156 (Type 932) 1997 - 2005

When all's said and done it's a 20 year old rep-mobile, Alfa's answer to the all conquering BMW 320d at a time when diesel still looked like the future. But of course being an Alfa it's rather more than that - it's beautiful, wearing the more aggressive family scudetto facelift better than some, elegant in a way the German alternatives simply are not; it's clever, boasting for example that seriously impressive front suspension design (which bore a suspicious resemblance to that in the Nissan Primera - but as that car was the contemporary FWD dynamic benchmark we'll gloss over that!), and the start of the 4 cylinder JTD line with the 16v head that went on to find homes in so many vehicles. Today on the road it feels almost dainty with a low glass line and a great view out, making best use of the FWD layout to provide back seat accommodation that's more generous than a Giulia.

This example is what you could generously call patinated. It doesn't hide it's 106,000 miles and much of the nearside has undoubtedly had paint... but that keeps it usable and not too intimidating to leave in the supermarket car park. Black over tan is timeless and if you're not going to have teledials on your Alfa the multi-spokes are a lovely alternative. So it's enjoyed rather than pampered - even the brilliant guys at AFH1 who now look after it for me tell me they enjoy working on it as a change from the modern stuff (of course they might just be humouring me...). You might spend longer drooling over the GTAs and V6s - I expect I will too - but the humble diesel saloon from the naughties is also an important part of Alfa's recent story. 

Enjoy NAD!

Alex

Initial words the weekend after purchase...:

A lovely looking facelift 156 in classic black over tan leather.

Bought in the dark from Facebook Marketplace, no history aside from under bonnet stickers from NJS (so it obviously has been cared for in the past) and an invoice for a recent clutch and bottom arm. But it seemed solid underneath, drove well on the short test drive and was being sold for little more than the cost of the replacement clutch... Even if it turned out to be a bad-un, I figured at the very least I was getting a decent clutch with a lovely looking car attached!

It drove 150 miles home without incident - once I'd got one of the poor unsuspecting chaps at a Halfords I passed on the way to replace the headlight bulbs (one of which was out; the other was just rubbish - I've been spoilt by the LEDs on modern cars).

And of course the next day in the light I found the inevitable extra scuffs, dings and scratches that a used and enjoyed 20 year old rep-mobile might have (and that i'd missed the night before - what do they say about buying cars in the dark?). So it's usable rather than concourse, but it polishes up well enough and it's sylish, elegant and these days - rare. I enjoy driving it and people respond really well to seeing it, which is just lovely.

Martin and Alex at the brilliant AFH1 in Mansfield have now looked over it, agreed that it is solid (phew), changed the minging oil and filter, and replaced the other bottom arm and rear drop links. We'll replace the cambelt as a preventative measure soon and I'll make a few cosmetic updates - personal thing but I can't wait to get the black and white badges off.

And then it'll be going to AROC events and doing some daily stuff too as I try to take the miles off my company car (the mileage agreement on which i've somewhat exceeded). For this the 1.9 diesel should be ideal, and an added Yatour Bluetooth module which emulates the CD changer means I can listen to content from my phone through the Bose sound system (which, apart from a dicky driver's door speaker in mine, holds up rather well in terms of sound quality against contemporary stuff).

One day soon I'll detail it properly and add some better pics!