Alfa Romeo 156 1.6 Twin Spark

...seen the car I wanted...The Alfa Romeo 156 TwinSpark. I'd looked at the Which reports and many many other publications and if I was honest with myself (and my wife Emma...sorry dear) I should have purchased a Ford Focus. A car which has great styling, a good reliability record and reasonable servicing. But no...as I say, the decision had long since been made, and I positively drooled at the sight of 156's whenever I saw one.

So after ...
...seats are reccaro style with Alfa Romeo Embroidered accross them, the dashboard is a very blokeish "carbon fibre" and the stearing wheel and gear knob are leather. You can also get the Lusso or Tourismo specs which offer different "comfort / appearance" add ons.

Also as standard on any 156 you get Air Con, Electric windows, and Electric Mirrors.

Now I've had the experience of driving it about 1000 ... more

I recently passed my driving test (2nd attempt at age 35). To me this milestone (for a soon to be first time father) wasn't about practicality, fuel economy or any other of the usual considerations you should make when purchasing probably the second most expensive item you own.

This is because I'd already seen the car I wanted...The Alfa Romeo 156 TwinSpark. I'd looked at the Which reports and many many other publications and if I was honest with myself (and my wife Emma...sorry dear) I should have purchased a Ford Focus. A car which has great styling, a good reliability record and reasonable servicing. But no...as I say, the decision had long since been made, and I positively drooled at the sight of 156's whenever I saw one.

So after a long search I found the model I was looking for...a shiny Black 1.6 litre (Insurance being a big issue for me). But I did manage to get the Veloce version.

The Veloce is one of the factory variants with a specification list which goes as follows...It's slightly lowered, it has side skirts, it has loverly 16inch alloys (descibed as telephone dials by traders), the seats are reccaro style with Alfa Romeo Embroidered accross them, the dashboard is a very blokeish "carbon fibre" and the stearing wheel and gear knob are leather. You can also get the Lusso or Tourismo specs which offer different "comfort / appearance" add ons.

Also as standard on any 156 you get Air Con, Electric windows, and Electric Mirrors.

Now I've had the experience of driving it about 1000 miles I feel I can be a valid critic. The good points: It is beautiful to look at. Many Car mech-heads believe it will become a design icon for good reason. The sweeping lines down the sides, the concealed coupe style rear door handles, the cast aluminium front door handles, the aggresive nose apexing to the Shield of Alfa Romeo in chrome at the front.

Then there's the engine...It sounds fantastic. It's almost as if they've defined the sound you want a car to make and then piped it in through your CD player. Its full of pitch and growl. The interior is simple but cool. Dials are large such as the speed and rev counter with a very 70's retro feel about them (think bulbous arches on any old GT) Some reviews I have read thought the speedo was sometimes concealed by the stearing wheel (not something I've experienced). The centre console has 3 circular dials angled towards the driver (more retro styling) which cover the engine temperature, clock and fuel guage. Then below there's the in car entertainment (specs. differ but mine has a CD changer). If you look at the car you won't see any aerial for the radio, as its incorporated into the rear screen heater and gives excellent reception through the RDS radio. Below this is the environment control system which is very easy to use to cool you down or heat you up (useful in our climate). The windscreen wipers have about 6 speeds (why?) and the lights are very good and also have headlight washers as standard.

Now onto the bad areas...firstly the fuel consumption, listed as 40miles on a run and 28miles in town per gallon. This might be true if you drove the car economically, but that's not what the Alfa is about, and if you buy one I'm willing to bet that you'll be in the high revs a lot more often than you'd expect to be even if you're my 89 year old Granny Ellen. With second gear running comfortably between 10 and 70mph before red lining at 7000revs the car can shift quite quickly. Don't be mistaken and think it'll out run the sports cars on the road, because it is only a 1.6 litre. But the enjoyment of the drive and sound of the car means you'll spend much of your time overtaking even if it does take just over 10 seconds to reach 60mph. The point is its fast enough but it feels a lot lot fatser. Or perhaps we should substitue the word fast for "FUN". Try before you buy and this will become only too clear.

The gears are a straight manual 5 speed. They're very slick and feel solid, but I have had some problems getting into reverse sometimes taking two attempts. I think this is in relation to the quite considerable travel of the clutch pedal, again something you become accustomed to. They gearing feels tuned more to the mid range than top speed, hence the good feeling for acceleration when overtaking. Top speed is 124mph.

