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Click for 159 Gallery
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| IMAGE RATING: |
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The 159 looks highly desirable, with its Giugiaro styling and its low, slant-eyed front. The thick shoulder-line and tough-looking wheelarches give a visual presence even the supremely elegant 156 couldn't quite manage, and people may well buy a 159 for this alone. Inside, the style is again 156 with added substance, and the colour scheme with dark red or beige leather seats and door pads in an otherwise black cabin looks very smart. Avoid the light facia-top option, though, which looks appalling and makes bad reflections in the windscreen. Alfas should always have black facia tops; the light one is aimed at the US market, which the 159 will eventually enter, but it's all wrong. The Alfa brand still has a big cachet for its connotations of speed, style and history, and it's a great marketing tool which the 159 justifies. The only reason for a four-star score here, instead of a full five, is the worry over long-term dependability and the quality of the whole 'ownership experience', which scares some buyers away. Maybe the 159 will allay those fears, but it will take time.
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