ALFA ROMEO 166 1998 test drive - 2003 sedan
Two -liter minimum
Two liters of the working volume of the engine for a business class sedan are considered a subsistence minimum. And even that is purely formally, for example, Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Saab on the younger modifications of their models are used by turbines and injection; Bavarians from BMW are completely cunning, hiding under the hood of version 520i 2.2-liter engine. But Alfa Romeo is honest: 1970 atmospheric cubes, 150 horsepower. 
A two-liter business-alfa is also interesting because it is the only version of the 166 model supplied to the Russian market with a mechanical gearbox. More powerful executions with six -cylinder power units are offered only with a Sportronic automaton. Automatically advanced adaptive, with manual switching, but still automatically. A device that inevitably distorts the exquisite sensations that the machines of the Italian brand give. What we were convinced during last year's test Alfa Romeo 166 performed by 2.5 V6 24V. 
I sit in this car again and again find myself enchanted by its sports aesthetics. There is nothing superfluous in the cabin, and all that is extremely functionally and stylish. The contrasting decoration of the front panel and doors and a steel central console with a multi -color display create the impression that the car has been in the hands of interiorists of one of the tuning studio. I did not like only the lever of the gearbox, and to be precise, its knob: this rough, rough plastic is simply required to be replaced with polished aluminum. The tissue upholstery of the seats on such a machine also looks too budget at least on the backs and embroidered proud Alfa-Romeo, to the magnificence of the Momo seats from beige leather, they are far from a 2.5-liter version. 
Let us return to the issue of the day: do one and a half hundred horses be enough for one and a half ton -toned mass? The first experiments with overclocking in a straight line did not give a reason to complain about the dynamics, but did Alfa be created only for sprint races from the intersection to the intersection? It is no secret that the element of Italian cars are mountain serpentines. And the 166th, for nothing that the size came out, no exception. She manages to resolutely cleanly enter the turn, clearly prescribe an arc on the verge of slipping and triumphantly straighten the trajectory at the output. (It is the basic modification that differs in the most balanced chassis, for example, the front of the 2.5-liter machine is already 100 kg heavier, which provokes the development of insufficient rotation.) You feel all this with a vestibular apparatus and left hand, because the right is chronically occupied by manipulations with a gearbox. It is worth slightly mistaken with the transmission and turnover and instead of gambling acceleration at the exit from the apex you get a boring even speed set. The same thing, but in a less annoying form, is repeated in a straight line: it is enough to drop the tachometer arrow below 3000, and Alfa begins to stupid, losing seconds waiting for the return of the motor to combat revolutions. Still, despite the gear row, which was broken into six steps, it was not possible to completely get rid of the torque deficit on the bottoms.
However, Alfa Romeo is not only a stylish design, excellent handling and excellent dynamics. This is also a bewitching sound of the engine, over which factory technocomposers are beating. You need to hear this grunts on idle, hear how it is replaced by a hoarse basket of average revolutions. But all this is a prelude. Real delight comes a couple of seconds later, when the motor ceases to hide its voice, proceeding to the performance of the symphony of an attacking fighter and sings a song exciting blood until it stumbles upon an electronic revolutionary limiter. Down with the noise insulation of the motor compartment! Alfa Romeo 166 lives in a dangerous territory where German sports sedans dominate. Maybe Alfa is not so thorough and scrupulous in details, but he is not afraid of meeting with a formidable opponent. Cars with the emblem of the cross and the dragon come from the kind of no less eminent and at any moment are ready to shame the German knights with the uncompromising of appearance, the energy of nature and the refinement of manners. That's just for the battle with the most powerful of the Teutons with two liters of the engine, you can not do.
The car is provided by the company Center-SPRZ.
During the test, the car is insured ASK Trust.
Text: Leonid Klyuyev
Photo: Roman Ostanin
Source: Wheel magazine [No. 56/2002]
