2003 Alfa Romeo 156 JTS Veloce Selespeed from UK and Ireland - Comments

Nothing yet, but it's early days (!!)

You read a lot of complaints about the Selespeed, but I think they've improved it a lot.

It still takes some getting used to and I think you are better off shifting manually rather than relying on the "city" mode, which seems to stay in first too long for smooth starts (which must be why some report lurchiness at low speeds). More fundamentally, City mode doesn't let you fully take advantage of the performance on downshifting, engine braking etc., which would be a shame to miss out on. It's fantastic!

Once you get used to shifting, it is very smooth. Do not drive it like a full automatic, which it is not. Whether in automatic or manual shift mode you need to ease off the throttle on the upshift to get a nice smooth change, so you might as well pay attention to the revs and shift manually to time the change/throttle properly to avoid lurches and other surprises. Don't stay too long in first unless you are gunning it.

Selespeed gives you really quick automatic double-clutch on downshifts at speed, which sounds incredible and pushes you nicely back into the seat.

It's not a sports car, but it's got lots of headroom at motorway speeds.

Something I'm still sorting out is how they've programmed the selespeed to automatically downshift as you slow down, meaning that if you are coming into a fast turn and try to downshift yourself you may unexpectedly drop two gears. Not nice.

Steering is a very nice weight and although the suspension is a bit stiff I don't think it's as bad as people complain. It is a very confident car in fast corners.

I've only had it over 500 miles so far, but for what it's worth nothing's gone wrong, even with the electronics (which I assumed would have a glitch or two by now). I think they've done a lot to improve build quality.

Storage space is the only obvious problem so far (but I knew this from the test drive). The glove box can't even house the owners manual, and the various storage compartments really can't take anything more than a deck of cards. The boot is not very large either. But you know all this.

I think you get a lot of value: much cheaper than what you pay for a 3 series to get the same performance, same for Audi TT, Audi A4, Mercedes SLK etc. (assuming the reliability holds for me, of course!!)

I have owned my 156 JTS Selespeed for twelve months now and really hammered it. I have found the car excellent in all departments especially the Selespeed. I drive in City mode all the time and override with manual shifting as I want. I have had no trouble.

I've had some problems especially Lambda sensor problems, but they are being sorted out and the Australian distributor is as helpful as any customer could ask.

Australian conditions are the harshest in the world bar none. The roads are hard on suspension, chassis and any other build issues. Only the toughest survive. The 156 has been trim taut and terrific.

Airconditoning is superb and it needs to be with average summer temperatures where I am in the high 30s all the time and occasionally the 40s Celsius that is.

I also have a Spider as my fun car!

I'm sorry, but I really don't think your semi-auto Alfa is in the same league as the cars you have mentioned. However maybe it is more comfortable and exec than a "few" of them. Maybe it is a match for your Almera GTI's, Megane Coupe 16v, and Astra MK3 GSI's. I don't think so though because these manual monsters (same c.c) would leave it in the stands (almost).

Leave what in the stands? A 2.0 litre Alfa will blow any (non-turbo) 4 cylinder BMW / Audi / Mercedes of similar engine size into the weeds.

Having read various comments on this excellent forum I'm a bit concerned now about the performance of my 2000 X reg 156 2.0 TS Manual.

I have had the car Alfa Dealer serviced at 43k miles however I find that performance wise it leaves me feeling frustrated. I find that when pulling away at roundabouts etc. other standard cars always seem to leap away from me and I only get "thrust" once the revs reach 3500k then off we go!

I find this annoying seeing as it is not a turbo and that unless I'm prepared to site there building revs like some demented boy racer or wannabe Jensen Button, the car just doesn't out perform cars that it should do. I had an older 1.4 Astra estate beat me off the mark yesterday and felt like hiding in the boot!...aaaarh!

I used to own 2.0 GLX Mondeo which was a good all round performer and prior to that a Saab 9000 Turbo... now that's what I call fast!! (turbo lag accepted)

Any further comments would be appreciated.

Cheers.

Tony.

You say you have a manual 156, so I'm surprised you are pulling off slowly. A feature of the Selespeed gearbox is that it sometimes wants to stay in 2nd when pulling off from a rolling start at times you would rather be in 1st, which naturally makes it lag until 3500 rpm, but I would have thought if you are starting in 1st you would experience that.

An Astra 1.4?

Tony, There must be something wrong with your 156 and I hope you can get it sorted out so you can enjoy your 156 the way it was intended.

I'm not saying the 156 is a sports car, and, lets face it, no matter how good a car the 156 is (and I think it's a great car, even with flaws taken into account), there are plenty of cars on the road which will outsprint a 2L Alfa, but these are generally going to have more than 2L under the bonnet (and before you jump all over that comment, yes, the Lotus Elise, Audi TT and a number of others are under 2L and will handily outsprint an Alfa 156- I agree). Maybe your anti-slip regulation is off? Maybe the engine needs to be checked out? If I put the petal to the floor, no 1.4L engine is going to catch me.

