Alfa Romeo 147, Sports Hatchback

Alfa Romeo 147, Sports Hatchback

Alfa Romeo has a reputation for building stylish cars with plenty of sporting character. In the fading years of the 20th century, however, the wonderful character was often marred by less than acceptable build quality. Fiat taking over the reins of the famous marquee seems to have fixed most of the old problems without destroying the traditional flair, if the crop of Alfa Romeo beauties launched here since 1998 are any indication.

The Alfa Romeo 147 compact hatch arrived in Australia in 2002 with style and good looks that raise it above less inspired models. On appearance alone the baby Alfa, with its cute retro nose and sensuous shape, is a standout. Alfa Romeo's 147 range consists of 3-dr and 5-dr models, all with a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, twinspark engine mated to either a 5-speed manual or semi-automatic Selespeed gearbox. Pricing in August 2003 stretched from $38,500 to $42,500.

Alfa Romeo's Australian importer -- Ateco Automotive -- launched the rip-snorting 147 GTA onto the market in August 2003. It gets big daddy 156 GTA's fire-breathing 3.2-litre engine, a six-speed manual gearbox and bucketloads of aggression. At $59,990, this hyper-charged hot hatch is about as affordable as European prestige performance gets.

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