ALFA 159 SPORTWAGON ADDED TO THEIR ‘LIFEBLOOD’ RANGE
12 June 2006 - Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo are banking on their new 159 range breathing fresh life into the brand’s fortunes in the UK.

The UK has in recent years become the major under-achiever for the Alfa brand in Europe.

The all new 159 range, which has replaced the 156 line-up, will be their volume selling models are the introduction of these ‘lifeblood’ models is being supported by a £6.5 million marketing budget to re-establish Alfa Romeo as a premium brand. The 159 introductions started in February with the arrival of the four-door sports saloon. This was followed by the Brera 2+2 sports coupe in April and now the arrival off the five-door Sportwagon in June. The long awaited ‘halo’ model, the Spider convertible, is scheduled to be with us in July.

Alfa Romeo say the 159 range should give the once famous brand real impetus to improve its total UK annual sales in the short-term from 6,400 units last year to 8,000 units this year.

Alfa Romeo UK see 2006 as a period of consolidation following years of decline in the UK, 20 per cent down last year, which made the UK Europe’s worst market for Alfa Romeo. The lack of direction from the former Alfa Romeo UK management, lack of new products, lack of investment and disillusioned dealers all combined to cause the decline.

With a new UK management board, more marketing money, new models and a refocused dealer network new managing director Christopher Nicoll said, “Our targets are realistic and modest and our ambition is to achieve around a 0.7 or 0.8% share of the UK car market in the future. Initially around 10,000 annual sales are the realistic target with the new models we have coming and these new products will deliver more growth for the brand in the UK.”

Damien Dally Alfa’s UK retail marketing manager said this week, at the launch of the new 159 Sportwagon to the media, that although supplies of the 159 had been slower than they anticipated to the UK they would still achieve around 3,500 saloon and Sportwagon sales and 2,000 Brera and Spider sales. The new five door Sportwagon would account for around 25 per cent of total Alfa 159 sales this year.

Sportwagon prices start at £21,095. They range up to £29,350 for the new 3.2 V6 JTS petrol variant with Q4 permanent four-wheel drive. The anticipated best seller will be the 1.9JTDM diesel Lusso priced at £21,995.

Dally added, “We think the demand by customers for both the 159 saloon and Sportwagon will be 75 per cent for diesel models and the 1.9JTDM MultiJet diesel unit would take the majority of those sales over the 2.4-litre diesel engine. Compared to the 1.9-litre petrol engine the 1.9 diesel unit only costs an additional £500, which is an important factor for company car users, fleet business and user-chooser customers who will account for 40 per cent of 159 UK sales. There is a £1,100 price premium for the Sportwagon over its comparable saloon model.”

Dally said, “The original 156 Alfa Sportwagon was a beautiful car which forced other manufacturers to offer stylish rather than just workhorse estate cars. The new 159 Sportwagon is still beautiful but it is more practical as an estate car. The estate market has changed and this sector has become trendy and used less as a workhorse being used by representatives and service engineers thundering up and down motorways. The Sportwagon is a lifestyle vehicle and buying an Alfa Romeo has always been an emotional choice but now it is a rational one as well. It will compete against estates from other premium brands such as the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes C-Class, Audi A4 and Saab.”

The 159 Sportwagon uses the same chassis, transmission and suspension as other 159 models. Over the previous Sportwagon it has more interior space, more headroom and an improved driving position said Dally. The luggage space has been increased by 445-litre, 24 per cent, and with the split rear seats folded down the capacity is increased by 5 per cent to 1,235-litres over the old model.

The Sportwagon is available in two specification levels, Turismo and the main selling Lusso versions. There are three petrol engine options, 1.9-litre 160bhp, 2.2-litre 185bhp and the new 3.2-litre V6 260bhp unit. This new high torque engine is from Fiat/Alfa’s partnership with GM and it is basically a Holden unit from Australia but developed, assembled and tuned by Alfa Romeo in Italy to retain its Alfa characteristics and famous engine note said Dally. It has an 8 per cent increase in power and an 11 per cent increase in torque over the previous 3.2-litre engine.

This unit is used in conjunction with Alfa’s new Q4 permanent four-wheel drive system which will be used on all of their models across their range where engines producing over 200bhp are fitted. The exception being the Alfa GT. The Q4 system, just being introduced, uses three differentials to provide the variable torque split between the front and rear wheels. In normal driving conditions the power split is 43/57 per cent front to rear.

There are two MultiJet diesel engine options, the 1.9-litre 150bhp unit and a 2.4-litre 200bhp version.

All models have use a new six-speed manual gearbox but a new automatic transmission will join the line up for selected models in the overall 159 range later this year.

Looks are always a subjective issue but I think the majority of us motoring pundits are impressed by the blend of traditional Alfa styling features and the new requirements for bodyshell design, safety and application. The Sportwagon carries on this good work as the rear load area looks as though it was always part of the overall design, not an add-on load box.

My only issue with it is the high-ish rear sill which does not allow flat floor loading access to the rear area. Items have to be lifted over the sill and down on to the lower floor. Not easy if you are going to use the Sportwagon as a load lugger. In truth this is very much a sports load carrier for golf clubs, shopping and so forth.

As far as the engine choice goes it’s very much the same story as the 159 saloons. No question about it the 1.9-litre diesel is by far the best option. It is fast, 129mph, quick, 0-62mph in 9.6 seconds but more importantly it has a huge amount of torque which makes it really responsive to drive. It’s quiet too. Fuel economy is good with nearly 40mpg recorded on our brief test route over typical Cotswold A and B roads so there is much more potential for long motorway journeys.

The diesel versions of the Sportwagon ride better as well. The extra weight dampens out any unsettled handling characteristics on poor road surfaces and the front end stays sharp and responsive. It is a well settled car even when pushed hard and because the handling is so good you can really drive it very hard indeed. I have to say given the dry roads we experienced during this week’s first drive event the two-wheel drive models felt better than the Q4 four-wheel drive version which didn’t really show us any advantages and seemed to sap the strength of the new V6 engine. The Q4 model needed to be worked quiet hard to even get you into the position of thinking the Sportwagon needs four-wheel drive. In different conditions such as rain, ice and snow then the Q4 might come into its own but generally it will be an expensive luxury, especially for fuel – under 20mpg on the same test route as the diesel version.

The interior, just like the saloon, it full of sports features with a good array of well positioned instruments. Most controls are in front of the driver and in the centre facia, which is canted towards the driver’s line of vision, and are really well positioned. Only the multitude of control stalks sited on the steering column, but masked by the wide spokes of the steering wheel, are difficult to use.

Rear legroom is a bit of an issue if you have grown up children to carry on a regular basis. With the front seats pushed backwards legroom is cramped.

Overall a good effort and a car which will receive recognition, and I suspect admiring looks, from other estate owners.

MILESTONES. Alfa 159 Sportwagon 1.9JTDM Lusso. Price: £22,995. Engine: 1.9-litre, four-cylinder, 16V MultiJet direct injection diesel with turbocharger and intercooler, 150bhp, 320Nm of torque from 2,000rpm. Performance: 129mph, 0-62mph in 9.6 seconds, 46.3mpg, CO2 162 g/km. For: Good looks still prevail, very safe, well equipped and only a £500 premium over the 1.9-litre petrol engine for this diesel version. Against: High rear sill difficult to load and unload bulky items over, limited rear seat legroom.

From Miles Better News Agency

www.alpharomeo.co.uk

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