Facelifted Alfa 147 on sale for less

ALFA Romeo’s facelifted 147 hatch has gone on sale in Australia, brandishing a new look and a lower pricetag.

On sale now, the revised 147 range opens at $35,990 for the three-door Twin Spark manual – substantially less than the $39,500 sticker of entry-level model it replaces.

While five-door Twin Spark manual pricing of $37,490 is up on the $35,000 price at which the current version was sold during run-out, there are savings across the rest of the updated 147 range.

Selespeed versions of the three and five-door 147 are now priced at $38,990 and $40,490 respectively – down from their current prices of $41,500 and $42,500. The current limited-edition 147 Ti variant is discontinued.

The new range tops out with the 184kW V6-powered 147 GTA, which is not updated and continues on sale at $59,990 for the six-speed manual and $63,990 in Selespeed guise.

Apart from the GTA, all 147 variants continue with a 110kW/181Nm version of Alfa’s twin-sparkplug 2.0-litre inline four-cylinder, leaving a number of cosmetic updates to differentiate the new 147.

Aggressive new front and rear bumpers, a larger, repositioned Alfa Romeo shield and new front and rear light create the new 147 look, while 17-inch alloy wheels are now standard across the range.

Inside, there’s a new instrument binnacle housing new instrument graphics that claim to offer improved clarity and style. Softer-touch materials cover the dash, there’s the choice of two-tone colour schemes and the seats are trimmed in a new "premium" cloth upholstery.

A subtle interior redesign has also liberated a 15 per cent increase on boot space.

Underneath all this, 147’s suspension has been tweaked via longer-travel shock absorbers with Teflon-coated shafts, new (longer-travel) springs and revised rebound damping rates.

Alfa claims a new hollow anti-roll bar saves 1.7kg and improves resistance to bodyroll.

All 147s continue to offer, as standard, power windows/mirrors, an eight-speaker digital radio/CD player with steering wheel controls, cruise control, automatic dual-zone climate control and power door locks.

The same comprehensive safety kit continues, including six airbags, ABS, ASR traction control, VDC stability control and electronic brake-force distribution.

Two-litre 147 performance also remains unchanged, with Alfa claiming 0-100km/h acceleration in 9.3 seconds and a 208km/h top speed, while fuel consumption also remains the same at 7.0 litres per 100km on the highway cycle.

The facelift model replaces the original 147 hatch, which found 360,000 new homes between its global launch in October 2000 and September 2004, when the facelifted 147 was released in Europe. More than 4000 147s have been sold in Australia since 2001.

Alfa Romeo Australia general manager David Stone admits the greatest change to 147 is its new pricing.

"Inside there are many changes that augment the character of the 147, while under the skin, the revised suspension provides a more fluent andcomfortable drive for Australia's demanding roads, whilst not compromising its sporting prowess.

"But the biggest change to the Alfa Romeo 147 isn't in the car itself," he said. "It's on the price list. Despite all these changes and improvements, the Alfa Romeo 147 costs significantly less than when its launch captured the world's imagination five years ago.

"With an opening price of $35,990, the Alfa Romeo 147 maintains its unique combination of performance, style and ability matched to real value for money."