Alfa Romeo 156

[pjm007]

Thinking about buying an Alfa 156 2.0 T-Spark about X or W reg...Has anybody got any advice (for and against) about them ?

[Impret-Sir]

The 156 is a good car, and a very good alfa Romeo! They look good, and drive well, and are well seem to good value. The 2.0 twinspark is the best of the bunch, (150BHP, 138lb-ft, 0-60 in 8.8sec).The 1.6 is underpowered, and the 2.5 V6 has rather a drink problem. The diesel engine is very good too. The early ones suffered from the usual Alfa build quality woes, but later models were much better.

Overall, much cooler than a 3-series!

[pjm007]

Impret-sir, I have since read many reviews about this particular car and it seems there are alot of good things to be said about it. However on the negative side, poor build quality, thin paintwork and faulty electrics seem quite prominant. I am still really interested in getting one though despite all that. Every make and model of car has its bad points.

[Impret-Sir]

AS I said in my original answer, when they were first introduced the 156 did indeed suffer from the usual poor alfa build quality, but this was sorted out, and unlike the 166, they were soon being built much better. I cant comment on the thickness of the paint, except to say that I dont recall ever seeing one that looked anything other than pristine.

[pjm007]

What year was the build quality sorted out ? I have been looking at W/X regs.

[Impret-Sir]

Not certain, but I have a road test from 2000 that describes them as, "can be a little wonky inside" and one from 2002 that describes them thus, "early build quality was poor, but recent ones are considerably more solid".

[pjm007]

Thanks impret-sir.

[BarryChatt]

hi, the alfas arfe great cars, however i have owned several, i curently have a 2002 v6 156, which is a fantastic car for handling and power, in my experience the 2.0 tsparks always suffered from poor engines, they are prown for blown the bottom ends, especially the 1.6 and the 1.8s, hence why i have finally settled on the v6, be aware when searching, there is alot of hammered tsparks outthere.