2001 Alfa Romeo 156 Turismo 2.0 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Good Engine, Expensive to own

Faults:

Front Anti Roll Bar Bushes, Whole Bar Replaced at 15000.

Cam Belt Tensioner, Started sounding like a diesel at start up at 15000.

Cam Belt renewal at 15000.

Siezed Rear Breaks at 5000.

General Comments:

Looks Good, Not as quick as it looks. Good road handling and drive position is excellent, Suspect build quality, Expensive service if you go to dealership garages. 4th year service cost £1600 with 15k on the clock. I've owned car for 4 years, depriciation is steep.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 24th June, 2005

2001 Alfa Romeo 156 Veloce 2.4 JTD from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Absolutly great, superb car, superb diesel

Faults:

Nothing, just routine servicing, although I have been advised I need x2 new rear link arms for next M.O.T.

General Comments:

Say what you like about these cars, but, due to my work commitments I needed a diesel; I was spending over £50 per week in fuel in my BMW, and needed to reduce my fuel bills.

After test driving all the usual VWs, Fords, Skodas and so on, I decided I needed something that I enjoyed driving, and the Alfa fit the bill totally.

It`s fast, economical, beautiful looking and with the Momo leather, lovely and comfortable too, like no other leather, italian is the best!

Build quality is spot on, with no creaks or rattles, and feels as solid as a BMW, although some of the interior plastics are a bit low budget. Attention to detail is great, superb design!.

This car is everything I wanted, absolutely lovely in every way. If you want an economical, stylish, individual, and fast car, ignore the skeptical anti Alfa idiots, and go test drive one yourself, you will not be disappointed!!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 19th May, 2005

2001 Alfa Romeo 156 Selespeed 1.6 Twin Spark from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Sensational..

Faults:

Only problem which occurred on one drive was that when shifting gears up in either city or manual mode, the car would not go into 4th gear, but rather skip the fourth gear when either up shifting or downshifting. It jumps from 3rd to 5th and vice versa.

Apart from that only problem which occurred once so far since I bought the car, nothing else has happened.

General Comments:

Everything is awesome with the car, it has the best performance in all the cars I have driven, the best handling, awesome comfort and drive.

I would always buy and keep my Alfa and any other Alfa, because it is just so awesome... Only thing I would just make sure the gearbox is working good...

It also has real good fuel consumption and goes as hard as a Ferrari...

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 21st March, 2005

23rd Mar 2005, 00:42

I thought that selespeed was an option only on the 2.0 Twin Spark engine...

2001 Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagon Selespeed 2.0 cc from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Flawed design classic

Faults:

Rear Shock Absorbers replaced at 36,000 miles.

Cam belt replaced at 36,000 miles.

Air conditioning recharged at 36,000 miles.

Consumes 1 litre of oil every 1,000 miles.

Averages 30mpg.

Recently returned to car after 3 week absence to find totally flat battery.

General Comments:

Still beautiful to look at after 4 years - but I have started to lose confidence in its overall reliability and am fed up with the running costs combined with depreciation.

To be fair, it has not left me at the side of the road, but the 36,000 mile service was an eye-watering £1,200 to remedy a list of issues! I am informed that the spark plugs alone will cost £100 for the next service.

Great "driveability", marred slightly by restricted rear vision when reversing, and limited storage space in the cabin and rear compartment.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 2nd March, 2005

8th Mar 2005, 16:44

I recently took my car for its 48,000 mile service, and told its £150 to replace the rear pads!. The pads were £56. A trip to my local motor factors and I purchased the "exact" pads made by Ferodo for £16!. My car is never going back to a Alfa for a service.

11th Mar 2005, 01:13

Alfa's are and will always be more expensive to service and to own than, say, a Mondeo. Probably more fragile too: Treating it as a Corolla (or expecting it to serve you like one) is out of the question. You have to spend time and (a little...) money to anticipate things going wrong before they actually do. Then you will have years of trouble free motoring and that magical experience everytime you are in the mood on empty B-roads.

It's just a matter of accepting the price to pay for the special driving experience- and that is applicable to any early or late Alfa (with the late being notably more "mainstream" than the earlier ones).

However if out of warranty, try to avoid main dealers and find yourself a good independent specialist. That'll keep costs down.

Happy motoring, from a 147 owner.