Alfa Romeo 159 Saloon (06-11) - Review

Review by Ben Wall on
Last Updated: 14 June 2011
The replacement for the 156 follows a familiar recipe for Alfa Romeo. Its stunning four-door body is awash with delightful details, from the triple lens headlights to the sculpted door handles. The interior is similarly evocative with an emphasis on Italian style setting it apart from alternatives while it drives in a sporty manner with a range of powerful petrol and diesel engines. All this will sound familiar to anyone who has owned an Alfa before but the 159 has to shake off the reputation for shoddy build quality and apathetic dealers. Alfa Romeo claims to have addressed these issues, which if true means owners won't have to suffer for their passion
4 out of 5

Other Alfa Romeo reviews

3.5 out of 5

Running costs

The 159 will to hold its value better than the 156 and about as well as a Volkswagen Passat or Honda Accord, although not as well as an Audi A4. With the exception of the 3.2-litre, which is thirsty, all models can do over 30mpg and the diesels are especially frugal. Alfa servicing is reasonably priced, especially compared to the likes of BMW or Mercedes-Benz, but the dealers don't have a great reputation.

* based on most recent data

Estimated fuel cost for 10,000 miles per year

Unleaded

£1,659 - £2,668 *

Diesel

£1,165 - £1,831 *

The estimated fuel cost figure is a guide to how much this model will cost to fuel each year, so you can compare between cars. It's calculated by using the model's average mpg (calculated from both town centre and motorway driving) and the average fuel price. It's based on the following cost-per-litre: petrol 135p and diesel 141p. Prices are updated daily.

Summary Running Costs

Servicing period

Two years/18,000 miles. Newer 1750 TBi and 2.0 JTDM models are two years/21,000 miles.

Warranty

Three years/unlimited miles.

Road tax (12 months)

£120.00 - £475.00

Vehicle excise duty (VED) varies according to the CO2 emissions and the fuel type of the vehicle. For cars registered after March 1st 2001 VED or road tax is based on the car's CO2 emissions. For cars registered before March 1st 2001 it is based on engine size.

Full running costs data

3 out of 5

Green credentials

  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
    134
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M
    286

CO2 emission figure (g/km)

Fuel economy rating

The arrows indicate the best and worst CO2 bands for this model.

Emissions summary

The 159 performs adequately in terms of CO2 outputs and despite being a sporty brand, there are even ECO models available. Powered by the 1.9 JTDM engine with power lowered to 120bhp (from 150bhp), they emit 138g/km of CO2 while returning 54mpg. This isn't bad, but it lags behind alternatives from BMW and Audi.

Find the exact engine and CO2