Unless it's in a bike of course, when a third of that will do it.

I have driven many cars in my live, but the selespeed is the greatest fun. The 156 jts is more than in the league of the above mentioned cars because The Alfa Romeo156 is a piece of art. And the artist name is Walter de Silva. The magic, charisma and spirit of the 156 begins were others ends.

Interesting comments! May I add my two penneth to confirm that my 2.0 JTS 156 Alfa will indeed blow away the majority of hot hatches (147 3.2 excluded of course!). Indeed it holds it's own against my mates VW 2.8 4-motion Golf. A fantastic package and engine for the price, and no boring Germanic styling either!

My first Alfa was a manual Lusso 156 2ltr twin spark. this was a German import bought S/H from a dealer local to me (Ipswich UK) The car lacked power below 3000rpm, I mean seriously lacked power but I didn't know any better. I drove it for just under a year after being told that there was nothing wrong on the three occassions I took it into the dealer (Sterling Motor group) I loved the car, it's styling, grey leather interior, B road pleasure. but all the stalling from take off and having to gun the engine didn't suit my style so I at last took it in to the dealer. They weren't in. No they had sold out. Another dealer owned the franchise. What happened to my 12 month warranty? Worthless!! I spent £750 having the cam variator replaced. It transformed the car, here at last was the alfa I'd bought 11 months before, fast, responsive, fun. But the lack of room, the lack of fold down seats in the rear, in other words family pressures:) meant it had to go. I found a S/H 2.5 JTD Sportwagon from ContinentalClassics in Essex, did the deal. Wow! more space, more pace, more economy, the great sound of a Five, more comfortable seats, more room in the back... I mean for passengers!! (How do they do that with the same floor plan?) the Sportwagon exceeds. Average 42 MPG, leaves everything behind when needed, feels slightly heavy at the front and Std tyres 185's don't help.(replacing with 205's)

No problems in first 5000 miles apart from slight oil leak from top of what looks like the alternator, but can't be (on left of engine belt driven with two pipes going in to it).

So get your variator fixed or for more torque, get the diesel!!

I too have a 156 Selespeed and find it enormous fun. No it is Not an out and out sports car, but it is more fun than a Merc C class, Audi A4 or BMW 3 series. (S4,M3 and 330I excluded of course.) It always leaves me smiling and once you learn to drive the selespeed properly is as relaxed, refined or sporty as you want it to be.

I have owned several 156's now and have found them to be very reliable, excepting a few minor niggles such as squeaking chairs and/or dashboards. (Just make sure you check the oil regularly!!!) I have always been wary of the Selespeeds reputation, but my 04 car promised an all new Selespeeed box and to date it has perfromed flawlessly. Fuel economy running costs and purchase price all knock the other prestige brands into a cocked hat. The only real down sides that I can see are the horrendous depreciation (Buy second hand or shop around for a good import deal.) And the truly diabolical Alfa dealers. I no longer go to Alfa for ANYTHING to do with servicing, preferring to take my car to my local garage and forget about the warranty.

An enlightening forum.

My 156 is a Guigiaro-designed JTS. It's almost alarming to remember that under the consumate makeover, the 156 is essentially the same as was launched in 1997 (!)

Yet by Australian pricing, I believe it remains the best value for money mid-sized European sedan. With the approach of the 156 replacement, it should be remembered that this was a make or break car for Alfa and it's reasonable to expect the all-wheel-drive 157 to be a significant development.

Personally, I can hardly wait.

I believe that the owners who think that their 156s are underpowered are new to Alfas. The twin spark engines thrives on being revved and do not typically give you that light-footed or should I say "japanese-car" feeling. mid range punch is unbeatable for a car of similar engine capacity...!I have owned a 318 2.0 and it does not come even close to my 156.

Re the comments about no power at low revs - I have had 2 Alpha's (147 and now a second hand 156 (as well!) ) plus numerous Fiats - when you drive it, just remember that you have to drive like an Italian - no macho Italian male would ever attempt to drive away from a traffic light at less than 4000 revs!

The engines are superb so long as you give them some "welly" to work with :)

Tony complained about the lack of power below 3500rpm in his car, a broken air mass meter can cause that. At least the typical symptom for that is exactly the lack of power with low rpm and then again with higher (say 5000+) rpms. Faulty air mass meter is quite typical with Alfas at some point in their lifetime. Though haven't had that in my 156 (yet) :)

Alfa Romeo 156 is a great car and my next one will most likely be the same model, but with the facelift and selespeed of course. Happy motoring to all you fellow alfisti!