Alfa Romeo 147 (2001-) Review

Comfort and Equipment

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The driving position is well sorted, the cabin has a quality feel and the 147 feels altogether civilised. The standard suspension's ride is fairly comfortable on the smallest tyres, but gets a little lumpier the bigger you go with the wheel and tyre size - so it's best to go for the Comfort option. (Wouldn't it make more sense to make Comfort standard and call the other one Sport?) Road noise increases with bigger tyres, too, unacceptably in the case of the optional 17-inch Super Sport alloys with 215/40/17 Pirelli P7000 tyres. There is some wind roar at speed, and the 1.6 engine gets boomy when pushed, but the engines are generally quiet, and all the petrol engines pleasingly tuneful. Cruising is most relaxed in the six-speed JTD 150 turbodiesel, although both diesels are impressively quiet for their type. Versions with all-black trim feel a little claustrophobic - the facelift includes some lighter colourways - but the 147 is actually pretty roomy with a decent-sized boot, and there's a fair amount of dumping space for junk. That said, it offers less space, most notably in the rear, than the Ford Focus, the Peugeot 307, the Honda Civic and its distant cousin the Fiat Stilo - the Alfa is intended as a snugger-fitting, sportier car than these more practical models.

The stereos and sat-navs are pretty sophisticated, but get more fiddly to use as they get more advanced. The ultimate set-up, featuring CONNECT, is not terribly intuitive to use and time-consuming even when you've mastered it. CONNECT, for which you must pay an annual fee after the first year, enables you to dial up or e-mail a call centre providing extensive travel advice. Sound quality from the stereo is pretty good.