1998 Alfa Romeo 156 Reviews, Pricing & Specs

My first and only Alfa so far. I absolutely loved it, I'm planning to buy the Giulietta 1.4TB or one of the JTDMs in about 3 years time. Performance: Great throughout gearbox, being short geared, I found the 205/45 R17 fitted to the car didn't have enough give in the side wall for Manx roads, so I changed them to Perelli PZero 215/50 R16. Also fitted Eibach anti-roll bars, Eibach shorter springs, and Powerflex bushes. Due to upping the engine power I also fitted a Quaife LSD to cope with the increase in power and torque. Build Quality: The interior did squeek a little. Other than that, I found no major issues, as she was serviced when I bought her. And many mechanical parts I uprated. Appearance: My one was Potero Red, not so as eye catching as the Royal Blue, Alfa Red and Yellow ones that dot around the Isle of Man. My one had front fog lights, 16" alloys from the 2008 GT, satin silver door mirrors, and the large boot spoiler. Cost of Owership: I bought mine for £1750, with a completary service, full tank of V-Power, new set of Toyo TR-1s and a dyno run for an extra £50. Spent £60 a week on V-Power (if only commuting to work and back). £1100 to insure for one year. Spent £750 on maintenence. Spent £3500 on uprating parts. Sold for 4500 Euros in southern France. Fun Factor: Loved every minute of it, mates loved being in her, listening to her, looking at her. And it got a lot attention from the opposite sex (giggidy!)Oct 17, 2009

I believe this was the most successful sedan+coupe back in late 90s. The power that this relatively small 1747 engine delivers is impressive (106 kW). On the other hand, you have to pay the price - fuel consumption and engine reliability are not the strond sides of alfa 156. Have to appreciate the job that italian designers did on this one - all the lines seem to be perfect, it is just a beautiful car. As TopGear says, every pertol head must have an Alfa at some point of ones' life. Well I could even rephrase that - you need to be a bit of a petrol head to own one.Oct 07, 2008

So, so pretty, if only it was more reliable! Not that it was unreliable, just tempramental and fragile. Still, it sounded peachy on the overun and went very well indeed. The interior was great, despite the awkward driving position, with lots of room and a stylish dash. A decent boot and loads of headroom made it a practical car. Fuel economy wasn't brilliant and running costs were more than a Mondeo, but I don't care because it was made by the same people who make Ferrari. Find a nice second hand one for the weekend.Aug 11, 2008