Alfa Romeo 147 (01-09) - Review

Review by Ben Wall on
Last Updated: 06 May 2009
Voted Car of the Year in 2001 before it even went on sale here, Alfa's sleek, sporting 147 hatchback has appealing Italian styling, advanced engines, fine handling and competitive pricing against premium offerings from Audi and BMW. What Alfa has lacked is a reputation for longevity, although the 147 has proven to be one of the firms more reliable models. Facelifted in 2005 with the new-look Alfa face and a light interior makeover, even in its later years there remains much to like about this stylish hatchback.
3 out of 5

Other Alfa Romeo reviews

3 out of 5

Safety

The Alfa was only awarded three stars in Euro NCAP crash tests, but you do get ABS, traction control and six airbags as standard across the range. An alarm/immobiliser and remote central locking are standard on all cars.

NCAP Test

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Provides motoring consumers with a realistic and independent assessment of the safety performance of some of the most popular cars sold in Europe.

Visit Euro NCAP for more info

  • Adult Occupant Rating

    3 out of 5

  • Pedestrian Test Rating

    2 out of 5
3.5 out of 5

Reliability

The new breed of Alfa's are much better than the manufacturers older cars when it comes to dependability, with users of parkers.co.uk mainly reporting minor niggles. Maintenance needs to be kept up for total peace of mind, especially with the 3.2 V6 GTA model.

Car check problem points

Body

Check for parking dents and panel damage.

Engine/Gearbox

Engine damage, faulty clutch.

Other

No problems reported.

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