Size...I'm 6 feet 4 inches in my socks and I have plenty of driving room, but I do have the seat as far back as it goes and the stearing wheel as far in as it goes (it telescopes in and out at well as up and down). My size does have the detrimental effect of leaving only sufficient room behind me for a malnourished Chihuahua although we have comfortably fitted 4 adults myself included but with my Emma driving. Interior cabin space is good and driving view is excellent. It could do with some more hidey holes for bits and pieces. Rear seats are comfortable with a central arm rest which drops down. All 5 seats have headrests. Another complaint I've read about is the lack of boot space, but I haven't experienced so many boots myself that I could comment either way. The boot also houses the spare tyre under the boot floor complete with tool kit. Its a standard size wheel rather than a space saver, but not an alloy. Another complaint I've read is that the rear seats don't fold, but again this doesn't surprise me as it is a salloon rather than a hatchback. It does however have a ski-tunnel which sits behind the rear central arm rest and clips down to allow your "ski's" or if your like me building a kitchen, some 6 feet lengths of 2 by 4 timber.

Safety...I'm obviously concerned about the car's safety as I'm the impending father, and I'm still getting the "boy racer" out of my system... which I promise to have sorted before the birth readers (along with my smoking, a new kitchen and the acceptence of my feminine side!). The best place to get the safety record is at the EuroNCAP website, but the Alfa's haven't yet been tested. My wife's Fiat Punto had a 4 star rating and I wanted something similar in our new car. By comparison I think the Alfa is a good safe car. It has side impact bars built into the doors. It has front and rear fog lights. It has driver, passenger and side airbags. Additional central rear brake light. And ABS, of course + EBD (Electronic Braking Distribution). Incidentally the braking is superb, but took some getting used to for me as I'd learnt in the Punto which required a much heavier foot. The Alfa's brakes by comparison feel like they're on a sensor.

Mine (as a Veloce) is more blokeish inside than my wife would like as she too drives it occasionaly. She does however love the drive of the car and I sometimes find it hard to get my keys back (which have remote central locking + immobiliser and boot release built in). I think she feels quite the "city girl" when she goes for a jaunt.

And going for a jaunt is the best way to sum up the Alfa 156. It's about going for a drive with no destination in mind. It's more about the drive than your arrival. This is incidentally another reason fuel economy could be better...pointless journey's...just for the fun of it. Weekend country jaunts. But then I hear the environmentalists scream leave your car at home and go for a walk, your polluting your baby to be's world. Well yes I am, and like I say, I'm trying to correct all my bad faults... but to my defense the car also has a system housed in the exhaust which measure emisions from the exhaust catalytic converter into the air and if it finds them too high in nasty green house gases or spitting out high octane fuel it sends messages to the onboard engine management system to alter the fuel mixture into the pistons. Pretty damn clever hey!

Now for the price...what's the cost? Well the insurance group is 11. Alfa's have a terrible reputation (which although no longer applicable by most reviewers) just like the Skoda's is very hard to get rid of. Consequently there depreciation is horrific. A new model has an RRP of £16000 but if you shop you can get one for around £14500...but don't do it! Because after 3 years your car will be worth only £6000. This is the time to buy when its done all its depreciation and you end with with a great deal of car and history for less money than a 4 year old standard Focus. There is one consideration you should make in addition...all 156's require a cambelt change at 72000miles. If not done you can expect some scary engine rebuilding later. Although the cambelt itself is cheap, fitting it is an expensive job so think around £400 to £700 at a main dealer. Other than this servicing isn't going to be much more than a Focus.

So...to the final summary...I could have bought the Focus (in Silver???) but every man and his dog owns one and I'd like to feel a little more individual. They say (the Clarkson crowd!) that every red blooded male/female should own an Alfa at some stage in their life, but that they'll have to succumb to problematic ownership which they'll later regret. Just like ex-smokers though... they'll always harbour a desire to have another one.

Well I've had no problems that have concerned me, although it is early day's...but every day I stand and look for just a second too long at the car before I get in and after I get out (Emma thinks this is particularly sad). And I smile to myself. Not just inwardley, but beeming.

My car purchase was an emotive choice, it wasn't a sensible first car and it could all backfire yet, but it was the right choice for me, of that.... I'm absolutely sure.

Happy shopping
Steve  

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