Alfa Romeo has undoubtedly caught up with the competition. The design of Alfa 156 clearly emphasises extravagance of the car in its class. Harmonic lines of its bodywork that combine tradition of the company, modern trends, obvious membership to the family, big windows and nicely soft sedan back have at the moment not many even competitors. Famous Italian design school has once again confirmed its competence and effectiveness. All those who still doubt about the efforts and inventiveness of the designers have to take another look into details. Chromium-plated latches on the front doors are similar to those on 1954 Giulietta, while latches of the rear doors hidden behind the window frame give this sedan resemblance to a coupe. Characteristic triangle at the front of the car requests the register plate to be mounted on the bumper on the left-hand side. All features just mentioned are novice's exclusivity and a warranty to the driver that he drives a perfect car that leaves nobody indifferent.

The passenger compartment is a mixture of sportsmanship and convenience. The impression of excellence is disturbed by too much plastics and by the fact that even a moderately toll person bumps with the knees into door latch and central console. Due to albeit interesting solutions in the passengers compartment like the form of the right-hand side of the dashboard with the drawer the feeling of tightness is even increased. There is surprisingly lot of plastic material built into the car of this price, at least on the door panels some more textile or leather could be put, now there is some only as a sample.

The test car had additional equipment (front fog lights, effective air conditioner, "sport 1" package (including: steering wheel and gear change lever knob in leather, lower shock absorbers, 16-inch rims with wider tyres, pre-installation kit for mobile phone, black background of the gauges, ski bag with the rear central armrest) and leather seats of good quality (provided by Slovenian "Air base"). Basic outfit includes ABS, power windows and power mirrors, two airbags, an outside temperature-meter and a central lock but without remote, so the key has to be used.

Attractive features are luxurious outfit, pleasant but somehow too big steering wheel, that is adjustable in height and likewise the driver's seat, only a little bit too long gear change lever that is soft enough and at hand, mounted slightly slanted (like in some old Alfas), pleasing and clearly visible gauges and good and well gripping seats. A driver might have some problems when parking as the back of the car is not visible and the exterior mirrors offer a limited view (like at Opel Vectra), all these suggest that the designers should sometimes give preference to the functionality versus the design. A negative list includes also the quality of fabrication, namely in the car given for testing we have experienced high vibrations on the gears that were louder than the engine. As this did not happen in other Alfas 156 we had driven before, I think the problem is negligent final fabrication.

The interior of the car is also not one of its strong points. There is enough room for legs of the passengers in the back provided that in the front the persons are not so tall. Compared to Alfa 155 the luggage compartment is smaller too, however its upholstery is of good quality. So the car is not typical family car, as it is more suitable to families with smaller children. Those who cannot tolerate this can choose among other models of the same corporation.

Excellence and overall delight are the right words to describe the engine and the chassis. In this respect the pole position of Alfa Romeo among competition is proverbial already. The engine, transversally mounted in front, is an excellent example of sporting and ecological 4-cylinder aggregate, with modern injection electronic unit, good catalysator and manual 5-speed gear change with perfect transmission ratios. In addition to that there is anti-thief electronic blockade of engine with the code key. The engine's elasticity and cultivation within whole range is astonishing, the aggregate runs easily even over upper limit (in red area). At the same time on highways it offers enough power that it can satisfy also more demanding driver that needs no looking around for bigger aggregates.

The chassis is perfect and fits well the sporting engine. Independent wheel arms with stabilisers on front and rear axles provide for very neutral position on the road, usually small corrections with the steering wheel or the foot off the accelerator are all what is needed to hold line. The brakes are also efficient enough, even when the car is full. So, Alfa 156 is able to compete with its rivals in the middle class, offering a lot for the money, particularly as far as its outlook, performance and active safety (excellent driving features) are concerned. As for its weaknesses, I am pretty sure the real "Alfisti" will not care about them.