Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagon (00-05) - Review

Review by Parkers on
The 156 Sportwagon is a 'lifestyle estate', which in short means that it's trendy, respectable to have on the drive, but lacks the interior space of a traditional load-lugger. Its subtle and pure styling may give it the edge over rivals like the BMW 3-Series as the choice of a design-led individual, but it's neither as solidly built nor as spacious as its German rivals. It gives a lot of driving pleasure even with the smaller engines, and it's also much cheaper to buy.
3.5 out of 5

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3.5 out of 5

Summary

New price range:

£14,920 - £24,070

Used price range:

£364 - £4,914

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Wonderfully styled, hugely enjoyable to drive, strong diesel engines

Not especially practical, less boot space than the saloon, reliability issues

The 156 Sportwagon is a 'lifestyle estate', which in short means that it's trendy, respectable to have on the drive, but lacks the interior space of a traditional load-lugger. Its subtle and pure styling may give it the edge over rivals like the BMW 3-Series as the choice of a design-led individual, but it's neither as solidly built nor as spacious as its German rivals. It gives a lot of driving pleasure even with the smaller engines, and it's also much cheaper to buy.

Driving & Performance

  • Performance

    4 out of 5

    "A wide range of engines have been fitted to 156 from a basic-but-lively 1.6 T-Spark to a 3.2 V6..."

  • Handling

    4.5 out of 5

    "Behind the wheel, the 156 is everything you'd expect from a fiery Italian with involving handling..."

Comfort

  • Comfort

    3 out of 5

    "Rear passengers will find that legroom is limited and it's a real squeeze with three in the back,..."

  • Practicality

    3 out of 5

    "Boot space is adequate but when you realise that the 156 saloon boasts more room with the rear seats..."

  • Equipment

    4 out of 5

    "The 2.0 TS, 2.4 JTD and V6 models have alloy wheels, stainless steel tailpipes and headlight washers..."

  • Behind the wheel

    3.5 out of 5

    "Drivers find no problems with the 156’s comfort - the driving position is fully adjustable, the..."

Costs

  • Running costs

    3 out of 5

    "Harsh depreciation is your biggest cost - it's the nature of this market but buying used counters..."

  • Green credentials

    2.5 out of 5

    "The 156 is quite a polluting model and with an average of 202g/km CO2 across the range, its..."

Safety & Reliability

  • Safety

    3 out of 5

    "The underlying 156 design dates back to 1998 and is beginning to fall behind in the safety stakes."

  • Reliability

    3 out of 5

    "The 156 was a massive leap forward for Alfa Romeo in terms of build quality, but the Sportwagon has..."

Buying & Selling

  • Buying new

    3.5 out of 5

    "Well equipped and competitively priced, but if you're buying from an Alfa dealer, really push for a..."

  • Buying used

    3.5 out of 5

    "Demand is better for the Sportwagon estate - it was launched after the saloon (mid-2000) and with..."

  • Selling

    3 out of 5

    "Lots of competition and availability keeps prices low, so you may find that your car takes a while..."

Gallery

  • Interior Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagon (00-05)
  • Exterior Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagon (00-05)
  • Exterior Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagon (00-05)
  • Exterior Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagon (00-05)

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Owners' reviews