General:

The best thing about the car is of course the power. My engine is a bit lazy. But still fast enough to beat almost any normal production car at traffic lights. What's even better is the acceleration power when passing cars. Really goes fast from 80-130... And the sound..... What I like about the car is the great design. I think it looks very good, furthermore it's also practical. I often put down the rear-seats to move stuff friends cannot get in their car. I once moved a 4 person leather couch this way. I also like the alloy rims with the holes near the tires. I think they really finish the car. The thing I hate most are alfa 33's with rims with spokes. Totally ugly.
The interior looks good too, although I think they could have used better plastic for the doors, this damages very easily. The dashboard is very good. I think the clocks are very good readable and I just love the way it looks at night. I've driven in a lot of cars, but this is one of the most beautiful dashboards I've ever seen

Pros:

It does not have the spoilers and other stuff which I do not like.
Great car for busting Opels and VW's at traffic lights, especially because they think it is a slow alfa, since it does not have all the spoilers and stuff.
Sound of the great boxer engine especially at high revs.
When I drive it it feels part of me unlike some other fast cars I've driven. However I think you should own an Alfa to know what I mean.
When I pick up my grandma I am able to drive normaly without the car getting jumpy on the gas, unlike many other cars with this kind of power.
Seeing the way I drive it I think the fuel consumption is good I drive about 10km with one litre and on the highway I get approx 1:13.

Cons:

I seem to have problems when racing at the lights to shift from 1 to 2. Also when going from N to 1. Fixing the synchro rings should to help, but then again it's not broken (yet). I really hate the brakes, or actually the non-brakes...
Seats are a bit small for my back, I do not seem to fit properly into them.
My car has been a bit expensive in maintainance.
As soon as I am on holiday in Italy Italians at gas stations try to hoax me.
The trunk does not close properly.
Not all details are finished properly.
There no good space in the trunk to fit the CD-player and the locker in the dashboard is very small.
Once you've driven an SZ it doesn't please as much anymore...

Why did I buy it:

Before this car we owned a Toyota Corolla. It was crashed and we wanted a car with more power. We test drived an Alfa 33 1.3 and really liked it. As we were about to buy it I stumbled by accident on the 33 16V I own now.
It was almost as cheap so we test drived it (burning a lot of rubber) and decided immediately to buy it.

Problems

I bought it when it had done 87.000km (mostly highway) and it has now done 163.000km. our problems were:
2x a flat battery, once due to shortage in the rear window heater The startmotor, dynamo, powersteering pump, waterpump and steeringhouse rubbers have broken down and have been replaced.
The usual exhaust holes (3x) The hose from the fuel pump to the engine broke.
Right now I have some problems with my right window, but usually a hit on the door does the trick.
I already have had the Alfa logo from the car stolen 4x now.
Finally I once parked the car on a lightpost and recently somebody parked his car in my door. Both have been fixed though.. Everytime I have to pay for the repairs I hate the car. As soon as I leave the garage, sit down and start the engine this hate changes to love. I just love driving this car.

Future

One day we will part. When we do I am not sure which will be my next car. I like the 155/156 but where does one leave the dog when there are people on the rearseats. So maybe it will be the 145 2.0QV which seems nice to. But maybe I will become a sinner and buy a non Alfa. This will be a Subaru Impreza 555. A real boxer engine and enough power to beat a porsche and maybe even a Ferrari at the traffic lights (0...100km in 5.5 sec)

Copyright © 1997 Antonie de Kok