1999 Alfa Romeo 156 2.0 T Spark sport pack 1 from UK and Ireland - Comments

Drivers airbag warning light illuminated and will not cancel even when main dealer attempted to cancel it on several occasions at 70,000 miles

Climate control gave up the ghost at 65,000 miles.

Both rear suspension required replacing at 72,000 miles.

Front near side suspension required replacing at 70,000 miles.

With body work - paint flaking (badly) from front bumper.

Where roof meets windscreen on off side paint bubbling over rust.

Both front brake discs warped at 71,000.

In the 4 years and thirty thousand miles I have the car most things have gone wrong and has been expensive to repair.

Bearing in mind the car is a 2 Litre it lacks power - don't get me wrong it's OK, but when compared against a standard 2.0 mondeo or Vectra it struggles especially considering it has 155BHP.

It has a lot of extras such as climate/all around electric windows/6 CD changer uprated suspension/large alloys and carbon interior as standard on the Sport Pack option, but it just lacks oomph. I had a 2.2Vtec prelude before and looking back I wish I'd never changed it!!

I'll never understand Alfa Romeo's philosophy: Building fast LOOKING cars that don't actually go fast. Still though, do they ever look great going slow.

Yeah OK, but lets face it, the Alfas have fantastic styling and feel great to drive... I've driven Vectras and Mondeos and I have fallen asleep at the wheel.

Are you sure the car is slow? For a 2 litre the performance is very good I thought.

What exactly do you call 'slow'? 0-100 in 8,5 seconds is pretty good, and the top-speed isn't a joke either.

Yeah, sure, a Ferrari is faster. But no way is a Mondeo 2-litre a faster car.

Maybe your car was just damaged, it should run pretty fast.

(*note : speeds in kph, not miles ;) )

I totally agree, all show and no go, that sums 156's up, owned a 4th gen vtec Prelude myself and it owns all 156's in both handling and performance, without the headache and cost.

If you feel your car is slow, you probably have a problem with it. Compared to other 2 litre cars, performance is very good, although torque is lacking until reaching 3000rpm.

I would suggest your Air mass meter is at fault, and this is made by Bosch; so much for Italian electrics getting the blame!

If you want speed, you should buy the 2.5 V6 or the 3.2 GTA. I have the 2.5 and it owns everything up to a BMW 328.