As a motoring journalist I get to drive between 75 and 150 cars a year. All are good, and all have a place in the market, but the vast majority of them are just – well, cars. Open the doors, sit behind the wheel, push down the go pedal and wait for your destination to be delivered to you on a rather boring platter.
Most are very efficient, but not a lot of fun. My personal yardstick, subjectively, is how much I ride my motorcycle during the week or so that I have a test car. Give me a Blandmobile 1,6 auto and I’ll ride my bike at least half the time, even if it’s raining. I’ve had the Alfa Romeo 156 JTD for a week now, and I haven’t even looked at my beloved Triumph Sprint 955i.
Stylistically the 156 is pure classic Alfa. Look at the cabin area from the outside, with its old-fashioned chrome door handles and you could be back in the early ’70s. Peep at the dash with its retro-styled recessed dials and the time journey is complete. But the two-door appearance is false — the door handles for the rear passengers are tucked away in the uprights, and the mechanical and electronic components are right up to date.
At the heart of the Alfa is an in-line five cylinder 2,4 litre diesel engine, equipped with a single overhead camshaft and two valves per cylinder — good for a strong midrange. Huffing and puffing life into this unit is a Garrett turbocharger with a variable geometry turbine that allows high torque delivery even at low revs, and the resulting 305 Nm of grunt at just 1 800 rpm means that this is a seriously driveable car.
Power too is healthy, with 110 kW available at 4 000 rpm. The output is good enough for a top speed of 212 km/hr, and a 0 -100 km/hr time of 9,4 seconds. That isn’t particularly quick, but the Alfa does what it has to do in such style that it feels much quicker. The five cylinder engine growls away fiercely, and throttle response is pretty well instantaneous in any gear. Gearchanges through the five speed manual gearbox are crisp and tidy, with the drive being delivered to the front wheels.
The Alfa gives razor sharp feedback on the road, which is what makes it so much fun to drive. Point it, squirt the gas and hang on, and the car lets you know exactly what’s going on all of the time. I found the car so involving to drive and the sound effects so enjoyable that I hardly ever turned the radio on — a very unusual occurrence for me.
Spec levels are high, with the Alfa offering a radio/CD player with steering wheel controls, a climate control that didn’t work as well as I’d have liked, central locking, electric windows and mirrors, and dual front and side airbags to go with the ABS and traction control. But none of that really mattered to me. I’d love this car with manual windows, no spare wheel and a paraffin radio. Highly recommended at R239 000.