This is my 1st Alfa, and I am amazed how good the car really is.
Standard features of this car SURPASS those of the Alfa 166!
The Selespeed is fantastic, but does take a little time to master.
I decided to change my order from a 3 door to a 5 door following the test drive, and I have not regretted it since. The 5 door still looks very much like the 3 door, but is much more convenient.
Go for Sports leather and the 17" alloys, and you will not be disappointed. EVER!
Compared to the Audi A3 1.8T, Golf GTi and BMW 3 Series Compact, the Alfa beats all of them hands down in looks, handling, equipment, price.
Did you test drive a Seat Leon 20V T Cupra? A very quick car with great handling, excellent safety and equipment levels at a fraction of the price of the Alfa.
A real Wolf in sheep's clothing!
No SEAT LEONs of any sort are sold in Australia. The last models of SEAT sold here were discontinued from 1998. SEAT's are not very popular in Australia. But I must say I did see them on the road in France recently and they look great.
I guess Alfa are trying to position themselves in the same bracket as BMW, Merc and Audi. As such they will never be able to achieve that by pricing their cars too low!
I do wish that we were as lucky as most Europeans who are spoilt by the number of choices in cars.
Hi Mate, I was just reading your comments about alfa 147 and I think that you are absolutely right what you said about 17" alloys and leather, I'm gonna buy same car as your soon in red color or maybe blue, but I think I'll go for manual transmission, at the moment I have seat toledo gti and again you are right they are not very popular down under and is very hard to sell them. I have moved to Australia 2 years ago from Europe and again your are right there is so many bloody good cars to choose from in Europe, but we are here and the best car here for me is 147. All I can say enjoy your alfa and I hope I will soon. All the best Mike from Sydney.
I would be really keen to hear how things are going with your 147 (assuming you still own it). I am in love with the looks of and performance of the car (from a test drive or two) and it sure sounds good on paper, however I am really concerned about the bad experience some owners have had with the reliability of the electronics (particularly the Selespeed system). Any update would be much appreciated.
I recently acquired an Alfa Romeo 147 1.6 Distinctive. Besides the fact that this car is among the most beautiful cars that are on production these days it has several other characteristics that will make someone to love it. Driving it is a pleasure, both on traffic, but also when you have the will to go faster. 16" alloy wheels, the ones on selespeed, are a must and also consider the fact on purchasing a sunroof... your girlfriend will love it. This car will make you happy whenever you drive it. After all you do become an Alfisti... and that is great. Panagiotis from Greece.
Hi guys! I'm Marco, writing from Italy, and am so happy to hear that you love the 147 so much over there! It is really a great car. I think you do not pay fuel so much as we do here in Italy (more than 1€ per liter!!) so you might not be in conditions to appreciate the diesel engines available on the latest Alfa. They are great!! Particularly the last 1.9 jtd 16v (called multijet) : it is a revolution in the world of diesel common rail. It's more powerful (140 hp!), it makes less gas emissions and it is much more silent. I can tell you: in Italy the 147 is getting the lead of its sector. We got bored of the VW Golf (it's being the same for almost 30 years and the pics of the new expected series are not different!!!) and the Audi A3 (built on the same frame of the Golf, with exactly the same engines...). Alfa 147 is the answer we were desperately waiting for...
One last thing: when you are driving your Alfa never forget that you are driving a car that has been one of the strongest F1 teams (winning many championships, beating the Ferrari several times!). It's not the same when you seat on your comfortable, tough (maybe also rough...) WV Golf (Volkswagen means: car of the people...).
Take care over there! Marco, Milano.
Hi all, I Picked up my red 147 with 17" super sport alloys 1 month ago. It's a 2.0 litre selespeed and all I can say is the car is great all round! Couldn't recommend it higher.
Don't be spooked by bad reports on the selespeed. No troubles so far and while it's under warranty I'm not concerned, as it is so much fun to drive that I look forward to driving the car all day when I am at work.
Love it!!
The Alfa 147 is a great car to look at, and sit in, but not to drive... I have owned this car for 5 months and have had multiple problems with the Selespeed system... I have sad so many components changed including the Selespeed pump and the clutch and motor sensors... the car just never seems to gel together... It was fine when they changed the clutch sensor, but when they suggested also changing the motor sensor the car became very jerky, with a lag between gear change and engine revs... The car is still under warranty, but I have taken the car in more than 5 times now, and every time it's a new surprise when I take the car out of the dealer... Reliability still kills all Alfa Romeo cars... My recommendation is to only own the car under warranty and sell it ASAP when the warranty runs out!!!
I have had a new Alfa 147 for 19 months and I am very happy. What a joy to look at, sit in and drive...yummy.
No problems at all with Selespeed and as long as the owner isn't crazy nothing should go wrong and the clutch should last twice as long as a H pattern manual because of precise up/down changes. Everyone that owns one will know what it is like to own a 147...life is good:)
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