ALFA ROMEO 156 GTA REVIEW

Charismatic and hair-raisingly quick, the 156 GTA offers plenty of performance for the money. Here's what to look for if you're looking to buy..

The 156’s curvaceous lines, appetite for a good corner and the weight of expectation brought by wearing an Alfa Romeo badge meant it was only a matter of time before press-on drivers were treated to a proper sporting derivative.

Launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2001 and introduced here in May 2002, the GTA dropped the manufacturer’s sonorous 3.2-litre V6 behind the 156’s V-shaped grille, deploying 247bhp to the front wheels. Developed alongside the smaller 147 GTA – with which it shared its engine – the 156 GTA represents value for money, considering they weighed in at a hefty £27k when they were new.

It may have had a wider track, lower ride height and revised steering geometry than the rest of the range, but it’s still a driver’s car dominated by the nose-heavy – but wonderfully melodic – powerplant.

Sadly, its production stint was short-lived – both it and the 147 GTA were canned in 2005 when the 3.2-litre V6 was unable to meet emissions regulations.

VITAL STATISTICS

ENGINE                      3179cc/V6/DOHC

POWER                       247bhp@6200rpm

TORQUE                     221lb ft@4800rpm

MAXIMUM SPEED        155mph

0-60MPH                    6.3sec

FUEL CONSUMPTION  23-30mpg

TRANSMISSION         FWD, 6-speed manual

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Check the water pump

The V6’s coolant is circulated by a plastic impellor, which is known to split and then fail altogether with age. Replacing it is a tricky – and expensive – job that requires removing the cambelt, tensioner and idler pulleys, so check through the history to see if a previous owner has replaced it. Switching the GTA’s plastic part with the metal one from the GTV is a common swap.

Has the cambelt been changed?

It’s recommended the belt is checked at 36,000 miles and replaced completely at 72,000 miles, but as it’s not an easy part to access some owners hold out for longer. It’s a similar story with oil filters – it’s awkward but not impossible to get at, but make sure previous owners haven’t neglected changing it.

Try that clutch

Clutches tend to last at least 70,000 miles, but replacing them is a fiddly job that involves taking out the front suspension and subframe to get access. A car that’s had the work done is a plus, but if you can’t find proof then check for a heavy pedal feel or a biting point that’s very high up. A worn clutch slave cylinder will also manifest itself through pedal feel, but it’s a cheaper and easier fix.

Is it a track day car?

The GTA’s rampant performance and affordability mean there are plenty that have been thrashed at track days. On cars made before November 2003 – which are fitted with 305mm front brake discs – brake juddering will often indicate whether the car’s had a hard life. It’s also worth listening for creaks or knocks from the front suspension, which is usually a anti-roll bar sliding around due to worn bushes.

Has the bonnet been fixed?

Both the 156 and its 147 sibling were issued with safety recalls due to failing bonnet catches, which can cause the bonnet to fly open at speed. Check the car’s history to see whether a dealer’s looked at your car in the past – early ones had a plastic catch, and while the later metal items are better it didn’t completely eradicate the problem, so make sure the bonnet closes properly and that it’s been greased regularly. In very rare incidents, the roof may have been damaged as a result of an errant bonnet – check for signs of rust around the top of the windscreen.

OUR VERDICT

Unlike its primarily German opposition – and mass-market rivals like Ford’s Mondeo ST220 and Vauxhall’s Vectra GSI – the 156 GTA majors on charisma. You’d never tire of listening to the noise the 3.2-litre V6 makes or the trouble Alfa goes to with the visual details, like the chromed inlet manifolds, the 17-inch teledial alloy wheels and the individual dashboard pods for the instruments.

It’s a charismatic sports saloon that rewards a fastidious owner – there is no point in skimping crucial servicing because some of the parts are tricky to reach. It’s also in the price doldrums at the moment, so now’s the time to buy one before prices start going up.

Alfa%20Romeo 156

ALFA ROMEO 156 REVIEW

As beautiful as its 155 predecessor was plain, the 156 marked a turning point in Alfa Romeo’s fortunes. We consider how best to buy one of these appreciating new-wave classics...

