Category: Large Family 
Price Range: £28,545 to £28,545
Good engines, keen steering and handling, great to look at
Repair costs, reliability, slightly awkward driving position, interior glitches - and the 159, which promises to be a much better ownership proposition.
Great to look at and good to drive, but the same old head versus heart issues persist.
Since its launch the 156 has picked up plenty of magazine and industry awards, but don't mention the customer surveys... Used Alfas cost more to repair than any other make, according to Warranty Direct. Alfas came joint worst for breakdowns in the German ADAC survey in 2001. Alfa was fourth-worst manufacturer and the 156 second-worst model in the 2002 Which? reliability survey. The 156 came ninth from last in the 2002 Auto Express satisfaction survey; it didn't do too well in the 2002 JD Power survey either. Meanwhile 4car's user tests on the 156 are riddled with niggling faults, and Alfa dealers get a very mixed assessment. Be aware what you're letting yourself in for.
The interior looks better than it feels - the dials, switches and minor controls all look great but the heating and ventilation dials could be more precise in their movement. The dashboard is made of rubbery black plastic but it's very deeply grained and marks more easily than it cleans. The seats squeaked on two of our (new) test cars, too.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Alfa Romeo 156
wrote on 10 10 2007