Alfa Romeo 145 - little big Italian
They are passionate enthusiasts who can endure a lot and forgive even more in the name of love and the object they love. They know what they love and they devote themselves to their passion with care. As a rule, they do not allow us to say a bad word about the object of their desire, and when this object of desire also fails them, they can reasonably explain each of its imperfections.
What's more, they can make this imperfection an attribute of the car that distinguishes it from mass competitors. Alfaholics, people addicted to their Alf Romeo, who are ready to jump into the fire behind their cars.
More than once I was accused of focusing excessively on the disadvantages of Alfa Romeos and insufficiently emphasizing their advantages. Normally in such a situation I answer that I do not create such a reality, I only describe it. However, this time I will try to focus only on the attributes of the model that make so many people love it. Not a wink about any design defects and imperfections. Those interested will "find it out" anyway, because honestly, they won't even have to look for too long.
The 145 model is a three-door hatchback with an extremely characteristic, typical for Alfa Romeo, bump. He made his debut at the Turin Motor Show in 1994, where he was received incredibly warmly. Anyway, the warm welcome should come as no surprise - after all, the "Centro Stile" studio under the direction of Walter de Silva was responsible for the exterior design. The 145 model was to replace the structurally outdated Alfa 33.
Aggressive silhouette, with aggressive and characteristic for Alfa front and dynamism visible in almost every inch of the vehicle won him many admirers. The trademark typical of Alfa Romeo is skilfully integrated into the front apron. In the side line, the attention is drawn to delicate embossing and the rising line of windows, giving the car a sporty character.
Alfa Romeo 145 was built on the platform of Fiat Tipo, the car of 1989. Measuring just over 4 meters, the car provided a decent amount of space inside for four passengers. The 254 cm wheelbase, however, made it the most pleasant to travel on the first two seats.
The interior is finished in a typical Alfa Romeo way - sporty, comfortable seats, a nice small steering wheel, simple and legible indicators. After modernization, round air inlets appeared, which emphasized the originality and sports image of the car.
Initially, the 145 model had four engines, three gasoline engines and one diesel engine under the hood. The 1.9-liter diesel provided the car with 90 HP and ensured sufficient performance. However, for true fans of Alfa, the boxer type gasoline units were important - mostly dynamic and great-sounding, albeit at odds with the economy of operation.
The 1351 cm3 motor is sometimes labeled differently - 1.3 l V or 1.4 l 8V. It generates 90 HP and provides the car with sufficient dynamics - almost 13 seconds to 100 km / h is not a revelation. The 1.6 and 1.7 l units deliver 103 and 129 hp respectively - they provide the car with decent acceleration, and the more powerful unit can even accelerate a small Alfa to 200 km / h.
In 1997, on the occasion of modernization, all boxer units were withdrawn from the range of power units and replaced with modern sixteen-valve Twin Spark engines, equipped with two spark plugs per cylinder. The new units marked with the TS symbol (1.4 l - 103 hp, 1.6 l - 120 hp, 1.8 l - 150 hp, 2.0 l - 155 hp) not only provide the car with better performance, but also handle the fuel more gently and perform better in terms of reliability. A year later, in 1998, the excellent JTD diesel engine, using common rail technology, also appeared under the hood.
The Alfa Romeo 145 is first and foremost an extraordinary car: it looks great, reasonably spacious, drives well, but also not without flaws, and in versions with boxer engines, it is often capricious. Nevertheless, the 145 model has a special place in the hearts of Alfa Romeo enthusiasts, and this is largely due to…. the capricious character that gives this car its soul.
