Giving the Alfa 147 'a good lash'

I missed the famous Hannibal Run in which Irish journalists participated to bring home the Alfa Romeo 147.

It was with some envy I read on Irishcar.com's updated journal every day of their progress.

So you can imagine my delight when I got the opportunity to drive the new European Car of the Year here before anyone else.

I immediately decided I'd do my own Hannibal Run - down through Kildare, Wicklow and Wexford and back again to Dublin - and that was just for starters.

I might as well admit here and now I showed little respect for the car's reputation. There have been one or two strange European Car of the Year choices in the history of that particular award. As far as I'm concerned the accolade should be for something special.

Alongside that consideration was my concern that Alfa form, ever a delight, and Alfa substance, something the 147's predecessors lacked, were commensurate.

So I gave this test car one hell of a lash.

The roads may not have had the winding quality of the Hannibal Run but you can take my word for it these were a match for most. They were tight and unforgiving routes, muddy, rutted in parts and deceptively undulating.

I've coined a phrased for the worst of these. I call them bruisers - sudden vicious dips in what appear to be smooth roads. At speed you think the car has been hit by a sledgehammer.

On a subsequent run I hit one, full square. It was such a cruncher it registered as a collision and the car's computer monitoring system promptly cut off the fuel supply as a safety precaution. Yet it never flinched thereafter and showed no ill-effects of what was a real bone cruncher.

On test I had the 3dr 147 with an energetic 120bhp 1.6-litre Twin Spark engine. (Is there a better 1.6-litre anywhere? I recently had the 1.6 for a couple of days in the 156 and was mightily impressed.)

The more I drove, the harder I drove, the more confidence the car gave me. Handling is everything on this sort of test. It is hard to define. You need to amalgamate so many apparently contradictory forces: if your suspension set-up is excellent at coping with up and down pressures (bumpy roads for example) it may lack vital solidity/elasticity on the sort of sideways forces exerted when cornering.

When you get the mix right you are on the right road (sorry for the pun). It gives you that feeling that the car will behave in a certain predictable manner under different gradients On this test the further I drove the 147, the more I trusted it. I'd wait that bit longer at braking coming into corners; I'd drive it longer and harder in third and fourth gears. It's called energetic driving.

At the peak of this drive it was taking a hammering in its stride. Some of the roads - I diverted onto some great examples - were truly terrible. Hannibal would have taken a detour.

On my return journey - the main road from Wexford to Dublin - I got sort of bored. No twists, turns, bumps or grinds. I just let it run its course as indeed most people probably will. A pity. It is a driving car that shows why it narrowly won the European award.

Of course the styling helped. Dramatic, bold, Alfaesque with a front grille that forms the visual focal point. Come on, let's be honest here, many, many people will buy it for those sort of reasons. It has all the hallmarks of a classic creation. Driving it as I, and those lucky Hannibal Runners, did is more likely to be the exception than the rule for a lot of buyers.

But there will be a significant number who will want to know they can get what we did if they want it. And I believe they will.

The 147 is, therefore, for those who want something different but the good news is they will not have to pay heavily for the privilege. The 3dr starts at just £16,800 on-the-road. On the face of it that may look like a lot for a 3dr hatch. But, I think, that is to miss the point. This is a new-niche small executive/sporty motor that has been made and -cleverly - targeted at a section of people who like something trendy, modern and stylish.

The reason I gave it such a hammering - during and after the stint I've just described - is that many previous Alfas have attempted to meet that three-way need of looks, performance and build quality in some shape or form and failed to live up to expectations. The 156 is the major exception. It is already a classic and deservedly so. The 147 is based on a shortened 156 floorpan.

And that is why I can say the build and driving energy are there to go with the 147's design flair. This is the new Alfa.

Another reason I call it a small sport executive is that they have put in a lot of equipment. I would say it more than measures up to what many small executive cars provide.

Incidentally, on subsequent drives, the 147 never put a foot wrong and it took a hammering, believe me.

I had just one reservation. The interior handles on the doors are pitched too far forward; I could not get the sort of easy leverage to open the door that I would expect. A small thing, yes, but not if you are getting in and out twenty or thirty times a day.

Five-door versions will be here in May and that should not be a problem with them as the front doors will not be as long.

Rear seat room is just about alright; not great but nothing to seriously complain about either.

That's not a bad 'minus' total after a test. I'd usually have a few more whinges.

Maybe I was impressed with the overall behaviour of the car and how it put old Alfa fears to rest.

As I said, prices start at £16,800. Standard equipment includes anti-lock brakes, Electronic Brake Distribution, Anti-Slip Regulator which keeps the wheels from spinning and slipping; two front, two side and front and rear window airbags, air-conditioning, an 8-speaker audio system that includes a CD player, leather-covered steering wheel, headlights that can stay on to show you to your front door, central locking and electric front windows.

There are three trim levels - Standard, Sportivo and Lusso. I drove the latter. It costs £17,800 on-the-road. It has 15ins alloy wheel rims, bizone air-conditioning, cruise control (not needed at all and the one unnecessary expense I could detect), audio controls on the steering wheel and boot-mounted CD multi-changer.

Here's to the next Hannibal Run.

ALFA PRICES

The Hannibal Run (Dec 00) - Brian Byrne

Giving the Alfa 147 'a good lash' (Feb 01) - Eddie Cunningham