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.
Peculiarly, the 156 has not been crash tested by independent agency Euro NCAP. However, Alfa's 147 small hatchback, based on a shortened 156 floorpan, only scored three stars and was developed four years later than its larger brethren. Nonetheless, the 156 comes with six airbags as standard (twin front, side and head 'bags), as well as ABS anti-lock brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution and ASR stability control - one of the better systems on the market. The 156 is also better placed than some of its rivals to avoid an accident in the first place, due to its agile chassis and keen steering. The brakes are strong and progressive. There's initial bite from the pedal, then some travel with not much increase in retardation, before the pedal firms up and offers easily modulated hard deceleration.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Alfa Romeo 156
wrote on 10 10 2007