Alfa, The Practical Fashion Accessory
Newcastle Herald
Saturday July 29, 2000
FINALLY, the waiting is almost over. On Tuesday Ateco Automotive's Alfa Romeo Australia division officially launches its latest arrival, the 156 Sportwagon.
As the name suggests it is a sporting station wagon and the first Alfa Romeo station wagon to go on sale in Australia since the 33 all-wheel-drive in the mid-1980s.
Alfa Romeo Australia went ballistic with new models when it opened for business just on two years ago.
Two GTV coupes (a pleasant 2.0-litre, four-cylinder version and a hairy-chested 3.0-litre V6) and a convertible Spider (a drop-top version of the 2.0-litre GTV) were followed by the 156 sedan.
The former European Car of the Year came with two engines (2.0-litre four and 2.5-litre V6) and three transmissions (five-speed manual, five-speed Selespeed clutchless sequential manual and Q-System auto) and paved the way for Alfa's executive car, the 166.
In the past few months the company has gone for consolidation rather than expansion but the 156 Sportwagon was hard to resist.
Based heavily on the 156 sedan the wagon retains its style while adding to its versatility.
The sheetmetal is identical from the nose back to the B-pillar but has new rear doors to cope with the transition from smooth sedan to sleek wagon. And rather than maintaining a standard width front to back the Sportwagon tapers markedly towards the rear.
The one-piece tailgate is a clever piece of work. Set some 300mm into the trailing edge of the roofline and swinging upwards, it offers a reasonably generous opening without taking away any load space.
The door design incorporates a rear wing that has a seal fitted to stop rain running along the roof and over the rear window. When the wing is needed for high-speed stability the seal lifts, allowing full airflow around its surface.
While it is obvious the 156 Sportwagon will be a worthwhile fashion accessory at resorts everywhere, the company says it has designed the car to be practical as well.
The interior features tie-down hooks and spring-loaded netting to hold small objects against the sides of the rear panels.
There are two fully-lined lockers on either side of the boot and the boot floor is reversible with carpet on one side, washable plastic on the other.
The retractable luggage cover has two security net systems, the rear seat has a 60/40 split/fold feature, and a through-load feature means long items can be carried while the two outside positions of the back seat are occupied.
Standard equipment levels are, as expected, fairly comprehensive with central locking, power windows, alloy wheels, automatic air-conditioning, CD player, anti-lock braking (with electronic brake-force distribution) and front and side airbags standard.
Alfa Romeo will have two versions of the car available, both with identical trim levels and both powered by the 114kW, 187Nm, 2.0-litre engine. But there will be one important difference ? the transmission.
Buyers will be able to choose between the `normal' five-speed manual transmission and the clutchless (actually a computer-controlled clutch) sequential Selespeed transmission.
Pricing starts at $48,500 for the normal manual model and $51,500 for the Selespeed, both cars showing a $3600 price premium over their 156 sedan equivalents.
* NEWCASTLE Alfa Romeo dealer Paul Skewes Prestige will debut the 156 Sportwagon on Saturday, August 12 from 10am-2pm.
Light refreshments will be served and members of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club will have classic and current Alfas on display.
© 2000 Newcastle Herald