Way back when BMW made the Austin 7 under licence, Alfa Romeo were making cars that won on race tracks and sports saloons that were the envy of other makers. Then, despite the odd flash of glory, the Italian company largely lost its way. The release of the big 164 saloon in 1988 changed all that, however, as the newly Fiat-owned company dramatically improved both quality and reliability, starting at the top of its range.
Buyers and the motoring media alike hoped the 164's smaller brother, the 155, released in 1992, would give the BMW 3 Series a run for its money. The purists who had had to eat their words when the front-wheel drive 164 turned out to be a great handler, wondered whether the first front-drive Alfa family-sized saloon would be just as entertaining. To a large extent it was, though sales, sadly, never lived up to expectations. Eventually, though, Alfa's range enjoyed success and sold in reasonable, if never spectacular, numbers.
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History
Succeeding the controversially styled 75, the 155 was deemed a great improvement. Despite a high-profile marketing programme, sales, however, were a lot less than they deserved to be. Alfa responded by releasing a thoroughly-redesigned 155 only three years after the original launch and these cars finally had the motoring press declaring that the Alfa revival had taken another, stronger step forward.
Build quality, performance, reliability and value of these facelifted models were all far superior to the original 1.8, 2.0 and 2.5-litre 155 range that had arrived in June 1992.
The mid-1995 facelift saw the adoption of flared wheelarches across the model line-up, as well as equipment upgrades including an alarm and an immobiliser.
The 1.8 and 2.0-litre four-cylinder engines kept their Twin Spark badging but these were, in fact, new designs, featuring 16-valve cylinder heads, in combination with two spark plugs for each cylinder. The design of the 12-valve 2.5 V6, on the other hand, remained virtually unchanged.
The 1998 Car of the Year, Alfa's all new 156, replaced the 155 in early 1998, with much fanfare and an even bigger leap in quality, handling and driveability. Though the 155 never sold in huge numbers, there should still be a good selection of 155 models knocking about the small ads.
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