Alfa Romeo 166

Alfa Romeo 166
by Sam Carson
The Alfa Romeo 166 is an illustrious member of the Alfa Romeo family, and the Italian automaker has kept this tradition with a long fruitful production period from 1998 to 2007. This executive class car has its own unique appearance that is synonymous with the Alfa Romeo line; the pointed nose and the drooping headlights. The 166 was the successor of the 164 which also possessed and stuck to its reputation of unorthodox features, which the automaker considers to be "corporate" in stature.This 4 door Sedan with an FF Layout, has a wheel base of 2720mm (107 inches), a height of 1416mm (55.7 in), a generous length of 4720 (185.8 in), and a width of 1810mm (71.2 in) making the Alfa Romeo 166 one of the heftiest Sedans on the market. But nevertheless, the 166 still received rave reviews for its handling distinctiveness, stylish designed exterior and the range of its engines.The four different types of engines that the Alfa Romeo 166 were available with at the time of production are: a 2.0-litre Twin Spark engine (155PS), a 3.0 V6 (226PS), a 2.5 V6 (190PS) or a V6 2.0 Turbo (205PS). Whereas the diesel engine came in a L5 2.4 10v common rail turbodiesel edition with a 136, 140, and 150 PS yields. The 3.0, L5 2.4 and the V6 Turbo were distributed with a six speed manual gearbox, while the 2.5 and the 3.0 had the choice of a Sportronic automatic, and the TS model possessed a five speed gearbox.The Alfa Romeo 166 had many problems with overall marketing and sales of the vehicle; in spite of its rave reviews, it was out done in sales by the stronger German made brands, and because of its immense depreciation factors in the UK. The car would be sold for roughly 30,000 British Pounds and its fall within a year would in the ballpark of a ghastly 13,000 British Pounds. It simply did not work out financially strong in the ending for its customers.And even though, the 166 underwent a substantial makeover in 2003, it was still withdrawn from the right-hand drive markets in October 2005, because sales of the car still didn't increase. A few markets kept the marketing of the 166 strictly to the company car arenas where it may still be well received, and where it built its standing.Even though with all of its highlighted shortcomings, the Alfa Romeo 166 still possessed its poise and grandeur of its lineage and will go on, and morph into something else, that is certainly to become another trend setter in the Alfa Romeo family.

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