Friday 13th January 2012

SOTW: Alfa Romeo 145 Cloverleaf

Not the most beautiful Italian, but it's got a fine heart, reckons Shed

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We're not going to bore you with all those cliches about how you're not a 'proper petrolhead' until you've owned an Alfa Romeo (Er, you just have - Ed), but there is something oddly alluring about most Alfa Romeos, even ones that are manifestly flawed. And most Alfas are manifestly flawed in one way or another.

In the case of the Alfa Romeo 145, the flaws come in the form of a design that puts you irresistibly in mind of a delivery van that's been turned into a passenger hatchback in rather a hurry and as a wee bit of an afterthought. And the traditionally slightly awkward driving position.

On the other hand, there are plenty of positives to the good ol' 145, not least of which is the fact that it's most un-hot hatch looks render it a bit of a hidden gem, waiting for those in the know. In cloverleaf form it's also pleasantly rapid (in 1990s hot hatch terms at least), its 150hp engine giving a 0-60mph sprint of 8.0 seconds and a top speed of 129mph.

Your humble scribbler was lucky enough to grab a quick spin in one last autumn, when we gathered together a few unusual hot hatches for a feature. Here's what I thought of the little Alfa back then:

"Of all the cars here, it feels most like a traditional hot hatch - lightweight, eager and with a rasping, revvy 2.0-litre motor. It's not super-fast, but it wants to be hustled along, and the Alcantara-covered wheel really suits the hyperactively responsive steering.

"So far, so Alfa. It doesn't feel creaky or rattly, though, as conventional wisdom might have it. Perhaps that's a function of a lightweight 38k mileage, or the fact that it has obviously been well looked-after. Whatever, this is a surprisingly solid little cube of fun."

This particular cube of fun appears a fairly safe bet in Alfa shed terms, too, being a known quantity to the garage selling it (presumably meaning plenty of history) and having a full year of MOT on it. For 750 quid's worth of Italian brio, what more could you ask for?

Advert is reproduced below

ALFA ROMEO 145 2.0 CLOVERLEAF 3DR (1996/P)
112,000 miles £750

BLACK Hatchback.

1970cc Manual.

Black. ..1 YEARS MOT.....PREVIOUSLY SUPPLIED & MAINTAINED BY OURSELVES..ELECTRIC WINDOWS..POWER STEERING..16" ALLOYS..THATCHAM APPROVED IMMOBILISER..ALL USUAL CLOVERLEAF REFINMENTS..CLEAN TIDY CAR..FUTURE CLASSIC..BARGAIN..150 BHP OF FUN... Insurance Group:14A,

[B'stard Child]

Not exactly a looker but an interesting SOTW

[turnipbmw]

my favorite

[Rollcage]

First car I have ever seen advertised by them for sensible money!

[Eighteeteewhy]

B'stard Child said:

Not exactly a looker but an interesting SOTW

I agree, hasn't aged well. IMO

[soad]

I think it has some charm, even if a little dated.
Alloys a beauty.
Ad ruined by Capital letters...

[bencollins]

The bodywork quality of this vintage of Fiat group/Renault/PSA rather show up the equivalently aged mercs/bmws/ford/vaux. Likewise the tedious "ooooo Italian design" cliché also gets a good kicking.
Thats a lot of van for £750, yet somehow a bit too "meh" too look at to get the juices flowing.
Still could make a good daily shuttle.
Fine and sympathetic write up.

[P I Staker]

I like the look of these, bet its a nice drive too.

[madmover]

B'stard Child said:

Not exactly a looker but an interesting SOTW

Totally agree, nevertheless its an alfa! What more can you say...

[T2R31]

...used to own one these, many a moon ago!

What can I say - solid door shut, reasonable poke, handled okay if you pushed on a little and could fit 3 mountain bikes in the back with the rear wheels on!

It was a fine little bus.....and cheap back then too!

[mybrainhurts]

madmover said:

B'stard Child said:

Not exactly a looker but an interesting SOTW

Totally agree, nevertheless its an alfa! What more can you say...

....Something like...if you listen carefully, it sounds nothing like a Golf...?

[alfa daley]

This is identical to my old black '98 145 QV.

Such a good car, even though I'm in something faster now I still miss it. Supersprint exhaust, fantastic Alfa sound and and a cracking engine that just asked to be revved. I have never seen a better standard cloth interior on any car.

Brings back fond memories of trying to force down the ,malfunctioning electric window at 75 odd on the motorway. Terrible MPG, not great handling really but so much fun. In the end sold for £350 to a genuine Italian from Slough (needed some brake fixes)

[Life Saab Itch]

Mgmrw, here's what you could have won.


Good shed. Not my cup of tea, but something a bit different.

[MadDog1962]

Excellent runabout shed. Ok so it's not the most beautiful Alfa that's for sure. But at at least it is a wee bit different.

I've been looking at these and reckon they are too cheap (although I remember spares prices being outrageous, so maybe that's the reason)

[Numeric]

I always find with Alfas that I think I'm going really fast - lots of noise and passion from the car and rattles like I'm reaching the outer limit - then I look down and find I'm going 10mph slower than in my normal car. Never been sure if that's a good thing - but if I'm having fun at a lower speed it probably is!

[forzaminardi]

Lovely. Yum yum. Seems a bit steep in light of the mileage, I'm sure you can find cheaper ones that are less leggy. Perhaps they are in less good condition.

[anonymous-user]

I like the 146 ti over this for some reason but it is a good shed but I have seen them go for 500 with lower milage.

[askgeez]

Saw this in the classifieds whilst researching what (£750 max) could be bought for this September's "screwball rally".

Even this Alfa could survive 1600 miles

[Prawnboy]

That is a great shopping cart for no money, tempting.....

[marshall100]

A mate of mine I worked with at Tesco bought one of these around the same time I had my 106gti. We did a quick tour up the A47 at speed and it did indeed go quite well and sound loverly. I've not had many brown trouser mements in cars, but there was one when he tried to exit the dual carrigeway at it seemingly refused to do so.

Handles like a rusty sackfull of spanners.

[TRUENOSAM]

Love the 145, just think of what car looked like that back in 1997.

Maybe I'm biased as I did purchase a lovely 156 earlier this week