- Doors and Seats
3 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
3.2i, 6 cyl.
- Engine Power
184kW, 300Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (95) 12.1L/100KM
- Manufacturer
FWD
- Transmission
Auto
- Warranty
3 Yr, 100000 KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
Espresso yourself
Good: A good time on every drive. Talks to you like few other cars. Beautiful V6, best played loud, with sizzling performance and long legs. Slick gearbox. Exceptional agility and balance. Point-it-and-it's-there steering. Grip. Powerful brakes. Great driver's seat.
Bad: Dislikes rough roads, where it gets agitated and nervous. Big bumps cause body and steering shake. Brakes need heat to work properly. Crash protection could be an issue. Torque steer around 4000rpm. Ride might be too hard for some. Large turning circle. Indicators sometimes don't self-cancel. A bit skinny on equipment for the money.
Verdict: The real Italian Job.
Stars: 4 stars (out of 5).
A sporty hatchback that puts 184kW to the road through the front wheels shouldn't really work. This much power, driving the pointy end, is usually a prescription for untidy handling, tenuous traction, delinquent steering, general mayhem and too much hard yakka on the driver's part.
However, Alfa Romeo's 147 GTA is an exception. Sure, there's some torque steer that tugging at the wheel which characterises powerful front-drive cars but it occurs in a narrow rev range, near the torque peak, and is easily controllable.
The plot goes somewhat to pieces on a rough road; this is true of Alfas in general. Find a smooth stretch of bitumen, with more corners than straights, and the 147 GTA is the best fun you'll have this side of a mega-dollar sports car.
Priced at $59,990, the 147 GTA features a similar mechanical upgrade to the 156 GTA released last year. However, while the 156 was designed almost as a pure track-day special, the 147 has been softened a little to make it easier to live with as an everyday drive.
A longer-stroke crankshaft in Alfa's 3.0-litre V6 engine takes capacity out to 3.2 litres. New pistons, intake and exhaust tract tuning, revised management programming and an oil cooler are also fitted.
The GTA's 184kW at 6200rpm and 300Nm of torque at 4800 are put to the road via six short, close manual ratios. A Selespeed transmission, also with six gears, will be available next year.
Double wishbone front/MacPherson strut rear suspension is heavily modified from the standard 147. It gets the usual lowered, stiffened, thicker stabiliser bar treatment, but goes further in virtually eradicating typical front-drive understeer.
Seventeen-inch alloy wheels are fitted with 225/45 premium rubber. Our car had Bridgestone S-02s; Michelin and Goodyear will also be fitted to local shipments.
Stability control, absent on the 156 GTA, is added to the 147. It can't be switched off, but the traction control can.
The 3.2 is a seductive engine, both to drive and to hear. It is responsive and flexible right across the rev range, assisted by short gearing, and will cruise along all day in the higher ratios. It pulls sixth from 2000rpm; at 100 km/h in sixth the V6 is doing 2400rpm. It starts to become interested at about 3000, then delivers the money at 4000, from where you have another 3000 silken, howling, glorious revs to play with.
The top-end note is deep, angry and addictive. Owners will be tempted to leave the GTA in the lower gears, to hear this sound again and again.
The fluid, precise gearbox has just the right amount of mechanical feedback; the clutch is light and progressive.
The zero-100km/h sprint takes 6.4 seconds, which, for the time being, makes the GTA the quickest hatch on the road.
In tighter, smoothly surfaced corners the Bridgestones' claw-like grip, the 147's exceptional balance and ultra-sharp, communicative steering complement each other to great effect. Stability control does not intervene unless you get into a bend at stupid speeds.
On rougher surfaces, the tyres still hang on but the hard suspension struggles and the GTA can become quite nervous and twitchy. Big hits cause the front end to bang and crash against the stops, which also shakes the body and steering rack.
Torque steer is a transient issue, across a couple of hundred rpm as the engine spins past 4000rpm towards it peak torque. The tugging at the wheel isn't particularly vicious. You'll do a bit of wheel-twirling when parking the GTA, though. Its turning circle is the size of a suburb.
Twin-piston Brembo calipers up front are a touch wooden when cold. They require some heat to perform at their best, where they are powerful and tactile. ABS and EBD are standard. The metal pedals, with rubber inserts, talk to your feet, but the accelerator and brake are quite close together.
The 147 GTA's suspension is more compliant than the 156, which has a billycart ride that only dedicated Alfisti could endure for long periods. The 147 is also pretty hard in town, but at open road speeds, as the suspension works through, ride comfort improves. It's not quite a GT touring car ride, but it's close.
Inside, the GTA is all darkness and intent, relieved by delicate chrome highlights. The front seats are comfortable and generously padded, with a long cushion. Substantial backrest bolsters hold you snugly under the shoulderblades. Tacky synthetic cloth is standard; black or two-tone leather (plus seat heating, firmer padding and a classic 1970s high-back design) is a $3500 option worth ticking.
More reach adjustment for the wheel is required for tall drivers, who have to push the seat right back to gain adequate legroom and are left with a straight-arm driving position that is not conducive to proper control. You also have to remove the rear-seat head restraints to get half a view through the small rear window.
The three-star Euro NCAP crash test rating is a bit of worry. The notes accompanying it state that the 147 (a base four-cylinder left-hand-drive model) did very poorly in the frontal impact, exposing its occupants to serious risks. It did gain maximum marks for side-impact protection.
The driver faces a heavily grained dash, deeply recessed instruments, with Benzina and Acqua gauges in the centre, and wands with fiddly twist-grip toggles. The blinkers occasionally fail to self-cancel.
Standard equipment is not quite $60,000 worth. The list includes automatic air (whose indicated temperature bears no relationship to what comes out of the vents), cruise control, a single CD-player, trip computer, remote central locking, an alarm, front, side and window airbags and minimal storage for bits and pieces.
Access to the rear seat is reasonable, and the driver's seat returns to its set position. The rear stalls are intimate, if tolerable with average-sized occupants up front. Tall passengers will be uncomfortable. The seat itself is contoured for two, has a long, supportive cushion and a fairly upright backrest. The side windows are fixed.
Boot space is average for a small hatch. The deep floor can be extended with the 60/40 split fold rear seat backs, and a net is provided. A space-saver spare is underneath.
The 147 GTA is pricey if you look at it as a small three-door hatchback. However, in terms of sheer enjoyment, pin-back-your-ears performance, a broadband connection with the road, and the full surround-sound hot-hatch experience, it's worth every cent.
Vital signs
Alfa Romeo 147 GTA
Engine: 3.2-litre 24-valve fuel-injected V6.
Power: 184kW at 6200rpm (best in class).
Performance: 0-100kmh in 6.4 seconds (quickest in class).
Brakes: Discs with ABS and EBD (excellent).
Economy: 10.6 litres/100km highway (average); 15-17 litres/100km city (above average; PULP).
Recommended retail: $59,990. Street price -- No deals. Limited supply.
Main options: Leather upholstery, seat heating $3500; metallic paint $950; xenon headlights $1500.
Warranty: Three years/100,000km (average).
Residual value: New model, no history.
Safety rating: 3 stars out of 5 (1.6-litre 147, left-hand-drive; Euro NCAP).
Alternatives:
Audi S3 -- $67,420
Volkswagen Golf R32 (due Feb 2004) -- $63,000.
Prices and details correct at publication date.