Alfa Romeo 156 2.5 Sportwagon: Flawed, Foolish and Fabulous

I am currently looking at the repair quote for the rust issues my 156 is due, and asking myself why I'm willing to put so much money into what is ultimately a high mileage, 22 year old, largely worthless estate? And the thing is, I'm not 100% sure I could give you a reasonable, logical answer here. Yes, it is in very good mechniacl condition, with almost every perishable item having been replaced very recently, with plenty of reciepts to prove it, and that does make repair slightly more financially appealing than to replace, but it's not that big, it's not as practical as you might think, and on the numbers, it's really not very impressive. Factory, the 2.5 V6 only pumps out 190 bhp and 215nm of torque to the front wheels, returns a combined MPG figure of 23, and can only tow a braked weight of 1,400kg. Compared to it's rear driven competitor, the E46 BMW 3 Series, which produces 2 more horsepower and 30 more torques while bringing a combined 30 MPG, while also being capable of towing a braked weight of 1,600kg and having marginally more luggage space to boot. It's not an awful car, but on the numbers its competitors tend to look a lot more sensible, so why save it? Simple, I've actually driven it.

I bought this car to replace my battered MR2 Roadster, I had been looking for an estate with the pre-requisite that it be large, rear drive and manual. This is niether large nor rear drive but at least I managed to get a manual box. I bought it for a decent price, collected it and immediately started dailying it. It's been all over the country. It doesn't take long with the 156 to realise a number of it's shortcomings. This particular example is the absolute top trim, and barring a few unselected options, it was as much as you could spend on a manual 156 in 2001, and when you compare the equipment with the E46 its practically barren. The top trim E46 came with traction control, isofix mount points, space saver spare wheel and side airbags as standard and you could option in cruise control, electric seats and parking sensors, the Alfa would let you option in a space saver and the isofix points, but you werent getting anything else on it from that list in 2001. At least the E46 can't boast that it has cupholders the Alfa doesn't, as they're both lacking there, but the lack of equipment on the Alfa is noticable. This does, however, mean that the interior on the Alfa isn't heavily laden with buttons, and knowing this, Alfa has designed a very aesthetically pleasing dash. The plastic used isnt great, but its shaped in a gorgeous way, with everything being angled slightly toward the driver, and using an older design language than many of its competitors, the interior feels a lot more late 70s a design than it does late 90s, it's a lovely place to be, aided by very comfortable seats. Alfa went cheap on the plastic, they did not go cheap on the leather, the gorgeous deep red Momo leather seats in here have aged wonderfully and are still soft and comfortable. The downside is they aren't amazingly supportive when you are really pushing it, but this is my estate car, I don't see much need to hammer on it daily, I've got the project race car for that. All of this to say that even with a lack of equipment, the 156 is still a fantastic piece of interior design

Then the story of styling. Walter De Silva has got quite a few very pretty cars, and his work on the 156 is absolutely no different. With lots of design cues harkening back to 60s and 70s designs, the 156 has aged like fine wine. Many of its peers now look dated, not yet having turned the corner into looking classic, the E46 estate in particular now looking frumpy and old, but the 156 already looks classic. Even when parked among its peers, it stands out. It's one of the few cars I've found that is not only capable of withstanding the design dulling nature of the colour silver, but is actually made even better by it.

Beyond the cosmetics, there is the drive. It is front wheel drive, and this is no bad thing normally, however with the inclusion of the 2.5 Busso V6 in this car, it is a car with a reputation for chronic understeer. This can largely be rectified with a limited slip diferential, which this car does have, and it means you can go around corners with more than a miniscule amount of throttle, and when you do, you're greeted by a very communicative and sharp rack. Little over 2 full turns lock to lock means its also very easy to drive at speed, the steering is incredibly direct. However, despite all the compliments I can give to the steering rack, it is compromised by having to hold a large V6 and a gearbox mounted transversely between the front wheels, namely in its turning circle. You can buy vans that have tighter turning circles than the 156. Do not expect to turn 180 degrees at a mini roundabout any time soon. This isn't unique to the 156, most front wheel drive V6 saloons of this era have the same issues, but they don't have the advantage of this particular V6, and what a V6 it is.

This is the dying breath of an engine from the 1970s, but what a send off. The Busso is known for how pretty it is, in an age where engines were being covered in plastic to reduce noise, Alfa gave us chromed intake pipes and lovingly adorned rocker covers. It's so immediatley clear they were proud of this engine, it is presented to you in such a way as if to say 'Look, isn't it gorgeous? Isn't it art?". It is beautiful, and it's not just a pretty thing with no legs, it is a truly fabulous engine to play with. It has an extremely linear power curve, so it pulls butter smooth all the way from idle to redline, there is no sudden 3,000 rpm jump in power or a sudden loss of puff up top, it just keeps going. The six cylinder symphonies it sings are superb, it growls and snarls at low revs like a feral animal and slowly transitions into a male voice choir at the top, it sounds like a supercar. That's not me being overly poetic for the sake of it either, by the way, with the loud pipes fitted to this one, I have revved up near supercars to try and encourage them to rev back, because I am still 12 years old, and anyone nearby often turns to compliment the supercar, I even had a sound off with a McLaren at a car show once, and the people preferred the Alfa.

All of this to say, the 156 really isn't that impressive on the numbers, but when has that ever been important? Character, style, driving pleasure, the things you can't sum up in numbers, that's what the Alfa has in spades. It's flawed in its function, plenty of other comparable estates are more practical, its foolish, it has a honking great engine powering the wrong wheels, but my word its such a fabulous thing, it cannot help but charm you in all it's ridiculousness. So yes, it'll sting my wallet, but it'll be worth every penny to save it, because it genuinely is something special, this car, and I want to hold onto it as long as its sensible to do so, and then certainly some more time after that.