Alfa Romeo's 147, a past Car of the Year (it won by just one point from the Mondeo), is one of the most attractive small family hatchbacks on the market. The romance of its Alfa Romeo badge enhances its appeal, and for the 2005 model year it gains a gentle, Giugiaro-guided facelift to bring it in line with Alfa's latest look. Most obvious are the broader front grille and the wider, pointier head- and tail-lights, while inside new colour schemes and fluted door panels give a visual lift....
Diverse routes to performance : The 1.6-litre Twin Spark engine is a familiar unit. Like all Alfa four-cylinder engines, it uses an Alfa head on a Fiat block, and has a 105bhp output for the UK market although there's also a 120bhp version. The 2.0-litre unit adds balancer shafts as well as cc's, and delivers 150bhp. The JTD 150 uses a 16-valve head and multijet injection to achieve an impressive 225lb ft of torque to complement its 150bhp. Most direct-injection diesels inject a small 'pilot' spray of fuel before the main surge, to give a gentler build-up of combustion pressure and therefore less of a diesel clatter. But the JTD 150 injects not twice but up to four times, depending on conditions: two small squirts before the main one, then a small after-squirt. Smoother, quieter running, better fuel efficiency and reduced pollution are the claims. This engine also revs more freely once past its torque peak, thanks to its better breathing.
