Insurance Group: 24
MPG: 53.3
CO2: 139
0-62 Mph: 8.8 secs
BHP: 170 BHP
Range: 821 miles
You are not going to get the high performance levels that many of the other cars in this class can offer, but with loads of equipment and features fitted as standard your money will feel like it is going a long way.
PROS: The Alfa Romeo is a good looking medium exectutive saloon car, both inside and out. And with the 2.0-litre diesel engine you get a good balance between performance, handling and efficiency.
CONS: This is a noisy car to drive, and despite the long bonnet making this a reasonably large saloon, there is disappointingly little storage space in the boot.
The 4 cylinder, 16 valve 2.0-litre diesel engine does offer buyers a nice, if slightly clumsy driving experience. The 170bhp delivered by the engine when revved to 4000rpm reaches the front wheels through a 6-speed manual gear box, and produces a torque of 266lb-ft at 1750rpm. That means that you get a fairly modest top speed of 136mph and acceleration capable of 0-62mph in 8.8 seconds.
One of the main sellng points of the Alfa Romeo 159 is its sexy looks. But you also get a pretty impressive list of equipment fitted as standard.
Of course as you would expect that includes power steering, electric windows and central locking. But you also get climate control, electric door mirrors, VDC stability control, cruise control and rear parking sensors.
With a choice of leather or Alcantara seats the interior is just as attractive as the outside, and there is some nice gadgetry included as standard too, with mp3 and bluetooth connectivity, plus a CD player fitted as standard.
The 159 also comes with both alarm and immobiliser, and has a full set of airbags for both the driver and passenger.
If you want to keep your running costs down then the Alfa Romeo 159 diesel is a very practical car to drive. At an average of 53.3mpg you will go a fair distance on each fill up of the 70-litre fuel tank. This also makes the 159 a pretty eco-friendly model, with CO2 emissions coming in at just 139g/km.
But if you often have a lot of stuff to carry around with you then you should be aware that the Alfa Romeo 159 does fall short compared to many other saloons when it comes to space, offering only a 405-litre storage capacity.
And then there is the fact that Alfa Romeo are not known for building reliable cars. Although having said that you do get a 3 year unlimited miles warranty, so for many buyers this may not be an issue.
At £26,650 the Alfa Romeo 159 Saloon 2.0 JTDm 170 TI 4dr is fairly priced. It looks like a much more expensive car, but doesn't offer the high performance that you can get within this price range if that is your priority.
The real value for money proposition for this car goes to drivers who put in a lot of miles, and who will undoubtedly save a lot of money on running costs due to the excellent efficiency that the 53.3mpg represents.
This is somewhat offset, however, due to the fact that Alfa Romeos reputation for less than perfect reliability means that resale values for this car are likley to be on the low side.
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