2002 Alfa Romeo 156 TS Lusso review from UK and Ireland

Nothing has gone wrong with the car.

Reading the reviews in the press and on websites such as this of Alfa 156s in 2003 would have been enough to put you off purchasing one on reliability grounds alone.

And so it was with some trepidation that we bought a pre facelift silver Alfa 156 1.8 TS Lusso in Nov 2003 new from a car supermarket. Added to that it was an import from Ireland.

I lost sleep over this at the time, but I reasoned that the car was under warranty, an Irish one must be very similar to a UK one, there was an Alfa dealer nearby and the price was right. How bad could it be?. I had always liked 156s, but they were expensive at main dealer list prices and it was only as their replacement was on the horizon that the price of existing stock fell to make it a practical proposition for me.

We've had it 3 years now and its done 16200 faultless miles. Aside from Insurance, tax and fuel it hasn't cost me one penny to run beyond 2 oil filters and 9 litres of the appropriate oil.

Performance is excellent and easily on a par with comparable German and other opposition.

It is well specified for the money and the build quality and finish is better than critics would have you believe.

I used to sigh heavily and roll my eyes when motor nerds would go on about 'driver's cars' but whatever that means I feel the 156 probably is it. The driving experience is involving in a way that few cars of this type can match.

Ours has the optional electric Recaro black leather interior which is nicer than the Momo or standard offerings. As a result the cabin is a classy and purposeful place to be.

Any downsides?. well;

1. The exterior paint finish is behind German and Japanese standards.

2. The car is too low at the front, the engine undertray (the lowest point) touches down on multistorey car park ramps and traffic calming devices even at walking pace followed by the underneath of the front spoiler.

3. The rear suspension is not up to 5 adults and their luggage.There's not much give in the bump stops.

4. Ours is a Lusso implying 'comfort' but even 'two up' the suspension is surprisingly firm and the car is not that composed at speed on rough surfaces as a result. A Veloce must be very firm indeed.

5. Insurance is pricey by the performance standards of 2006. 140bhp isn't going to scare anyone these days. I've got two motorbikes that produce more than that.

Conclusion.

With the options fitted to my car the list price for the one we bought, should you have been foolish enough to pay it, would have been close to £19,000. We paid £12,800 for ours brand new and that was with a trade -in. I would argue that there was nothing comparable at that price.

An equivalent BMW 3 series would have been close to double that and while the BMW is a better vehicle in some important respects I think the Alfa was the better buy,- twice the style and character, all of the performance, two thirds of the build quality at half the price. And everyone agrees that it was much prettier too.