2001 Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagen Lusso review from UK and Ireland

At delivery the nearside cubby in the boot - a Sportwagon remember - wouldn't positively lock closed. I had started to use it to store the comprehensive owners manual to free up the glove box for more than just a pair of gloves. Why not provide a purpose built cubby for the manual, e.g. under the dash as on my 1988 Golf eh? The problem was a manufacturing tolerance error. The gap between the flap down cubby door was too large for the catch to locate in the hole above as intended. But hey this is my first Italian car, shouldn't you expect this sort of thing? Not wanting to be without the Alfa for such a trivial matter I fixed it myself with some layers of sticky tape.

At about 3 months the Ignition Switch started to jam, which preventing starting the car. The problem was intermittent at first, so we went on holiday to France, but whilst away it developed into a major headache. Spending 15 minutes in St Malo, keeping Grandma and 3 year old daughter amused whilst trying to start the car in order to board the ferry back to UK! On return to the UK an unannounced visit to the local dealer was in order. They were very helpful, though had to keep the car for a week whilst they rebuilt the steering lock/ignition switch mechanism - the decision to repair was taken by the dealer as the alternative was a 2-3 week wait for an entire new lock set from Italy.

At the 12 month service I suggested that the rear shock absorbers may need attention as it seemed to bottom out on some dipping country lanes near my home. Oh no they said -all Sportwagons do that. Oh well I thought, it is Italian!

Excepting this no problems to date - I had expected worse based on some reviews I'd read; maybe I've been lucky so far

We ordered the Lusso spec as, at that time, the lower spec 1.6 came with steel wheels and some expensive looking trims – rather than risk these being broken/lost/stolen the Lusso package alloys seemed more attractive. Except for a minor bit of kerb damage, due to my wife’s parking skills, they still look good 18 months on. The Lusso also came with Momo leather interior. Never buy a 156 without the leather, it’s simply superb, pleated perforated seat panels reminiscent of an old Jag rather than the flat slippery slabs of hide BMW and Ford seem to prefer. The soft leather central armrest folds out of the way if you desire and is attached to the drivers seat – oh how I laugh at the unyielding plastic topped item I used to bang my elbow on in the Vectra we had a few years ago. Leather on the door panels too, great stuff. The seats themselves are very comfortable, though I’m fairly small, and coupled with reach and rake adjustable steering column a perfect driving position was achieved – though I suspect anyone above 6 foot may find it less easy to accommodate themselves.

Legroom in the rear is acceptable, though by no means generous. Plus you have a couple of air vents at the end of the central console to cool the rear occupants. It’s really just a 4 seater though, as in spite of the central 3 point belt and headrest (another part of the Lusso spec) the cushion is too firm for comfort on a long journey. Though the way the central headrest is incorporated into the seat back, to retreat out of sight when not required, is really useful and an example of style with function (Italian with ergonomics? Yes!).

Up front again, everyone will know about the retro cowling of the instruments that prevents the front passenger reading them – it’s a minor bind as the clocks also out of view – but does reduce the calls to slow down from Speedo watchers!

At the back the luggage bay gets full marks for trying – useful features such as retractable cover and load nets, reversible floor tray for dirty items, partially offsets the Achilles heel: lack of space. This is a Sportwagon though, not an estate car. A pram, as we subsequently discovered after buying the car, swallows up most of the space. For load shifting stick an Astra Estate. Oh and the remote boot release button on the styled key ‘fob’ brilliant!

The exterior, all most people will ever see of the 156,is a true beauty. We chose metallic silver, which I still believe to be the best looking colour for the 156. The offset number plate gets a bit of ridicule from colleagues, but I love the way it sets off the Alfa grill, much better than in the 166 which has the plate beneath it.

A fine test of a car is how easy it is to wash – this one is simple, although I admit that my sponging of the curvaceous body might be seen to border on obsession. I never washed the Astra – it had 2 visits to a car wash in its 1 year with us; the Alfa cries out to be pampered!

OK the sides are potentially vulnerable to parking damage with Alfa eschewing side protectors – they are available as an option though they detract from the lines big time, so give them a miss and just park away from other people!

How it goes? Well the 1.6 engine, in spite of the Twin Spark power hike to the level of rivals’ 1.8s, means it’s no ball of fire. Acceleration below 4,000 rpm is leisurely, and you need to stir the box and make it sing up its rev limited 7,000 rpm to make half rapid progress. But it’s so much fun treating it like this that you can’t help yourself, and it always leaves me with a smile. The steering is a precise and quick as any power steering I’ve driven, you don’t so much steer it through sweeping bends, it’s more intuitive gentle caressing it through the corner. I love it.

I have a MK2 Golf GTI which I still rate an all time fun car, this Alfa is the 1st thing I’ve ‘owned’ that came close; in fact apart from the lack of low down torque I actually prefer it over the GTI! I say ‘owned’ because the 156 is a company car, but it’s one that we’ll definitely be buying at the end of the lease term!

My ideal car, a Ferrari? No, the new firebreathing 156 GTA!