Alfa Romeo 166

Alfa Romeo 166 at a glance

Its suspension used wishbones at the front and a multi-link axle at the rear, and the range was built around V6 engines from the Busso family. Alfa Romeo never matched the sales it hoped for, even after the 2003 facelift. Other models of the brand are in our Alfa Romeo catalogue.

Generations and model history

The 166 had one generation, but its engine list changed twice: once for Euro 3 in 2001 and again with the September 2003 facelift.

• Model years 1999-2000: launch range with the 2.0 Twin Spark, 2.5 and 3.0 V6, the 2.0 V6 turbo and the 2.4 JTD.
• Model years 2001-2003: Euro 3 versions; the 2.0 TS drops to 110 kW (150 PS) and the 3.0 V6 to 162 kW (220 PS), while the 2.4 JTD gets 103-110 kW (140-150 PS).
• September 2003: facelift shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show, with a new nose in the style of the revised 156, chassis and interior changes and a new engine range. The 2.0 V6 turbo, listed only for the early model years, is no longer offered, a 3.2 V6 with 177 kW (240 PS) becomes the top engine and the diesel becomes the 2.4 JTD M-Jet.
• October 2005: right-hand-drive sales end.
• June 2007: production ends. In September 2008 the platform was sold to China's GAC Group.

Engines, gearboxes and performance

The 2.0 V6 turbo was built mainly for Italy, where engines above two litres were taxed more heavily. The 2.0 TS used a five-speed manual, and the 3.0, the 2.0 turbo and the 2.4 JTD a six-speed manual. The 2.5 and 3.0 V6 could be ordered with the Sportronic automatic, which cost about one second to 100 km/h on the 2.5 (9.5 s instead of 8.4 s). After the facelift, the 3.0 was sold only with Sportronic, and the 2.0 TS and 3.2 V6 got six-speed manual gearboxes.

The M-Jet diesel of 2003 had a second-generation common-rail system with up to five injections per cycle and 1,400 bar, plus four valves per cylinder. The JTD was praised for its refinement, but it was only sold in left-hand-drive markets. Our power converter translates the outputs between kW, PS and hp.

Dimensions, space and practicality

At 4.72 metres the 166 is 60 mm longer than the later 159 on the same 2,700 mm wheelbase. The sources we used do not give a boot volume, so we do not quote one.

Fuel economy and running costs

Official consumption figures are not included in the sources we used. The main running-cost issue documented for the 166 is depreciation: in August 2009 Autocar named it Britain's worst-depreciating used car, keeping 14.4 per cent of its original value after three years. For a buyer today, that history means low purchase prices, but the V6 engines are large-capacity petrol units. Estimate your costs with our cost of ownership calculator.

Trims and equipment

The top Super trim had MOMO leather, 17-inch alloy wheels, rain-sensing wipers, cruise control, climate control and the ICS (Integrated Control System) with a colour screen. Xenon headlights, GSM phone connectivity and satellite navigation were options.

Safety

We did not find a Euro NCAP result for the 166 in the sources used for this article, so no star rating is given. Compare modern results in our safety section.

Reliability and known issues

The documented problems of the 166 are commercial rather than mechanical. Without a diesel in right-hand-drive markets, it struggled to win company-car buyers in the UK, Ireland and Australia, and right-hand-drive sales stopped in October 2005. We found no sourced list of typical faults, so we do not repeat anecdotal claims.

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