ALFA Romeo test drive 156 1997 - 2003 sedan

Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagon: The most beautiful Alpha ...

Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagon, in my opinion, is the most beautiful station wagon, unless, of course, take into account the Aston Martin Lagonda-Shooting Brake collection. And I would not be very surprised if I learned, for example, that the version with the body station wagon model 156 was able to win the title of the car of the year - such a beautiful car is quite affordable. Moreover, it was the station wagon, because the ALFA Romeo 156 sedan debut several years ago. Only this does not happen - in the history of the competition, the car of the year has not yet been such that the prize was awarded to a new modification of a long -known model. And it’s a pity - he is painfully beautiful, this Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagon ...
However, what to say, everything is already visible, even in photographs. And in the road stream, after the 156th, almost everyone turns around, even those who are absolutely indifferent to cars. Indeed, here the work of designers is incomparable. Even tuning firms rarely dare to change the exterior of this model: any, even the most insignificant change in appearance can disfigure this car beyond recognition. Although, of course, it will be difficult to make this car unrecognizable: a huge beak with a huge proprietary emblem is allocated from the stream even stronger than the Beamwash nostrils or the Mercedes star of competitors. Although this is so, a particle of the corporate alpha style, but without it there are enough interesting chips. For example, the outer hands of the front doors made under chrome look incredibly beautiful and stylish. By the way, we are talking about the front door handles, because the rear ones have a completely different shape and are disguised in the rear lateral struts of the body. And attention is attracted by the non -standard placement of the front license plate - to the left of the beak. Prior to this, an extraordinary, but, in general, absolutely unnecessary, but no one, except the creators of the 156th, could not think of an attractive passage, although they came to this decision by chance. It’s just that in its standard place the license plate prevented the beak in proportionly large. This chip, by the way, has taken root on all new models of the company and is already slowly adopted by competitors.
The interior, for many years, who was the subject of a dispute due to the notorious Italian quality inherent in the Italian cars of old models, now looks no worse than in VW. And somewhere, perhaps, even much better: I personally had no complaints about the quality of assembly. The panel itself is made of expensive soft plastic, and the central console is made under aluminum, although, perhaps, this is actually a winged metal - this very central console is very seriously and efficiently made. It is interesting that many devices that we are used to see directly on the dashboard, next to the speedometer-tachometer, have moved to the central console in this model. The level of fuel level, as well as the temperature of the coolant, is located in the center of the panel, directly under the deflectors of the ventilation system. And what is most interesting, using all devices has become much more convenient, especially since due to the lack of additional arrows and sensors the speedometer and the tachometer themselves turned out to be clean - they do not display additional monumentation. A copy that came to us for a test flaunted a chic light beige salon. This must be said, just in the style of Alfa Romeo - after all, on the market, these models are positioned as prestigious. Although there is a small overkill: light beige velor trunk sheathing is, in my opinion, something akin to exhibitionism, especially in our climatic conditions. But damn it, incredibly beautiful. I have never seen a more neatly executed and so chic trunk. As for the practical application, in this case, the carrying capacity and volume of the cargo compartment practically do not have values: it is unlikely that in this machine they will carry something heavier than a pair of stylish leather suitcases. Moreover, the useful volume of the version with the wagon body is approximately the same as in the sedan.
But the engine on this Italianka with a typically southern temperament: a little phlegmatic on the bottom and with a slight undermining about 3000-3300 rpm. And this is typical for Italians: while engineers of automotive companies around the world, with the exception of, perhaps, Russian, seek to make their motors most elastic and make a curve of torque as gentle as possible, distributing the energy of the motor in equal doses throughout the revolutions, the Italians are quite They can afford a relatively low -power motor with a column of torque values \u200b\u200bin a certain revolution zone. And this is cool: if there was a painful, economical, but at the same time in a folkvagenian motor, this alpha would simply not be a real Alfa Romeo.
Accordingly, it is only necessary to drive in this car in Italian: not just by pressing the pedals and changing the gears, but feeling the car, allowing it to step a little. At the start, you do not need to keep the momentum, give more gas, a little sharper than usual, release the clutch pedal and for once in a non-norm, unscrew the motor-thousands of a kind up to 5-6 revolutions! It is at this moment that you will feel what the real Alfa Romeo is - burning, temperamental, sharp and energetic.
Of course, the dynamics of acceleration in a relatively heavy middle-class car with a 1.8-liter engine does not affect the imagination, but among classmates the 156th will probably seem the most acute. Unless Audi A4 1.8T will be able to contrast her with something, but only because of the presence of a turbine-not a single 1.8-liter machine in this class is simply able to accelerate to hundreds as quickly as Alfa Romeo 156-in just 9 , 4 seconds! True, the station wagon, due to some features, namely the increased equipped mass and less profitable aerodynamia, does this exercise a little slower, in 9.7 seconds, but this is still a very good result, because Sedan’s competitors are wounded up for 11-11.5 s, and there’s nothing to say about the station wagons. True, even with its good result, the 1.8-liter 156th is not at all felt too dynamic car. The dynamics is not amazing, and the car does not leave the driver, as is the case in some, far from the most powerful sportkup. Perhaps the whole thing is in the sensations: the car is clearly not enough active undermining - the one that is available is very insignificant, and the 156th accelerates, although fast enough, but smoothly. But it is really cool: in a turn on it, it is simply nice to go to the limit, allowing small slides. True, on the wet asphalt there is a little lack of clutch properties of the tires: ABS works early enough, and you feel not so confident in the bend. But, unlike the ALFA Romeo 147, 156th, the station wagon, which we had previously tested, turned out to be a very smooth car: he simply creeps along the road, provoking constantly driving at high speed, not paying attention to pits and potholes. The only thing that this car does not really love is various joints that are a little harshly transferred to the body. True, it is quite possible that this is the merit of the same tires, their profile is quite low, hence such a dislike for the little things.
Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagon is a beautiful car, one might even say, elegant and significantly superior to the basic sedan in the external shock. And the purchase of such a car is not just the purchase of an unpretentious and reliable horse, but rather a challenge, the desire to stand out from a car crowd.
To be not like everyone else, to reject generally accepted norms and priorities, to live in your mood - Alfa Romeo in general, and this station wagon in particular is intended for such people - impulsive, dynamic and active. After all, whatever one may say, and the purchase of such a station wagon, especially with beige finish, is just a tribute to fashion, and not an attempt to combine the driving qualities of sports and pickupa in one car. And if the 1.8-liter version tested by us is intended only for dynamic movement, then the 2.5-liter versions in the range, as well as recently received 3.2-liter gt sports modifications, whose engine develops 250 horses, -These are already real missiles, which are, for example, the Audi S4 Avant or Mercedes-Benz C32 AMG T-Modell. That is, stylish, high-speed and incredibly attractive, truly sports cars intended for a single goal-to give pleasure to its owner. Whether chassis, design, whether ...
Subjective Mnenim:
(+) Stunning design, beautiful and stylish interior, good running qualities.
(-) The suspension is harsh in small joints, a relatively high price.
Text: Pavel Kozlovsky and Sergey Mitskevich

Source: "Avtogazeta"