Age Overtakes Alfa Sprinter

Newcastle Herald

Saturday October 1, 2005

Brent Davison

I HAVE to admit to a love of feisty, small-engined cars, especially those that fall into the "hot hatch" category.

Why? Simple, really. I just like to hear those highly strung engines at work producing a sound somewhere between strained fart and fingernails dragged down a blackboard.

I live to feel those 2.0 litre dynamos pulling for all they are worth and I just can't resist the pinpoint accuracy of the steering and suspension.

Hand on heart, I can honestly say I would walk past a V8 thingummyjig to drive a Renault Sport Clio, a Mini Cooper S, a Citroen C4 VTS or a Volkswagen Golf GTI.

Or an Alfa Romeo 147. Even the entry-level, base model, Plain Jane, cheap-as-chips (if you call almost $36k plus on-roads cheap) three-door with manual transmission that we tested recently.

Yes, yes, I know we've tested 147s before (and we'll test one again soon after getting close and cosy with the ballsy 147GTA recently) but this one is the latest model, complete with external and internal revisions designed to make it different.

They do, sort of, but the plain fact is that it is hard to make a 147 look any sweeter than it was when it first came here.

For Alfa Romeo the problem was that 147 had been around for some little while, so to make it more of a stand-out it was given a more aggressive face with a revamped front bumper/spoiler combo, new headlights (complete with slit-eyed, ready-to-pounce mien) and a strong new shield-shaped grille which was also lowered slightly. A sort of in-your-face face.

New stuff at the rear, too, with revised tail lights, trims and bumper, while very big and very purposeful 17-inch alloy wheels and low-profile 215/45 sports tyres complete the external package.

Inside? Like the outside, not a great deal has changed but the devil is in the detail with a revised instrument panel with improved graphics (thank you, Alfa Romeo, no longer did I have to squint at the speedo to see by how much I was breaking the law) and, overall, slightly better-quality plastics.

What has not changed, though, is the 2.0 litre (OK, 1970cc), four-cylinder, double overhead camshaft, twin-spark engine, more's the pity.

Not that there is a great deal wrong with it and, really, who among us can complain too loudly about its 110 kilowatts at a peaky 6300rpm and 181 newton metres (at 3800rpm) torque peak?

Just that there is better and those of us who have tried the bigger 156 sedan (which platform shares with 147) with its JTS 2.0 litre know what it is I am talking about.

This little gem delivers up a thoroughly enjoyable 121 kilowatts at 6400rpm and 206 newton metres at 3500rpm and, if 156 is any indication, would bring a big transformation in both urge and smoothness to 147.

Come on Alfa, we're waiting!

The reality is, though, that 147 is not exactly short-changed by the Twin Spark engine (which has, as its name suggests, two spark plugs for each cylinder to promote a full fuel burn) and can be hustled along quite nicely thanks to the close-ratio five-speeder that connects the engine to the front wheels.

But things have changed a little in the marketplace since the 147 burst onto the scene just on four years ago and rival manufacturers are now showing that, for similar dollars, they can out-punch the Italian welterweight.

Golf GTI, for example, packs a 147 kilowatt, 280 newton metre wallop with Renault's Sport Clio weighing in with 131 kW/200 Nm and Peugeot's 206 GTI calling on 130 kW and 202 Nm. Even BMW's Mini Cooper S can drag 125 kW and 220 Nm into the argument.

To counter the power attack Alfa Romeo Australia has dropped the pricing on what is effectively its "Mark 2" 147, pulling between $2000 and $3000 from the price and bringing our test car (pre-onroads and options) down to $35,990 from the $38,990 charged just a few months ago.

Mind you, what the Alfa gives away to its rivals in power it more than makes up for in style. There is just no arguing the fact that 147 is still a sweet-looking car.

(And, of course, with petrol priced the way it is, 147 owners can always play the social conscience card.)

There is also no arguing the fact that you can drive the backside off the thing and it will come back asking for more.

Better yet, all the electronics loaded into the 147 (it boasts vehicle dynamic control and automatic slip reduction as well as anti-lock brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution) refuse to become intrusive.

Sure, they are working because you just know that the little jigger could not go that hard if it didn't have the electrickery but there are no flashing dash lights, no warning chimes and no sudden power loss because an electronic brain thinks it knows better than you do.

This second iteration of the car also gets a minor suspension rework which extends to increased damper travel with altered rebound rates and revised spring rates.

The effect of the changes is quite noticeable. Where the previous model had a tendency to suspension firmness and a willingness to simply bump and jump into and off the undulations it could not soak up, this new car is more inclined to feel the road and absorb those undulations, especially on our poor-quality B and C roads.

It is still firm but has a more sophisticated feel to it and carries that through to its cornering abilities which seem to have moved just a frag up the scale.

Overall cornering feel and balance is just that little bit better, the car a little more "chuckable" and, by extension, a little more fun to drive. Those inside the car who are not behind the wheel might not appreciate 147's new-found abilities but hey, what the hell?

Inside, the 147 is a case of "familiarity breeds content" because the car is little changed.

Which means the pedal/wheel/seat relationship is still good and the controls are still in all the same places. It also means the oddly shaped exterior mirrors are still more cosmetic than practical, the cruise control stalk is still operated by Braille, the audio controls are still small and fiddly and the swing-away centre armrest still gets in the way (yes, I know, I should just leave it permanently swung away).

In many respects, though, the 147 is showing that, while it might not be past its use-by date, it is getting close to it and while upgrades to chassis and equipment are welcome they cannot over-ride the effects of automotive middle age.

Rival manufacturers are out-punching the Italian welterweight.

ALFA ROMEO

147

PRICE:

$35,990 (not including dealer or government

charges or options)

DIMENSIONS

Length:.....................................4223mm

Width:.......................................1729mm

Height: .....................................1442mm

Tracks (front/rear):..1512mm/1509mm

Wheelbase:..............................2546mm

Weight:........................................1250kg

ENGINE/TRANSMISSION:

Fuel-injected, 2.0 litre, inline four-cylinder

with double overhead camshafts, four

valves per cylinder, variable valve timing

and two spark plugs per cylinder. 110kilowatts

at 6300rpm, 181newton metres of

torque at 3800rpm. Five-speed manual.

CHASSIS:

Front, transverse engine, front-wheel drive,

power-assisted rack and pinion steering,

four-wheel disc brakes with anti-lock,

electronic brakeforce distribution and

traction control, 17x6.5-inch alloy wheels,

215/45WR17 tyres.

SUSPENSION:

Independent double wishbones, coil

springs, telescopic dampers and anti-roll

bar front, independent MacPherson struts,

coil springs, telescopic dampers and antiroll

bar rear.

FUEL TYPE/CAPACITY:

95RON/60litres

FUEL CONSUMPTION:

9.7l/100km

© 2005 Newcastle Herald

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