I had an Alfa 156 for a few years as a company car and I was loathe to give it back when I was made redundant. Probably the best car I've ever driven actually. I'm not exactly sure why - I've never been able to afford anything quite like it myself I guess so it's probably just made a big impression on me.
Beautiful looking motor, look at the sleek bodywork and I'm sure you'll agree. Loads of equipment, and a really nice performing engine to boot. A really fun car to drive, nippy acceleration, precision handling and it seemed pretty reliable to me.
If I had to make a criticism I guess I would say that there's not a lot of room. But really it's a great car, I'm now saving up to buy one second-hand! I know it's a bit out of date but I really can barely fault this car.
If I had to use one word to describe my experience of driving this car for 5 years would be: Love! I know it sounds sad but I really did love this car. It’s fast, it looks good and if you look after it its reliable. The 156 is like all cars as long as you look after them properly they will look after you. Before I bought the car I made sure that it had been regularly serviced and all repairs that you would expect a 5 year old car to have had, had been done, i.e. cambelt, oil & filter change. This car will defiantly give you that thrill of driving a fast car but if you don’t keep your eye on the speed you could end up doing 110mph without even realising. I don’t know how I kept a clean licence whilst owning this car. This car is addictive to drive and you almost feel disappointed when you get to your destination.
The MPG is acceptable around 30mpg, the servicing costs aren’t too bad either if you avoid main dealers. It’s recommended that the cambelt is replaced every 40,000 miles which I have done. I have also had to replace all 4 tyres, brake pads and shoes.
As a day to day car on the motorway it’s really practical. There is a lot of room up front and the driving position is very comfortable. The car does however look a lot bigger than it actually is. It would be a bit of a struggle to fit 3 adults in the back comfortably. The boot is a good size, but as the back seats don’t fold down you can’t make the boot any bigger which was a bit of an inconvenience at times. But in all fairness I didn’t buy the car for the boot size I bought it because of its looks and its speed. In the end the wife made me sell it on so I could buy a more practical family car,