Alfa Romeo began something of a renaissance in 1997. After years in the doldrums with the likes of the Six, 75, 33 and the awful Arna, the company positively blew the car industry’s collective socks off when it whipped the covers off the new 156.

As visually arresting inside as it was out, the car went on to achieve worldwide sales in excess of 680,000. More importantly, it re-established Alfa Romeo as a brand to be trusted. Its 159 successor may have looked more imposing, but it lost the earlier car’s delicacy. 

VITAL STATISTICS

ALFA ROMEO 156 2.0 TWIN SPARK

Engine                                    1970cc/4-cyl/DOHC

Power (bhp@rpm)                  155bhp@6400rpm

Torque (lb ft@rpm)                 138lb ft@3500rpm

Top speed                                129mph

0-60mph                                   8.3sec

Consumption                           36mpg

Gearbox                                    5-speed manual

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

BODYWORK & CHASSIS
 

Walk away from any 156 that displays even minute evidence of body rot, as all models were galvanised at the factory. Crusty 156s, therefore, have almost certainly sustained heavy accident damage at some point and then been poorly repaired using cheap pattern parts.

It’s worth looking underneath, too. Veloce models, in particular, have slightly lowered suspension which brings the underside into sharp contact with the road on even moderate dips
– make sure yours isn’t scuffed and dented.

Finally, those stunning lines are thanks in no small part to gently curved doors that are completely bereft of protective strips, meaning car-park dents are commonplace. Don’t expect miracles, but repeatedly nerfed doors will prove costly to repair.

ENGINE

Alfa Romeo offered buyers a wide variety of engines, ranging from a 1.6-litre Twin Spark, all the way up to the glorious V6 petrol. None is be particularly troublesome if they’re serviced and maintained properly, although Twin Sparks do appear to use a little more oil than is usual.

Check the car’s history for evidence of cambelt changes. Initially, the factory recommended that this be done every 72,000 miles, but this was later revised down to every 36,000 miles. Like many other cars from the period, this job inevitably disturbs the water pump, so it’s advisable to have it changed for a stronger one with a metal impeller at the same time.

In terms of performance, the V6 is the one to have if money is no object. But the pick of the range is definitely the powerful and sonorous 2.0-litre Twin Spark. Of the lesser engined cars, the 1.6-litre is
much nicer to drive than the slightly strangled-feeling (and sounding) 1.8-litre.

RUNNING GEAR

The trick with buying an early 156 is to keep it simple. Manual gearboxes and clutches, while hardly bulletproof, are nevertheless impressively strong, with sympathetically-driven cars routinely managing 100,000 miles between clutch changes. Front-wheel drive chassis are similarly not prone to catastrophic failure, although the heavy-engined V6 can feel nose-heavy and understeery.

Super-cheap 2.0-litre 156s are almost always Selespeeds, whose sequential paddle-shift gearboxes were endlessly problematic when new and are prohibitively expensive to repair now. It’s a similar story with the rather less common Q System auto offered as an option on the V6, and while the super-rare Q4 four-wheel drives don’t have quite the same reputation, repair costs are pretty much guaranteed
to be very high if something goes wrong.

INTERIOR

The 156 may have been built to a much higher standard than previous models, but they’re as prone to trim and electrical gremlins as any Italian car. To be fair, these are usually minor irritants rather than full-blown disasters, so don’t be too surprised to find that poor radio reception on very early cars improves markedly if the heated rear screen is switched on, the fusebox cover to the right of the steering wheel routinely drops open or the vent panel on top of the dashboard rattles when it’s cold. The air conditioning system often produces a less than icy blast even on its coldest setting, too. More seriously, it’s imperative that the warning lights on the dashboard go out shortly after start-up – stubbornly glowing engine management, airbag or ABS warning lights can signify big bills looming under the bonnet.

OUR VERDICT

Body and mechanical condition is key to early 156s – find a good 1.6, 2.0 or V6 manual in a desirable colour(ideally on teledial alloy wheels), and you’ll bag a stylish and reliable youngtimer with strong performance and handling. Honest cars should be resistant to rust, and owner’s club and parts specialist backing is strong.