2002 Alfa Romeo 156 Veloce 2.0JTS

Summary:

A stylish, high performance piece of poor quality junk

Faults:

Dealer recall due to faulty level sensors.

Wind screen wiper failure.

Key failure preventing entry to vehicle.

Alarm fault - ongoing as dealers have tried 3 times to repair.

Ignition coil failure resulting in breakdown. Alfa unable to supply part for 5 weeks, but eventually took a part from a showroom model.

Engine management problems on 5 occasion each requiring a dealer visit.

Car off road for 19 days in 9 months!!

Alfa customer relations are almost impossible to get hold of and do not even give an address or contact number on their reply! They are ignoring all of my correspondence.

General Comments:

The Alfa 156 is fantastic to drive. Regrettably if you are seduced by its beauty and performance you like me are a fool. These attributes are irrelevant when your car lives on a dealers ramp rather than the road where it should be.

Be warned about the ability and interest of Alfa and their dealers when the inevitable quality problems arise.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 27th August, 2003

2002 Alfa Romeo 156 JTS 2.0

Summary:

Looks and performance for a great price!

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

As well as this cars beautiful looks, it handles well in all road conditions.

Performance is strong in 1st through to third gear (nearly 100mph at 7000rpm in 3rd). It does, however, require "winding up" to achieve near to the 140mph top speed, and does feel a little light at these speeds, but not too twitchy though.

The beautiful red leather interior highlights well the metallic black exterior finish.

The driving position does feel a little odd (especially if your 6'1") however, after a while you get used to the position and the car is comfortable to drive on long motorway trips. Indeed it cruises well in excess of the UK 70mph limit!

I do slightly worry though that the all electronic climate control system may not last the course knowing Italian electronics!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 10th December, 2002

7th Jan 2004, 07:37

I thought I would just add my comments to my review as I have now owned this car for over a year.

To date no failures and I still enjoy driving this car - and very hard and fast too at times!. In terms of performance and acceleration my 2 litre JTS engine will keep up with my friends 2.8 litre, 6 cyl 4-motion VW Golf which is rated with more than 40bhp more than my Alfa!

Only odd thing is that the fuel gauge sometimes has a mind of its own when you get down to a third of a tank. Oh well it is Italian anyway!

Regarding Alfa main service dealers my local dealer could be better especially when they leave sloppy oil spills over the engine cover. However, they did composites me with giving the car a free valet clean - which they should do when I spent the best part of £20,000 with them buying the car!

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2002 Alfa Romeo 156 Twin Spark 1.6

Summary:

Heart stopping, breathtaking and magical

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

The performance for such a small engined car is breathtaking to say the least.

The handling is extremely precise.

The interior feels durable and having driven various BMW's seems almost comparable.

However, none of the BMW range comes close to the beautiful styling of this car and it can only be said that this truly is an Italian masterpiece that will remain timeless.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 8th April, 2002

20th Apr 2003, 06:17

An excellent executive car that is worth its price. Driving this car gives you the sensation that you are a Formula One driver because it is sporty and very fast with reliable road holding.

It is very reliable and needs very little attention as far as service goes.

It beauty is such that you feel proud driving this car.

Definitely a car that will always be remembered as a car that has made history.