1999 Alfa Romeo 156 review from UK and Ireland

Leaking power steering hose.

Leaking water hose.

Noisy aircon.

Weak paintwork.

When I was searching for a new car I decided to go for something with a little more charisma than my previous boring old Ford. As soon as I saw pics of the Alfa 156 I knew that was the one I wanted.

It's a lovely looking car and the reviews were good.

The second hand prices were cheap and so after searching the internet for things to look for when purchasing, I decided to push the boat out and go for the V6 variant. I read that so long as it had been well serviced and had the cam belts changed recently, I should be OK with a high mileage car.

I picked up one with well over 100,000 miles on the clock, but with new belts etc only 15k ago. It also had the alfa sportspack which included leather seats, bigger wheels, etc. I think that the sport pack models are the ones to go for. The interior is fantastic and the wheels and side skirts do suit the car very well.

The engine is just a dream. It goes like stink, makes a Ferrari type noise (I'm not even joking!) and doesn't use any oil. I've heard some of the v6's can use a little oil with no problems, but I'm glad I seem to have found one that doesn't.

So far the only problems have been leaking hoses and a slightly noisy aircon unit. I'm nitpicking really with the aircon as it does work, if not quite as effective as it could be. The paint work does seem to be a little weak on stone chips and such like marking quite easily too.

Overall, I love the car. It's quite thirsty, but it drives like a dream. If you can get a well looked after model with loads of history, I'd recommend one. If you're looking for a super drivers car that stands out from the crowd, look no further.