Friday 5th May 2017

Shed Of The Week: Alfa 156 Sportwagon

Pretty car, pretty pictures and a pretty decent ad as well!

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In case you missed it, Autocar recently ran a piece on the 100 most beautiful cars ever made.

Now, we all know that contenders for this sort of list are very much in the eye of the beholder, and it's all too easy to miss out stuff that perhaps should be in there. As such, we find various interesting choices in this list, like the 2001 Mini Cooper, the 2012 Range Rover, the 1961 Lincoln Continental and not one but two Porsche 911s.

Oh crikey that's pretty. Bought it yet?

We do not, however, see any sign of the Alfa Romeo 156. This is quite surprising as Walter de Silva's exquisitely sculpted compact exec looked amazing when it first appeared on our roads in 1997, and it still looks fresh today, especially as a Sportwagon, surely the last genuinely beautiful estate ever made (pass the tin hat).

If you're not sure about any of this, may we refer you to the pictures of this week's Shed, a fully mooed-up Sportwagon in a great colour and in the highly desirable Veloce spec.

It's a post-2003 facelifter too. There was a famous name behind that refresh: G. Giugiaro. Admittedly, not everyone thought that the result of his work (if there was any actual work done by the big man himself) was any nicer than the old 156. In all fairness, achieving that was a big ask. But taken in isolation there's surely no denying the essential beauty of the shape (puts extra tin hat on top of the first one).

This design is 20 years old now...

And that's without praising the wonderfully up-yours positioning of the front registration plate. Alfa's equivalent of the pop-up headlight is a trick that should never have worked. It doesn't on just about any other mainstream car, as a quick mental experiment reveals, but it does here. That's because the eye will always be drawn to the iconic V-grille, relegating the reg plate to its correct social status of miserable Government snooping device.

If your need for an estate stems from a desire to visit the tip on a weekly basis, you might be better off looking elsewhere. Driving this could well make you the most stylish tipper ever to park up by the Building Rubble Only skip, but you won't be transporting very much rubbish as boot space took second place to boot sexiness.

Besides having a more aggressive looking front end, these second-series 156s had fewer of the quality issues of earlier cars (another tin hat please). 156s of any vintage came with delectably quick steering. First time 156 drivers may find themselves hitting a few kerbs on turn-in. The sweet lightweight suspension components responsible for this trait are also responsible for the biggest ongoing expense of replacing them when they break. Which they will. Luckily the market is aware of this and has responded by making new wishbones quite cheap. Rear bushes go too, just like they do on BMW E36s. So do track rod bushes, which could explain the speed hump scrunching mentioned by the vendor.

Fingers crossed the other side does this too

Other potential gremlins? Not that many really (could someone please call the war surplus people?). If the dual mass flywheel goes, that will cost you. Same for any DMF-equipped car. Tyres can wear unevenly if the wheel alignment isn't bob-on, but an illuminated airbag warning light could be something as simple as an incorrectly-sited cable under the seat.

Forget all that boring reality though. It'll be great to drive and, sitting behind that smoochy steering wheel, you'll feel good about your place in the world. This 'Wagon is a diesel, which for some Alfa diehards is a bit like spooning baked beans into Heidi Klum, but what you lose in fizzy petroliciousness you gain in gruntly thrunge. Plus, the common-rail Fiat JTD diesel is actually very reliable (room for one more on top?). You do need to keep the belts and water pumps fresh though, as the apparently knowledgeable and condition-aware owner of this one has done.

Always good to see as well!

Generally speaking there's a good vibe emanating from this car and its advert. Any Shed ad that apologises for pin dents is worth looking into.

Mrs Shed is taking a strong interest in this one. She's always enjoyed a bit of Latin on the side, and we're not talking ancient languages here. Well, we are, but not the sort you might be thinking of, you dirty devil. Anyway, a sudden and mysterious headache is bringing this week's instalment to a close, so here's the ad.

Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagon JTD 16v M-Jet Veloce in Gabbiano Blue. 153600 miles and FSH. MOT to 6th August 2017 (no advisories on last one). Mint 17" Supersport Alloys. Many receipts for recent work included. Original handbooks. service book etc. In the last couple of months of my ownership the car has had the following:
All 4 wheels fully refurbished by Mint Alloys (still unmarked)
New battery
New driveshaft, seal and replaced gearbox oil
New Bluetooth JVC Stereo (original Alfa unit included with sale)
New coolant pipe and coolant top up
Air con regassed (no leaks)
New wiper blades front & rear
Rear bumper completely resprayed

Belt and water pump were changed at 133,000 miles. I would describe the bodywork as very good with no signs of corrosion however there are a few pin dents and scratches but only noticeable when close to the vehicle. I have receipts for lots of suspension work (that these always need). It drives really well but there is some minor scrunching over speed bumps but it's not too bad.

The interior is in excellent condition with very clean leather Veloce seats, everything electronic works including all 4 windows, trip computer and the climate control. The alarm can be intermittent so I now just lock it on the key to be safe.

