The new Ciao layout is S**T.... why do they mess around with things that are working just fine??
The new Ciao layout is S**T.... why do they mess around with things that are working just fine??
Member since:14.03.2007
Reviews:120
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Over the years since first passing my driving test, I have had dozens of cars and since I turned 21 and could get insurance for them most of them have been sports cars of one type or another. I have owned two convertible BMW`s a VW Golf VR6 and several Alfa Romeo`s, with the Alfa Romeos being my favourite cars by a mile.
The Alfa Romeo I am Writing about today is the 156, 2.5 V6 24 valve, I have just sold this particular car on in order to buy the newer model of Alfa Romeo but I am missing it badly. Even though the new Alfa is breathtakingly good it just does not seem to have the character and raw power of my old faithful 156.
The Alfa Romeo 156 is a very stylish 4 door saloon and because of its hidden rear door handles it looks like a 2 door coupe from a distance. It oozes Italian style both inside and out, with the unique body styling and front grill and the offset front number plate and inside you will find the Momo leather sports seats, well in mine you did but some do come with cloth seats but even those were sports shaped and had the hand stitched Alfa logo on them and looked very nice.
The other stunning feature of the interior of these cars is the dash board, it is black in colour regardless of the exterior colour of the car and a black dash always looks best. The instrument dials all slope slightly towards the driver so the passenger cannot read the dials and it makes the driver feel very in touch and in total control of the vehicle and everything inside it.
The instrument panels all light up bright orange unless it is the model fitted with white dials but for me the bright orange original Alfa colour is by far the best option, white dials have their place in cars but not in Alfas. You get several options of interior styling when it comes to the facia on the centre console and the steering wheel, some have the
plain black, some have wood and some including mine have the carbon fibre effect.
As for space and comfort inside these cars well it is very good actually, from the outside you could be forgiven for thinking they look small but it is mainly because of their coupe look and the fact they sit so low that gives this impression. In fact they probably have as much room as a ford Mondeo inside or if not they certainly have more than the Ford Focus or the Vauxhall Astra.
The front seats as I said are Momo leather and sports designed and are very, very comfortable, the back seat is of course leather also and it slopes slightly back so you are very slightly reclined as you would almost always choose to be in a front seat. I have only travelled in the back of one of these cars once and it was a very long drive and a very comfortable one.
The cars also have air conditioning and climate control in almost every model which creates a very relaxing interior climate for long drives, you never get too hot and there is no need to have to keep adjusting the heating dials just choose a temperature and the car will do the rest.
Also fitted in many models including mine was traction control and cruise control, traction control in many cars ruins the driving experience but in the Alfa 156 it actually created a better driving experience and the cruise control is great on the motorways, just set your speed and the car keeps it for you so no more pedal fatigue for your right foot.
As well as all the gadgets and toys the Alfa 156 has many safety features such as twin air bags SIPS (side impact protection system) and anti-lock brakes. The passenger air bag can be switched off by using the ignition key in a key lock inside the passenger door on the dash to allow for front facing child seats to be used, Alfa rally have thought of everything in their cars. Exterior styling varies in these cars too with some of them having the body styling side skirts and rear spoilers and some not, the rear spoilers also came in different shapes and sizes.
My Alfa had the full body kit including the large rear spoiler similar to those found on the MitsubishiEvo or the Subaru WRX models. With or without the body kits and spoilers the Alfa Romeo 156 was and still is a real head turner.
Along with the different body styling you also get a choice of wheels on the Alfa 156, the Alloy wheels on mine were known as the teledial ones and they grabbed the attention of many. They also fit these cars with different sizes of wheels, some come with the standard 1 inch most come with the larger 16 inch but you can chose to upgrade if you buy new as I did, I went for the awesome looking 18 inch wheels although with the Alfa going through tyres like nothing on earth I often wished I had gone with a cheaper option.
When it comes to driving the Alfa it really is an awesome experience well at least the 2.5 V6 that I owned was, this car had frightening power and speed and although I had driven other V6 cars none could come close to the Alfa Romeo. Even at standard power before I got the ECU remapped the car was capable of a 0-60 in 8 seconds and a top speed of 147mph after its remap this awesome Italian sports car would do 0-60 in under 6 seconds and hit a top speed of just over 165mph and the thing with the Alfa is you never felt like you were anywhere near those speeds so smooth was the drive.
Driving the 156 was always a pleasure whether it be out on the motorways at high speed or cruising around towns and cities enjoying the attention the Alfa got and finally Alfa had put right the one thing that was always so wrong with the previous Alfa Romeos, they had fixed out the driving position. In the older Alfas it was although they had designed the driving position around one odd shaped person and if you were not that odd you would never feel comfortable but now with the seat moving up and down as well as back and forward and the steering column being fully adjustable you get the right position no matter what your shape or size.
