Alfa Romeo 147 1.6

Introduction 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 ... more

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 manufacturers seem to be assimilating the lines and design concepts of the ranges, and even cars of different badges can look so similar these days ... more

I purchased my 1.6 Lusso in June 2002 from a car supermarket. I had been torn bewteen the 147 and the new Mini. I 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 the showroom. The supermarket ... more

I purchased my Alfa 147 in 2005 after falling in love with the noise she makes. Nothing has the same growl as an alfa. When I bought my 147 she was already 3 years old, and is nearly 6 now. I spend a lot of time driving each week for work, around 300 miles a week in fact, so I have experience of her on all kinds of roads and journeys. The first thing to be mentioned when I think of my car is the ride quality. I'm informed by passengers that she is very comfortable in the back, and doesn't make them feel sick. However as a driver she has nearly ruined my back. This is down to the fact that I ... more

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 3rd year Dealership warranty, things became suddently much more difficult: My car was definitely not reliable and soon I experienced problems with the ... more