Alfa Romeo 156 1.9 JTD

Alfa Romeo 156 1.9 JTD (Evaluation car only) Top speed - 209 kmh 0-100kmh - 9.3secs Economy - Urban cycle 8.0 litres/ 100 kms Country cycle 4.7 litres /100kms

Sporty fashion accessory

Ken Llewelyn gives the new Alfa Romeo Sportwagon a big thumbs up.

Irecently tested an unusual car – a diesel-powered Alfa Romeo.

Although not yet available for sale in Australia, fans of the Italian marque will be horrified at the thought of the quintessential drivers’ car being powered by an ‘oil burner’. And yes I was also was in two minds when I picked up the car from the local Alfa dealer, Canberra Star Motors.

Yet anyone who reads overseas car mags will know that Europeans have taken to diesel cars with a vengeance as the price of the fuel skyrockets. And the modern, second generation ‘common rail’ units, are a far cry from the noisy, polluting engines of the past.

Alfa importers, Ateco, bought in two 156 powered diesel – a 2.4 litre five-cylinder, 20 valve, 129 kW engine developing 129 kW, and the car which I drove a 1.9 litre four cylinder, 103 kW which generated 103 kW.

And let me say the 156 Sportwagon which I drove was the best bolted together Alfa I have tested. Indeed it appears quality control has much improved.

Sportswagon

The 156 Sportwagon could hardly be called a ‘load carrier’.

The rear compartment space with seats folded down gives you 1180 litres of space.

By comparison, a Ford or Falcon will give you more than double to play with. But you get a flat floor, built in cargo blind, upper and lower built-in cargo barriers, tie down points and a ski-hole in the rear seats.

But for the fashion conscious you probably get the best-looking sportwagon in the business. The 156 has a timeless shape which I have always found immensely attractive, yet ‘father-time’ has deemed that the 156 will be replaced by the bigger and even more sophisticated 159 next year.

Engine/gearbox

What really amazed me about this diesel was the range. With the 63 litre tank full the computer gave a read-out of more than 1000 kms to empty! Very impressive indeed.

This particular car also had the best six-speed manual of any Alfa I have driven. And the designers carefully adjusted the gearing to give maximum economy by using the considerable torque available.

At 110 kmh, the 1.9 JTD was ticking over at less than 2000 rpm. No wonder Alfa quotes 4.8 litres/ 100 kms for the country cycle! And they quoted 6.1 litres/ 100 kms for combined city/country driving.

Driving/comfort

Even more surprising was the driving experience. I really enjoyed my week with the diesel wagon.

It gave very sprightly performance and was very relaxing to drive in town or on the open road.

The steering is beautifully weighed and Alfa has just about got the road-holding/comfort balance correct. Inside, the leather seats were comfortable and the driving position, although never perfect in an Alfa, was very good.

Instrumentation was comprehensive and the dual-zone airconditioning was a nice extra. Unfortunately, the VDO stereo gives a reasonable sound but it is similar to every Alfa I have driven; to alter the controls you still need 20/20 vision and pianist’s fingers.

Safety

As with all Alfas the four wheel disc brakes are superb. ABS, front and side air bags, (curtain air bags are optional) and built-in fog lights complete the safety package.

Future

Both test cars were imported purely for evaluation. The 1.9 JTD engine will be available in the attractive, 147 later this year, while the five cylinder 2.4 JTD diesel will be an option on the new 159, expected to be released around the middle of next year.

My personal opinion is we will be following the Europeans and more people will opt to purchase a diesel, in spite of the extra initial expense, for the long term gains in economy. However, in my next column I will be examining how to save fuel.

Cost for comparison

Sportwagon with five speed manual and 2.0 litre JTS engine $48,490.