It's a great looking fun to drive future classic and a rare sight especially the better looking Facelift models. It has gotten me a genuine 64mpg on a run to the Midlands and back and averages close to 50mpg in mixed driving and school runs. It's a 13 year old Alfa however and it's not mint, but for Shed of the Week money it's a very good example with a cracking diesel engine, an excellent interior, loads of history and is one of the best looking wagons ever made.

I look after all of my cars, and despite buying this as a workhorse, I have kept it running as well as I can. Selling as need something larger for work now. Test drives and viewings are encouraged in Hitchin.

[Spannerski]

Very tempting.
If only it were petrol

[Mr E]

Spannerski said:

Very tempting.
If only it were petrol

With the correct v6

[cornersonrails]

I (extremely) briefly entertain the idea of these every time I'm looking for a tipmobile, but then reality sinks in and, as Shed says, I have to look elsewhere. I would feel bad filling up the boot of one in this condition with rubble sacks!

I seem to remember reviews at the time stating that the load capacity was less than the saloon's (below the window line, I assume)?

[Mr E]

cornersonrails said:

I seem to remember reviews at the time stating that the load capacity was less than the saloon's (below the window line, I assume)?

Something like that. I described it as a "5 door coupe" or similar. Certainly not large.

[anonymous-user]

cornersonrails said:

I seem to remember reviews at the time stating that the load capacity was less than the saloon's (below the window line, I assume)?

Less than the saloon with the seats up, I think. Once you put the seats down there is more room. I think that was the same for a few estates though?

[hornetrider]

Amazing value. The facelift really looks well too.

[Dave Hedgehog]

Mr E said:

Spannerski said:

Very tempting.
If only it were petrol

With the correct v6

this

[M1C]

Lovely.

My stepad owned a 2001 Y 1.8 TS Lusso for a while...it was a great car. He started getting cold feet about the whole Alfa 'is it going to bork' thing..and sold it on after a while. I checked the MOT history recently and he needn't have worried, it carried on for years (and another approx 100k miles) after he sold it (although i think it's gone now)

Lovely car...and i actually much preferred it to drive than my 2001 320i!

[Captaincheese]

That looks extremely tempting. A pretty rare sight on our roads these days and very easy on the eye.

[rxe]

I bought one of these for £380 a few months back. OK, mine is 3 years older, but has the 2.4 10v engine (very tough), and is not a facelift which I think looks a lot better. I did 3k miles in it for the cost of an aux belt and a rear engine mount. I'm planning on some power increases, so have gone on a major overhaul programme (clutch, DMF, coilovers, ARBs, limited slip diff, everything made of rubber in the suspension replaced). If i hadn't been planning on messing with it, it would have soldiered on with just a good service.

[Krikkit]

The facelift 156 is a really fabulous-looking thing. Lovely shed, even with a horrid engine.

[Vitorio]

Mr E said:

Spannerski said:

Very tempting.
If only it were petrol

With the correct v6

At least all engines are at least somewhat correct, all italian and fairly alfa-specific.



Love these cars, i ended up with a 147 myself, but a properly sorted 156 certainly is very high on the want list, i cant help but think the design has hardly aged, if it were up to me, alfa could take these back into production with just some updated electronics.

[mnx42]

Very, very pretty car to these eyes.

[M1C]

I prefer the pre-facelift but yes, its very nice indeed.

[SturdyHSV]

They just keep getting better looking, it's an excellent design. I ended up with a V70 for tip / dog / moving duties as I couldn't face stacking fence panels and general st on to that lovely leather.

It would have set very well next to the 147 on the drive, so pretty

[Twoshoe]

God, I can't believe the design is 20 years old!

[hedgeperson]

I've the GTA version of this. Unbelievably quick car. I absolutely love it.

For a grand, this is stupidly cheap. They're nothing like as frail as folks make out.

Cheers,
Hedge

[rxe]

Mr E said:

With the correct v6

I'll admit to owning several of these in the various variants.

GTA SW 3.2
GT 3.2
156 2.5 saloon
156 2.4 SW

We've also got a 159 20v diesel and a 155 12v v6.

Of course, the V6 is the best damn engine ever made in a car that cost less than £40K, The 2.5 sings beyond about 3000 rpm, the 3.2 is a bit more circumspect about spinning up, but all hell breaks loose at 4000.

So if I have several V6s, why did I bother with a diesel? Simple - on a long haul motorway drive, it is a better car. At 70 my old 10v diesel is doing 2000 rpm not 3200, and you can hardly hear it. With the diesel you get all the Alfa positives.... and 48 mpg if you are sensible. I've been recently handed a short term 70 each way commute. The GT 3.2 was costing £120 a week in petrol .... the diesel costs about £60.

[SwissJonese]

Such a pretty car, but yes needs the V6

[sjabrown]

Is this the best looking shed to date?

If I wasn't in Germany this week I'd be heading south to look.