Better Alfa

By ALASTAIR SLOANE

The new-look Alfa Romeo 156 sedan and wagon is expected to go on sale in New Zealand soon after its Downunder debut at the Sydney motor show in October.

The facelift features the first substantial redesign of the car's exterior since its launch in Europe in 1997.

The most obvious change is to the front end, where the 156 picks up Alfa Romeo's new headlights and bumpers.

The rear of the car gets a restyled boot lid and tail-lights. Interior changes include the use of a new cloth and more leather on door trims. The revised dashboard and fascia also get more leather.

The new nose follows the style of the 147 hatchback and last year's Brera show car, the Giorgetto Giugiaro-designed concept that sported a 1950s-style bonnet design sloping downwards towards Alfa's traditional shield grille, flanked by three-element headlights on each side.

The facelift is largely the work of new Alfa Romeo chief Daniele Bandiera and was completed by Giugiaro's design company Italdesign.

"The re-interpretation of a winning model such as the Alfa 156 had to convey maximum determination and aggression to give it even greater appeal," said Giugiaro.

"Hence the decision to model the exterior shape to bring it up to date and also to adjust the volumes and sizes.

"Thus you see a new front end with significant changes to the grille, which is now bigger and features new design headlights.

"The lower bumper area is also narrower than on the previous version. The end result is a front end that simultaneously oozes sportiness and class."

The new look will find its way into the updated 147 hatchback, flagship 166 saloon and a new four-wheel-drive 156 Sportwagon. The GTV and Spider have already been given the new treatment.

The most significant changes mechanically are to the turbodiesel models for Europe.

Alfa has equipped its 1.9-litre JTD oil-burner with a six-speed gearbox and added another five-cylinder 2.4-litre diesel to the mix.

It's a 20-valve unit that develops 129kW (172bhp) and uses Fiat's new multijet technology to reduce emissions and aid fuel economy.

The New Zealand 156 range is expected to continue unchanged, with sedans and sportwagons using either the lean-burn four-cylinder JTS 2-litre engine or 2.5-litre V6 unit mated to Selespeed sequential or 5- and 6-speed manual gearboxes.

The high-performance 156 GTA is not included in the facelifted line-up.

Price increases for the facelift will largely depend on the dollar exchange rate. At the moment, the entry-level JTS Alfa 156 starts at $61,995.

Chris Burger, general manager of Alfa importers Ateco Automotive NZ, said there was no price indication at this stage.

"It's too early to tell,"said. "If there were any price rises it would be the exchange rate that would do it."

The current 156 is largely responsible for new fortunes at Alfa. It was launched in Portugal in October 1997 and arrived in New Zealand in 1998.

More than 540,000 have been sold in 80 countries. Over the past five years it has tripled Alfa Romeo's market share in Europe - from 0.7 per cent in 1996 to 2.5 per cent at the end of last April. Sales peaked at 3.6 per cent in 2000.

The bestselling 156 in Europe last year was the 1.9-litre diesel JTD, not available in New Zealand.

The JTD sedan and Sportwagon accounted for 76 per cent of sales. The JTS 2-litre and 2.5-litre V6 petrol models made up the balance. These figures are representative of the growth of diesel in Europe.