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Alfa Romeo 156 5Dr Estate Review

Alfa Romeo - Appearance.

The Alfa Romeo 156 is beautifully designed with an Italian flair which, with its coupe style bodywork, enables it to look sleek and fabulous, while at the same time elegant and comfortable, although keeping its sporty demeanour.

Alfa Romeo - On the Road.

The engines fitted to the 156 model vary from the lively 1.6 T-Spark to the awesome 3.2 V6 on the GTA. The 140Bhp 1.8 and the direct fuel injected 2.0 models however offer the best all round performance and are the most eco-friendly out of the bunch. Diesel engines are also available in 1.9 turbo diesel with a choice of 115 or 140Bhp, while you will find the 2.4 turbodiesel sporting a 175Bhp. The handling on the 156 is as you would expect from an Italian model, among the best in its class. The steering is sharp and the grip enough to throw it into corners effectively while still being light enough to nip around town. Motorways are where the car displays weakness, the ride is hard and road noise you will find is above average in comparison to say a BMW 3 Series or Mercedes C Class.

Alfa Romeo - Inside the 156.

Once inside the 156 you soon find the interior cramped, especially for back seat passengers. The leg room is limited in the rear of the vehicle and luggage is not well catered for even in the boot, which has rear suspension turrets intruding the boot floor. Having said that the seats are well moulded for comfort in long journeys, (comfortable with only two passengers in the rear), and the drivers seat is well adjustable to suit any driver. All models are equipped with air con, electric front windows, CD player and remote central locking, as you move up through the models you find alloy wheels and leather being added as standard.

Alfa Romeo - Safety. & Security.

The 156 design dates back to 1998 and has begun to fall behind in safety. There's no Euro NCAP crash test result - almost compulsory in today's market - and some early models even lacked a standard passenger airbag. However models from June 2000 compare more favourably - passenger and side airbags became standard from July 1999. Security is good with a standard alarm, immobiliser, keyless entry and a unique-fit stereo, however the 156 falls down in the battle against car theft by not having deadlocks.

Alfa Romeo - Reliability.

The 156 broke barriers in Alfa Romeo's build quality although it has had its fair share of problems which do include faulty electrics, head gasket problems and water leaks, however on the whole it didn't throw up too many reliability horrors.

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