Alfa Romeo's 159 makes it

THE red-blooded Italian maker’s replacement for its 156 sedan, the 159, made its Australian debut last week at the Melbourne motor showahead of its mid-year release.

Revealed alongside the 147 JTD, which also made its Australian motor showdebut after becoming the first diesel-powered Alfa to arrive here, the Giorgetto Giugiaro-designed 159 features an all-new chassis, body and powertrains, including a 191kW 3.2-litre V6 and 136kW 2.2-litre four-cylinder – both with continuous dual variable valve timing.

A common-rail 2.4-litre JTDM five-cylinder turbo-diesel engine offering 147kW and a gutsy 400Nm should also become available, as should Alfa’s new Q4permanent AWD system.

A high level of standard safety features and equipment will be part of thepackage, including traction and stability control, cruise control, rain-sensing wipers, automatic climate-control and a 10-CD sound system, plus power seat adjustment, a folding rear seat and push-button starting.