Alfa Romeo 147 1.6 > Reviews (19)

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 offered a favourable rate on my car and at £12,300 it was £2300 less than list. I picked it up a few days later and was suprised to wait in-line for the keys along with about 10 other people collecting at that time. Once they hand over the keys you are on your own. I much prefer this to having a slime ball in a "Man at C&A" suit pointing out the obvious for a £2300 premium! Rather remiss of me not to check when buying, but I was pleasantly surprised by the extras I didn't know the car had. As it had been imported (from Ireland) the Supermarket had cut a deal with the supplier to add the optional 17" alloys and a boot mounted 10 disc autochanger - bargain - these would be about another £800 at list price.

Anyway, down to the car itself. As a Lusso model it comes with:
Climate control with individual control for driver and passenger.
Computer to tell you everything you never wanted to know - mpg/average speed/distance etc and rather usefully if a bulb blows - how often to you follow someone with only one brakelight!
Cruise Control - great for motorways and avoiding tickets in 30mph zones!
Airbags galore - it's almost worth crashing to see all 6 airbags go off - it must be like a bouncy castle!
Electric windows with rear lock facility to stop little hands playing.
ABS brakes and traction control.
Single slot dash mounted CD player
The worlds smallest glovebox - the lid looks huge but open it up and you can just about fit a box of matches in there!
Follow me home lights - pull the light stalk back a few times and the lights stay on for a while so you can find the front door at night.
Central locking with a separate button for just opening the boot - handy when your struggling with shopping.
Probably lots of other things I haven't found yet.

Driving the car you find it a mixed bag. On normal A roads it's smooth and composed, on B roads whilst the handling is excellent, the ride is a little harsh, but that's probably hindered by the large alloys coupled with low profiletyres. The engine seems to have two modes of operation, normal whilst pottering about town and lively once you go past the 4000rpm mark which is sure to put a smile on your face. You feel very snug with car. The seats are well bolstered and offer plenty of comfort, whilst the quality of the plastics and trim is easily on a par with the Golf.

You soon learn to live with people staring at you as you drive by and the sideways glances at the traffic lights.

Leave it in a car park and be prepared to see someone hovering around on your return asking "what's it like? - it looks fantastic". In short it's a car that looks special and makes you feel special driving it. The one thing that really does annoy me is other peoples snide remarks - is it just jealousy?

In the 18 months I've had the car, I've had no problems at all. No breakdowns, nothing has fallen off, everything still works. Sure some people have problems with theirs but this can be true for any car 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 sound but as cheaply built as their dealers showrooms. The Volkswagens were full of rattles and strange engine noises, whilst the dealers remained silent and unhelpful. The Vauxhalls had major mechanical problems - steering racks, brakes, not starting, cutting out - rather like their dealers.

I've only had occasion to visit the local Alfa dealership twice. First time was when I was looking to buy and the second was when 147 was in for service. My rating of this particular dealer, based in Worcester, was first class. When I telephoned to book the car in they made a time which was convenient for me rather than for them (Vauxhall take note) and offered a courtesy car without me needing to ask. When I arrived at the service desk they promptly and politely said that they were expecting me and asked if there was anything else I would like them to look at during the service. The Vauxhall and Volkswagen dealers would never ask this for fear of a long list of faults.

They fetched the courtesy car - rather than throwing me the keys and expecting me to hunt the car down, only to find it blocked in and having to return to the service desk. They made a point that it had half a tank of petrol for me to use, rather than the usual bring it back with the same amount of fuel. A task totally impossible as invariable the moment you turn the key in the ignition the low fuel light comes on. I remember arguing with a dealer about this, to be told "oh, you've got plenty of fuel left when the light comes on" - yeah but how long has the damn thing been on for!

So there we are. In short:
I would recommend a 147 to anyone and would certainly buy one for my next car.
Don't buy from a dealer or at least be armed with how much you can buy it for at a supermarket when you visit the dealer.
Go for the five door instead of the three, it's so much more practical and beacuse of the concealed handle looks identical to the three door.
If you buy with optional allows, be aware how expensive the tyres are. The 17" take 215/45 tyres which can range from £80 to £160 each!
Don't listen to others who say it will break down or bits will fall off. Take a good look at the bits missing on their car and ask them the last time it went to the garage and what for.