I've driven, and although it isn't the fastest car that I've driven it is probably the one that feels most like a sports car. The car is also very composed when driving around twisty roads, although maybe a bit soft for my liking. The transmission is a bit of a let down - a bit like stirring porridge but all in all, a lot of fun.
Following this test drive, which lasted about 30 minutes I just had to buy the car, it was just such a laugh to drive. So I did…….
Alfa Romeo 147 Turismo ____________________
One of the first selling points for me is the look of the thing. This is a beautiful car. The low-slung sweeping hatchback body style, with a snarling, chromed front central grill. This car oozes style like no other car in this class. I bought one in Alfa Red, which for me is definitely the best colour.
** Figures are taken from the WhatCar road test for this vehicle
But what does it all mean Basil??
It means that the car is pretty quick from standing, it certainly feels faster than the modest figures suggest. The engine is low on torque, which means that overtaking can be a bit of a chore, you'll need to keep it in the high rev range to get the most out of it. Keeping the revs high is a pleasure because of the sweet engine roar.
Economy ________
For a 1.6 engine the economy is pretty shocking. The first service at 1 year is £240 and all you get is an oil change. Insurance group 13 will make it difficult for a lot of young drivers to ensure and the fuel economy is more akin to that of a racing car than a small hatchback. My combined economy worked out at about 26mpg… Ouch!
Space and Practicality __________________
The 147 is essentially in the supermini class. You shouldn't expect estate like boot space or rear headroom. What you can expect is a modest boot and plenty of room in the front for the driver and passenger. The rear seats are actually pretty good and the cabin is well organised.
Security and Safety _________________
Safety and security in this car are pretty reasonable. The car is alarmed and fitted with an immobiliser. Front and side airbags come as standard along with ABS and Traction Control. The 147 boasts remote central locking but without the deadlocking that you will see on many a new car nowadays.
Quality ______
The quality of this vehicle, inside and out is excellent. The interior doesn't rattle at all and everything feels well built. The only gripe for me is that the doors creaked when I opened them. The seats are very comfortable and supportive and even the cup holders feel engineered. The sound system is quite good for a standard fit and it's nice how the interior glows red in the dark.
Cool stuff that comes as standard ____________________________
Air conditioning ASR ABS CD Player Chrome Grills 4 Airbags Remote Central Locking
As an Ownership Proposition ________________________
Now we get to the nitty gritty. I owned my Alfa over the course of 1 year, and the reason that I sold it was that it blew up. I maintain to this day that if Alfa Romeo had just fixed the problem I would not have sold it. The problem with Alfa Romeo is not the cars - they are wonderful. But the company itself is an absolute shower of Shiite. It took them a long time to sort the problem out and they wouldn't give me a courtesy car without having a lot of hassle. I could live with the car if there was decent servicing support from Alfa Romeo, but there just isn't.
To conclude……… _______________
My opinion is that the Alfa Romeo 147 is a very nice and enjoyable car which is let down by a parent company that doesn't care about its customers. If you can afford to carry out all maintenance (which may mean new engine) privately then Alfas could well be for you as their really isn't a car that competes in terms of class and style in the small hatch class. I would have to say that it just isn't worth it.
Thanks for reading my review. I hope it can help you to make a buying decision.
Advantages: Looks great, handles well Disadvantages: Drinks a lot
I purchased my Alfa 147 1.6 Lusso 14 months ago, for £12,500 OTR including upgraded wheels and few bits of Alfa toys, as well as 3 year's free AA cover. I was very pleased with the price as I had originally been looking at getting a 12 month old one and then discovered that it would only be about £1k more for a brand newie, so for the first time in my life, I got to drive a brand new car!
I love the look of these cars, especially when so many other ... ...horrendous.
I have found Alfa servicing very good and efficient. They've been very helpful and I have no complaints really. It's not cheap though!
It's hard for me to honestly rtae reliability as I wouldn't expect any problems within a year anyway!
*The biiiiiig wide wheels look great and are greta most of the time but I have had a bit of a problem in the snow in them. My husband's Audi has wheels the same size, but i can only assume that my Alfa ...
