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In hearts of many drivers Alfa Romeo always has a special place with their specific design, great performance but also with occasional flaw. Every true Alfa Romeo enthusiast claims that Alfa Romeo is a car with a soul. Alfa Romeo 156 achieved a noticeable success with close to 700 000 units sold and few years later its successor came out the Alfa Romeo 159.Alfa 159 is a typical Alfa and even someone who doesn’t know much about cars knows which car this is on first sight.
After almost four years of work, numerous tests and 900 million Euros invested, Alfa Romeo 159 saw light of day. Platform is closely related to 156 but still this sedan reminds us of their biggest model the 166. Specific front end with deep chromed V grill in combination with three round headlights and fog lights give 159 that aggressive look. The whole front end exudes power and it really looks impressive; with this car Alfa Romeo proved that they are at the top when it comes to design.
Compared to its predecessor back door handles are not hidden anymore and they are at the usual spot, back end is redesigned but it still has that Alfa look. It is 23 cm longer, 8 cm wider and 7 cm taller than 156 with wheelbase extended by 10 cm. Everything is at its place and it is really hard to find a flaw.
Dashboard contains speedometer and tachometer (RPM gauge) without any fancy elements. Massive center console has that aluminum look and it’s curved toward the driver.
It is very effective and beside audio and AC commands it contains additional ventilation vents as the three gauges for fuel, temperature and turbo pressure.
You have great overview when sitting behind wheel, although tall back end obscures our back view. Luckily Alfa 159 comes with parking sensors so parking shouldn’t be a problem.
Alfa Romeo 159 platform is developed in cooperation with GM and it is shaped to allow driving over different terrains with minimal pressure on the body maximizing contact between wheels and surface. Alfa Romeo emphasizes handling, in other words 159’s command reaction, precision and great stability with maximum noise reduction. 150 crash tests, numerous simulations and seven air bags resulted in maximum 5 star safety rating.
There are three gasoline engines; 1.9 JTS with 160 HP, 2.2 JTS with 185 HP and 3.2 V6 that produces 260 HP. There are also three diesel engines; 1.9 JTD with 120 and 150 HP and 2.4 JTD that produces 200 HP. All engines come with six speed manual or automatic transmission. It seems that Alfa 159 continues with recognizable Alfa spirit of strong character and enhanced sporty elegance.
