Alfa Romeo’s 159 is more than just another sports sedan. Like the 156 that rescued the brand from obscurity, it’s a revolution

The 159’s predecessor proved a giant leap in quality and reliability for a brand still dogged by the old ‘it’s an Alfa, it’ll break down’ mantra. Now the 159 goes further with a car firmly aiming the crosshairs at BMW’s 3 Series.

Over-ambitious? Maybe, but after a strop between Sydney and the vineyards of the Hunter Valley, I can confirm it’s not as ambitious as you might think.

The 159 is an all-new car based on an all-new platform, and originally developed with Saab before the Swedes decided it was too expensive. Also underpinning the upcoming Brera, 159 Sportwagon and Spider, it supports a substantially larger car that’s powered by four engines in our market — two petrols and two diesels.

Only two of those units were available at launch. The bulk of my drive was at the wheel of the 2.2-litre JTS, an engine new to Alfa and, at 136kW and 230Nm, one that offers more oomph than ever before. In this car, it was mated to a six-speed manual transmission (the Selespeed arrives in 2007).

The manual’s a sweet operator well matched to a smooth engine that is quiet when it needs to be, yet offers a keen aural note when you’re pressing on.The 1.9-litre diesel that also powers the 147JTD turbo will also be available. It uses multi-jet common rail injection and variable geometry turbocharging combining a 9.3-second 0-100 time with 5.9l/100km thirst in a six-speed manual (the auto’s available next year).

For our return trip to Sydney, we tried the 2.4JTD, a five-cylinder unit also with a common rail and turbo set-up and billed as the most powerful diesel-Alfa ever. The 400Nm of torque’s on tap at 2000rpm, but 90 per cent of it’s available anywhere from 1750 to 3500rpm — just as the 147kW arrives, at 4000rpm. Again, all this mumbo is beautifully matched to the six-speed manual (expect the auto next year).

Most of my drive was on the motorway, where the car proved eager to accelerate at almost any speed and in most gears — though sixth is cruise mode. It’s quiet, too, with an attractively deep, throaty note audible when revs rise. Otherwise you barely notice it’s a diesel, the typical lumpy idle unobtrusive even when standing still.

The 3.2-litre V6? GM’s world engine, and yes, an Australian Holden factory is one manufacturer of the unit Alfa hopes will replace its superlative predecessor. When it arrives in July, the all-new engine will offer more power than even the GTA, with 191kW at 6200rpm and 322Nm at 4500rpm for a seven-second, 0-100 sprint courtesy all-wheel-drive.

Certainly, my brief drive indicated body control is spot-on, the car proving neutral, the slight bias to understeer easily corrected. Steering is accurate and feedback is almost too good. Indeed, first impressions are only of a tad too much talking through the wheel and perhaps an over-firm ride, not unexpected from a sporting sedan.

I found the compromise acceptable, especially given the quiet ride. And I loved the looks; the Italdesign skin is sexy and the interior’s driver-focussed layout is handsome and well thought-out, though the metal expanse of the fascia in our test example was rather OTT.

Base cars get leather, cruise control, dual zone air, seven airbags (including a driver knee bag), a 10-CD stacker, a rear park sensor, ABS with EBA and EBD, VDC traction control, plus MSR and ASR, a full-sized alloy spare.

Alfa plans to sell shed-loads of 159s and hopes to sell 500 next year. Three hundred of those cars will be 159s, 150 of them the 2.2 diesel.

Over ambitious? I think not.

Specs

Engines: 2.2-litre four-cylinder, 16-valve petrol; 3.2-litre, 60-degree, 24-valve, V6, Q4 petrol; 1.9-litre, five-cylinder, 20-valve turbo-diesel; or 2.4-litre, four-cylinder, 16-valve turbo-diesel

Powers:2.2/3.2/1.9/2.4: 136kW at 6500rpm/191 at 6200/110 at 4000/147 at 4000; 0-100kph (2.2/3.2/1.9/2.4, claimed): 8.8/7.0/9.4/8.4 sec

Transmissions: Six-speed manual drives front wheels (2.2, 1.9, 2.4); six-speed manual drives all four wheels (3.2 V6); six-speed auto drives front wheels (2.2), six-speed Selespeed drives front wheels (1.9, 2.4)

Lengths/widths/heights/WBs: 660/1828/1422/2700mm

Track fr/rr: 1578/1555mm

Kerb weights: 2.2/3.2/1.9/2.4: 1490/1680/1535/1630kg

Prices: 2.2/3.2/1.9/2.4 manuals: $56,990/ $79,990/ $59,990/ $63,990