Our test was blighted by incessant rain, hardly ideal conditions for a front-wheel-drive car with enormous torque, but despite this the 156 ripped to 60mph in 7.6 seconds. This is a mighty engine, one which puts its rivals in the shade: neither the 163bhp Audi A4 2.5TDi (8.9sec) or the BMW 320d (9.3sec) can live with that pace and their lower torque outputs mean it’s a similar story for in-gear acceleration. Here the JTD really hits its stride, storming from 40-80mph in fourth in just 8.7 seconds. Not only is that substantially quicker than the diesel competition, it also beats our favourite petrol-engined junior exec – the BMW 330i – over the same test by 3.5sec.
Out on the road the JTD is fantastically flexible. It’s a supreme overtaker, usually requiring no downchange before dispatching another dawdler. That Alfa Romeo has also managed to embellish this diesel powerplant with typical Italian brio is all the more remarkable. It sings lustily, with a lovely gravelly note typical of in-line fives, yet without any trace of harshness. Unfortunately, the revamp of the 156 doesn’t include any chassis modifications. Our Veloce-spec car had sports suspension, but the 156 simply doesn’t have enough body control. The car feels underdamped and unable to restrict its body movements to a comfortable level. Twice the nose grounded on relatively minor compressions. Strangely, sports suspension settings are identical whether there’s a 2.4 JTD or lighter 1.6 petrol under the bonnet. The plump 55-profile tyres promise good ride comfort, but despite the soft body control the ride is poor, the car juddering over transverse ridges or potholes and fidgeting over the smallest imperfections. The steering is the usual quick Alfa rack at 2.1 turns lock to lock, but it’s light, with little feel, and kicks back nastily over mid-corner bumps. Push really hard and things quickly get ragged, with pronounced understeer and lots of bump-thump from the suspension
