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By
EWAN KENNEDY
11 September 2006
The new Alfa Romeo 159 sedan looks simply superb from any angle,
but in particular from the front where that extensive nose makes a real
statement. Everyone who looked at the car during our recent week’s
test was rapt in the shape and it was invariably the first thing they
wanted to talk about.
The very-effective triple-segment front-light effect, which
cleverly includes the blinker lights, is set off by the typically
Alfa Romeo bold central grille. A grille that sits deeply into the
bumper area in a way that attracts attention. We have a nasty
feeling it’s also going to gain a scar or two from idiot
parkers, because the foremost part of this car is the chromed
grille, with absolutely no protection in front of it.
The gorgeous styling of the new Alfa Romeo 159 continues inside
the cabin, with large leather seats, trim with plenty of flair in
its design and materials, and the typical Alfa sporting look using
a multitude of large round dials angled directly at the driver.
The Alfa Romeo 159 is bigger than the Alfa 156 it replaces. It
has a substantially longer wheelbase and a lot of extra width.
However, we feel the packaging efficiency doesn’t take full
advantage of the extra length, perhaps because a fair bit of the
added bonnet dimension is taken up by providing pedestrian
protection in a crash.
Front-seat foot width is slightly restricted by a wide centre
console and legroom in the rear is pretty cramped for a car in
this luxury class. If four adults are travelling together those in
the front will have to seriously compromise on who gets what in
the way of legroom.
On the other hand, the boot of the Alfa Romeo 159 is
considerably larger than that of the outgoing 156 and can now
accept a family’s luggage.
Road holding is typically Italian in its competence. This Alfa
Romeo grips the road with plenty of enthusiasm. It sends definite
messages through the steering wheel so the driver knows exactly
what is happening. Despite being a relatively large car, the 159
is happy to change direction mid corner if asked to do so.
Some may feel the ride a bit on the jiggly side on moderate to
rough roads, but keen drivers will love the firm feel and the
overall willingness of this Alfa.
Alfa Romeo is pushing its turbo-diesel variants strongly in
this new model, with a large 2.4-litre, five-cylinder, twin-cam
unit that produces a strong 400 Newton metres of torque at 2000
rpm.
However, our test cars used the lovely four-cylinder 2.2-litre
JTS petrol engine. In some ways we preferred it to the
turbo-diesel. It might not have quite as much sheer grunt, but
there's certainly something about the silky smoothness and
virtually instantaneous response of a good petrol engine that
makes it more appealing to the keen driver.
Our test car frequently hesitated when coming off idle, you
would have called it a flat spot in an old carburettor car. Other
than this it was happy to rev and simply delighted in working in
the 3000 to 5000 rpm band.
Amongst other things, you can feel there's less weight over the
front wheels with the petrol than the diesel. Resulting in an even
better ‘chassis’ feel that’s delightful to control.
At this stage only six-speed manual gearboxes are coming to
Australia in the Alfa 159. This may slow sales initially, though
true lovers of European motoring are well aware that manuals are
the transmissions of choice in Italy and will be happy to live
with the do-it-yourself gearbox. The shift feel is better than
average for a front-wheel drive car of this size, but is not as
positive as we like it.
Don’t forget that you can save on fuel costs by using a
manual. Our test Alfa could run in the seven to eight litres per
hundred kilometres range in easy country running and on motorways.
That increased to 10 to 11 litres per hundred kilometres in hard
driving on interesting roads and similar figures resulted from
boring suburban and city driving.
Automatic transmissions, some full torque-converter units,
others automated-manuals will join the range over the upcoming
months.
Another variant of the Alfa Romeo 159 is soon to hit our
shores. It will have a 3.2-litre V6 that’s partly made at the
Holden engine plant in Melbourne, and should offer even more
pleasure than the 2.2-litre petrol we’ve just taken back to Alfa
Romeo. The 3.2 will be mated to all-wheel drive and use some
Brembo brake components, so promises to be a pretty and potent
package.
AT A GLANCE
MODEL RANGE
159 JTS 2.2-litre four-door sedan - $49,990
159 JTD 2.4-litre diesel four-door sedan - $55,990
159 Sportwagon JTS 2.2-litre five-door wagon - $52,990
159 Sportwagon JTD 2.4-litre diesel five-door wagon - $58,990
FEATURES
ABS Brakes: Standard in all models
Air Conditioning: Standard in all models
Automatic Transmission: Not offered at this stage
CD Player: Standard in all models
Central Locking: Standard in all models
Cruise Control: Standard in all models
Driver Airbag: Standard in all models
Passenger Airbag: Standard in all models
Front Side Airbags: Standard in all models
SPECIFICATIONS (Alfa Romeo 159 JTS 2.2-litre four-door sedan)
ENGINE:
Capacity: 2.198 litres
Configuration: Four cylinders in line
Head Design: DOHC, four valves per cylinder
Compression Ratio: 11.3:1
Bore/Stroke: 86.0 x 94.6mm
Maximum Power: 136kW @ 6500rpm
Maximum Torque: 230Nm @ 4500rpm
DRIVELINE:
Driven Wheels: Front
Manual Transmission: Six-speed
Automatic Transmission: Not offered
Final Drive Ratio: 4.176:1
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length: 4660mm
Wheelbase: 2700mm
Width: 1828mm
Height: 1422mm
Turning Circle: 11.1 metres
Kerb Mass: 1490kg
Fuel Tank Capacity: 70 litres
Towing Ability: 1500kg with braked trailer
SUSPENSION AND BRAKES:
Front Suspension: High double wishbone
Rear Suspension: Multi-link
Front Brakes: Ventilated disc
Rear Brakes: Disc
PERFORMANCE:
0-100 km/h Acceleration: 8.8 secs
Standing 400 Metres: 16.6 secs
FUEL CONSUMPTION:
Fuel Type: Petrol 95RON
Fuel Consumption - Combined Cycle (ADR 81/01): 9.4 L/100km
STANDARD WARRANTY:
Three years/100,000km
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Marque Publishing Company
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