2005 Alfa Romeo 147 JTD 16v M-Jet 1.9 turbo diesel
Summary:
Be different, stand out from the 'clone crowd'..
Faults:
Nothing so far!
General Comments:
Only had the car for 1 month (1,500 miles), initial impression is a very good one so far. Considered the usual suspects for this sector; Astra, Focus, & Golf, but in the end the Alfa won due to it's more handsome looks, excellent dynamics and high spec.
Comfort:
Very refined. The car is the Lusso trim level, plus has been fitted with following options from the factory:
Metallic silver paint
Full red leather interior
17" supersport alloys (215/45/17)
'Winter pack' - heated front seats, heated windscreen washer jets and headlamp washers.
'Comfort pack' - additional rear head rest, rear centre arm rest and boot cargo net.
Rear parking sensors.
Performance:
Coming from a petrol 2002 Astra 1.8 SRI, the Alfa is far quicker in 'real world' everyday driving, overtaking is very easy and brisk. The engine is the 150bhp 16v multi-jet version with 225ft/lb's of torque at 1900rpm coupled to a six speed gearbox. Initial acceleration in 2nd, 3rd and 4th gear is very impressive, with 6th gear proving to be a good cruising gear (35mph per 1000rpm). Economy has been as expected; 47.5mpg is the current MPG figure from my daily mixed town and motorway driving.
Reliability:
Early days yet, but all the major components (ECU, ESP, ABS etc..) are Bosch manufactured so this is a good starting point. Also, the engine I believe is the product of a joint project between Fiat/Alfa and GM. The engine is actually used in few different diesel models; Fiats, Alfa's, Vauxhall's and SAAB. Does not have the usual Alfa sporty petrol engine note, but hey it is a diesel after all!
Summation:
Great looking car, lovely design touches throughout. Boot not the biggest in class (290 litres), but adequate. Seems very well screwed together in all respects, provided the car remains reliable I can see me hanging onto this one for a long time.
If you want to stand out a little and drive with a grin on your face, buy one!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 27th August, 2006
29th Nov 2006, 12:58
Update from original reviewer...
Now completed 8500 miles. Car has been off the road for almost 2 weeks following an "electrical connection shorting". This occurred with a little over 7000 miles on the clock. Took my local Alfa dealer one and half weeks of fault finding, fitting a new ABS ECU and 'body controller' unit not to mention endless man hours, before the fault was traced by a visiting senior Alfa technician within a few hours. It seems Alfa have yet to cure their electrical gremlins and dealer backup problems. Events like this do very little in convincing me to purchase another car from Alfa when the time comes for a change. I never had this problem with any of my previous cars; 2 x Vauxhall's, VW or Peugeot. All in all very disappointing for a car competing against the Golf, A3 and BMW 1 series.
Other aspects of the car are still impressing me greatly; the engine if anything seems to have loosened up a little, mpg is now around 46.5 to 47 average. Car still looks good and feels tightly screwed together. Lets hope the 'blip' was a one off. I will keep updating the review as the miles increase.