The comfort of the ride in the Alfa Romeo 156 was very good and even as the car got older it never had the annoying traits many older cars have such as wind noise and creaks and groans, the Alfa felt like a new car for the whole 4 years I owned it and I often found myself driving places just for the sake of driving.
Over the years Alfa Romeo had a bad name for a few reasons, the already mentioned driving position which they have now corrected and probably the biggest complaint people had about Alfas was the electrics breaking down. I have to admit when I first bought the Alfa 156 I was a bit concerned with the issues of the electrics because there are so bloody many it would have been a nightmare if they had failed but I never had a problem with the electrics in my 4 years of ownership apart from the sunroof failing once but it was no more than a simple blown fuse.
The electric packs differ in these cars too, mine had the full electrics, all four windows, the sunroof, electric heated seats, electric heated mirrors and of course remote central locking. Some do not have rear electric windows or electric seats. I should mention that my Alfa was a 2004 model and that some of the earlier ones might have had fewer creature comforts.
Many will worry about fuel consumption and the likes when buying a V6 and yes they do love petrol so if fuel consumption is an issue for you then do not buy a V6 Alfa Romeo. Whilst mine was very good on the motorway having the 6 speed box it did like to abuse fuel when driving around the towns and cities. The onboard computer would show average motorway fuel consumption to be around 36mpg which is not too shabby for a huge engine car like this but the other end of the scale was that around the town it would drop to about 18mpg which is about half of what you would get from a 2 litre Mondeo or the likes.
Running the Alfa Romeo can be an expensive business too so again if you are looking for cheap running costs then this is not the car for you. A typical service will set you back around £250 and the big service after 25,000 miles will set you back over £400 and there is no point trying to go to small garages or independents because the chances are they will not touch your Alfa with a barge pole so it is off to the expensive dealer's every time.
I have heard many horror stories from people about their Alfa dealerships but I have to say the one in Edinburgh that I bought the car from had great after sales service and never caused me a minutes problem and when it came to the costly business of changing the timing belt at 36,000 miles (which has to be done religiously by the way), they gave me a 20% discount without me asking, because I had always gone back to them, very decent service I would say.
I covered 80,000 miles in my four years with the car and never had a break down, I of course had to replace things on the car as you would with any car after that sort of mileage, I went through four sets of front brakes and two sets of rears, countless tyres which is the one thing that Alfa could do with sorting out, I needed to replace the front suspension bushes and I also needed a set of front and rear struts but all in all there were no real major issues and the only large costs were the two timing belt changes at 36,000 and 72,000, these have to be done because the timing belts just do not last far past that and if they go under driving you will bend valves and basically destroy the engine and you will be looking at a £1800 rebuild rather than a £500 timing belt change.
The Alfa Romeo is not a cheap toy to own and it really is a real driver's car, as one Jeremy Clarkson once said "you cannot call yourself a true petrol head until you have owned an Alfa". This car will make you fall in love with driving and passers by will fall in love with your car (and with you if you are lucky LOL) but you have to be prepared to look after these cars and if they need something doing you do it otherwise the problem quickly grows and you can have a very big bill staring you in the face.
I have sold my beloved 156 on now and have a newer model Alfa and as lovely as it is, I miss the old 156 so much. The new Alfa is a 3 litre V6 and also very quick, it is extremely good looking and it turns heads but it lacks the raw rough around the edges power of the old 156 and I am starting to think maybe I should have had another year with my 156 before having to let it go, I hope the guy from Newcastle that bought her is looking after her in the manor she was accustomed to and that he is getting all the enjoyment I got.
I would recommend the Alfa Romeo 156 V6 24 valve to anyone interested in owning a real powerhouse of a car but as I have said they need lots of TLC and you have to be prepared for hefty running costs. If you want a 156 but do not want the hefty running costs then you can have the style without the power if you go for the 1.8ts or the 2.0ts but as well as power you will lose some of the added extras but never the less you will have yourself a very nice car. The only thing to stay well clear of when buying an Alfa is the semi automatic gear boxes, although the option of changing gear with paddles on the steering wheel in true formula one style might seem appealing, the system fails regularly and costs a fortune to put right so always go for the manual box and if you do go for a V6 then get the 6 speed box because it will help on fuel consumption.
HOW I SCORE THE ALFA 156 2.5 V6 24 VALVE
PERFORMANCE - 10/10
RELIABILITY - 8/10
RUNNING COSTS (higher is cheaper) - 6/10
DEALERSHIP AND AFTER SALES SERVICE - 9/10
COMFORT - 9/10
TOY`S AND GADGETS - 9/10
SAFETY FEATURES - 9/10
OVERALL - 9/10
My Alfa was bought new in 2004 with zero miles on the clock for £23.489 and sold in 2008 with 80,000 on the clock for £7,900. That may seem like a huge loss but she was worth every penny I paid for her and more and she served me brilliantly over those four years so I can have no complaints.
Mar 23rd, 2009
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