2003 Alfa Romeo 147 Lusso from UK and Ireland - Comments

Nothing... yet.

I pretty much set my heart on a 147 a year ago. Having had my fair share of problems with previous Fiats I've owned and seeing some of the catalogs of disaster some people seem to have had with Alfas on here it was with a little trepidation that I finally took the plunge and aquired a 147 about a month ago.

I'm delighted I did. OK, at the end of the day its only a small hatchback and some people seem to get too hung up about the whole 'Alfa' thing, but if you do want a small hatch, but don't want to drive the same car as a million other people then you can't do better. After 1 month and 1000 miles its probably premature to draw too many conclusions, but my initial experiences are:

Value: I was originally looking around for a secondhand 147 up to a year old. I had considered an import and then visited my local dealer where I got mine for £12600 - about £2200 off list.

Performance/Driving: Love it. Smooth and lively engine which seems to get better as every mile passes. Handling is great, with flat cornering and once you get used to the rather light steering it really inspires confidence. Gear lever seems to have a bit more play than you might want, but the change itself is smooth and nicely damped.

Ride quality is better than I thought it might be - and way ahead of my previous Brava, although it does go to pieces on certain road surfaces - mainly uneven urban roads, where evrything gets a bit jiggly. One small negative here - the suspension does creak a little when going over the more aggressive speed humps at low speed. Again this is something I shall probably wait to have looked at.

Build quality: Overall very good - interior gives a particularly good impression, although the catch on one half of the rear seat back does not lock into place properly - something I can wait until the car goes for a service to be fixed. Maybe I've been lucky; so far I've had no rattles, creaks or false alarm errors on the trip computer. Exterior build seems okay - perhaps panel fit and paint finish are not to german standards. In particular where the rear bumper joins the body in the boot aperture there are some gaps. Also the rear wheel arch liners seem to be made of what looks like cheap carpet and don't look paricularly robust. However, overall it seems to be on a par with most manufacturers, so no real problems there, although there is still that nagging doubt that they it will deteriorate into a rattly old banger a bit quicker than a Golf... only time will tell.

Economy: Whilst probably not at the top of your list of priorities if you are looking at an Alfa it has been better than I expected from reading other people's reviews. I guess I've been fairly restrained so far, but have easily managed high 30's mpg on longish trips, although a weeks of commuting sees it drop to around 24mpg.

Summary: If my 147 continues to perform as it has during its first 1000 miles then I shall be really happy - although I think some people (like me!) will always be more prepared to accept a cars shortcomings in order to have something a bit less mainstream). It's smooth, has a classy interior and because you don't see one every 2 minutes feels just a bit special. (Oh, and I know its not a rational reason to buy a car, but the red dashboard lighting at night is the icing on the cake!)

Couldn't agree more about the indefinable Alfa "thing" having owned them for the last 5 years and enjoyed every mile despite some tears along the way.

One word of warning my friend, don't conclude that your Alfa is "reliable" after only 1000 miles!!! Such confidence may come back to bite you at a later date.

That said, on all the cars I've owned, the problems manifested themselves in the first 12 months and were fixed hassle free by the dealer under warranty. Get it down there at the first hint of a rattle - don't delay and hope it will go away because it won't and if it outside the warranty period it will cost you big time.

Enjoy!!!

I also would completely agree about the rattles, I too have a squeak when going over undulating roads, and it cannot be traced under warranty!!!, I have many other niggles with the car (12 months old) and just had first service, I am changing my dealer as they have proved yet again to be completely useless and loan cars unavailable for two months.

I posted this original review and have now had the car just over 18 months and have done 19000 miles. Just thought I'd provide an update on my experience.

On the positive side, the car has been totally reliable. Nothing dropped off, failed and no electrical gremlins or bogus warnings.

I've got a bit bored with the performance of the 1.6 liter engine, its OK, but nothing to write home about, only providing any sort of interest if you go over 5000 rpm.

I had some initial concerns about the paintwork -- it really does seem very soft. Small areas seem to have rubbed away to the primer where door seals rub. But the upside of this is probably that there aren't too many chips, even though I do a large proportion of motorway miles.

In the first few thousand miles the drivers seat also looked as if it might cause problems as the fabric in the backrest developed a crease, but this hasn't got any worse.

The first service was alarmingly expensive at about £230. Long term running costs would probably be the one thing that would make me think twice about another Alfa.

At just over 19000 miles the car has now started to develop the first signs of the infamous 'phase variator' rattle when first started from cold. This seems to be a standard fault that most Alfas with TS engines develop, so I am not too worried as it is still under warranty.

Strangely enough, the suspension creak seem to have disappeared.

So, overall I'm still happy with my 147. The high points remain the style of both the interior and exterior, but perhaps its not quite enough to make me stick with Alfa next time. Now the Astra Sporthatch looks quite interesting...

I have an Alfa 75 rear wheel drive. The engine of Alfa 75 and Alfa 146 is about the same (1.6 litre). All Alfas suffer from stupid drivers and stupid engineers. Repairing and servicing an Alfa is an art. They are complex cars, both mechanically and electronically and they need good quality 10W 40 oglio or Alfa Romeo lubricant... Never forget that. My life with my Alfa taught me those things after all these years...