Alfa Comes A Winner

Remember Lisbon and the mega launch of the brave new Alfa? The 156 has outscored every other new challenger to grab the title of the European Car of the Year 1997. That puts to an end to the debate about whether the car was good enough to take the Fiat battle into the BMW terrain.

The all-new 156 features one of the best body styles ever to have come out of the Centro Stille studio of Alfa Romeo at Milan and borrows from the design clues of the legendary Alfas of the past. A range of engine options from a top of the line V6 thumper to a couple of twin-spark motors and an all-new diesel that benefits from common-rail technology are what make the Alfa Romeo 156 go. Impeccable handling traits and feedback that would satisfy any enthusiast make it a worthy successor to the benchmark sports saloons of the nineties, the BMW three series.

Fifty-five journalists from nine European countries voted to crown the Alfa. The other contenders in the race were the Volkswagen Golf which placed second, the Audi A 6 which managed third place, the Mercedes Benz A-class at fourth and the Citroen Xsara in fifth place. The infamous

Elk test and the resulting panic follow-up tests from all over the world took the title right out of the reckoning for the Mercedes Benz A-class, which earlier in the year had been predicted by many to sweep the stakes for this year.

But one has to admit that after choosing the innovative yet boring Renault Scenic as the European Car of the Year last time around, the scribes have proved that automotive enthusiasm has its say when it comes to building and selling automobiles. All credit to Roberto Testore and his team who went on to recreate the magic of Alfa Romeo with the 156 and succeeded in achieving that goal and something more. Way to go Alfa!