The Alfa Romeo 147 stands out in the small-medium hatchback market with its stylish rear and bold front. I looks more like a sports hatch than a simple family car. The 147 was designed by Walter de'Silva and Wolfgang Egger and received considerable praise for its styling on launch.
Steering is nicely weighted in the Alfa Romeo manner and the handling is very balanced. All the more impressive when you consider this is a front wheel drive family car. Even bumpy corners don't knock it significantly off line and it copes surprisingly well with Australian bush roads.
Unfortunately, the sporting heritage shows up in a rather cramped back seat.
Alfa 147 is available with a turbo-diesel engine as of a few years back. The 147 JTD is said to use about half as much fuel as the petrol version (i.e the 147 JTS), and still provides similar performance. It is notable that the turbo-diesel engine produces more torque than the naturally aspirated 147 GTA. The Alfa Romeo 147 hyper-hatch GTA has a huge 3.2-litre six-cylinder engine, firmer suspension, expanded guards with big 17-inch wheels and bold body kit. It's considerably more expensive than the standard models, but some feel it is worth the extra. It has a very muscular look.
The gearbox is built to handle plenty of torque (and the torque steer that goes with it) so gear changes can feel a bit soft at times.
The next Alfa Romeo 147 update is expected around June 2009. The Alfa Romeo 147 will be replaced in 2009 by the new 149. The Alfa Romeo 149 will go into production early 2009 and will probably be available in Australia late 2009. The new car will be based on the Fiat Ritmo (known as the Bravo in other countries), and may feauture multi-link rear suspension to better challenge the Audi A3, BMW 1 Series and others.
There is also speculation about a 4WD version of the new 149.