DeliaS 20.09.2004
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of Alfa Romeo 147 1.6
...visited both dealers - the Alfa dealer was keen but couldn't come down to my price, whilst the Mini dealer was very much "I can sell 10 of these tomorrow - why should I bother trying to help you!". Frustrated I visited a car supermarket and was somewhat bewildered by the choice on offer. I would strongly recommend it to anyone - even if you don't buy from them. Seeing the car in full colour beats trying to imagine it from the 2 inch square card in ... ...from any manufacturer. Unfortunately Alfa earned a bad reputation during the late eighties and early nineties but manufacturers move on. Most of the electrics are made by Bosch the same supplier that many other manufacturers use, so if a part fails on the Alfa, it's also failing on Focus, Golf, Megane, Civic et al.
The Alfa 147 is the best car I have ever owned. In the past I've had Citroens, Volkswagens and Vauxhalls. The Citroens were all mechanically ...
CarNut 23.12.2003
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of Alfa Romeo 147 1.6
Advantages: Cracking line, exciting drive, young 2nd hand cars cheap Disadvantages: brand new car expensive, dealership = con-artists, Alfa central customer services is absolutely useless
I bought my Alfa 147 1.6 Lusso in Nov. 04 in second-hand (manufactured in Jan. 04). I loved it for at least a year, until serious problems started to occur:
In my first year of ownership I experienced some minor annoying problems like fan noises, window rubber sealing adrift, defective airbag sensor, but the car was under manufacturer's warranty (2 years) and this issues were temporarily fixed.
When this warranty expired and was replaced by the ... ...and the climate control issue, Alfa Dealer warranty reps argued that electrical items, harnesses, pipes, hoses are not covered by the 3rd year dealer warranty. Hence 70% of the car components are not covered!!
Bear in mind that when you visit the Alfa-Romeo UK Website, when it comes to the 3rd year dealer warranty, these restrictions are not mentioned at all - the servicebooklet and the site both boast 'The third year warranty is as comprehensive ...
AbFab74 22.07.2006
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Alfa Romeo 147 1.6
Advantages: Looks fantastic & handles well Disadvantages: Costly to repair
Oh my goodness, where shall I start! I bought this car from my sister in law last year. I loved it when she bought it so when she decided to sell it, I couldn't resist - even though I was perfectly happy with my Corsa Sport! So lets start from the outside - it looks lovely. I have the three door version in Seagull Blue. The attention to details is amazing from the grill at the front through to the shape of the wing mirrors. Although I have the three ... ...car seat - the combination usually don't mix - but I have no problem putting him in his car seat in the back. Or he can go in the front because you can turn the passenger air bag off.
So the inside - it is full of buttons, gadgets and gizmos. I still haven't got to grips with all the functions on the CD/Radio yet - or the adjustable climate control! There's plenty of storage space and the boot is a reasonable size. There are some really good features ...
Junglejuice30 27.07.2007
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Alfa Romeo 147 1.6
Advantages: THOSE LOOKS, Drivability Disadvantages: Costs and space
We bought our Alfa 147 from a car supermarket. Ever since it had been released we dreamed of owning one of these cars. It wasn`t cheap but it looked great and drove great. The handling is second to none and the base 1.6 litre engine has enough guts to handle almost anything before it. The alfa is well equipped too in Lusso form (and in Turismo guise too) with Air Con, Cruise Control, CD player and the usual Central locking and electric windows. It`s ... ...aren`t cheap and although the Alfa usually get about 36-37MPG as an average this was based on some quite rural driving. In Town, fuel economy dips to 25-30MPG. Servicing is a bit astronomical and most garages don`t know what to do with the car - you local friendly Alfa dealer won`t prove particularly cheap or healpful if ours is anything to go by. Reliability is better than Alfas of yore although the odd bug has cropped up. For instance, the boot ...
SimonDolan 07.11.2005
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Alfa Romeo 147 1.6
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FINAL SCORE: 120 / 170 - 70.6%
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