Exclusivity, style and emotion. All words that relate to one of the world's greatest names in automotive history: Alfa Romeo. 

The Milanese marque's philosophy does not only limit itself to blood-red sports cars. Alfa Romeo has an equally fine history in producing high-class Gran Turismo's and luxury 'berlinas', and what is more this tradition lives on to this day. These particular Alfa's are special, aimed at people who have unadulterated taste and a true understanding of beauty, culture and value.

Meet the latest addition to this exclusive Alfa Romeo stable: the Nuova 147. As the name suggests, the model is an evolution of the original Alfa 147, launched in 2000 and winner of the European Car of the Year award in 2001.

The Alfa 147 was a fantastic car from the outset. It's styling, on the one hand, which drew unashamedly from one of Alfa Romeo's most glorious cars, the 6C 2500 Villa d'Este by Carrozzeria Touring, attracted global attention. To top this, the car came with class-leading equipment levels and a price tag which hugely undercut it's most direct rival, the Audi A3.

The Alfa 147 marked a huge step forward for Alfa Romeo in terms of build quality, and the mechanicals have proved highly reliable. It is also an involving and pleasurable drive, offering the right balance of sportivity, charm and comfort for everyday use.

Alfa Romeo had a great basis therefore on which to 'improve', if that is the correct word to use. You see, the Alfa 147 was a wonderful car anyway. So what has changed on the new model?

Exterior
The most obvious differences to the onlooker are external. Centro Stile have refined the design by adapting the front to incorporate a new grille reminiscent of the Nuova 166 and Nuova 156 facelifts.

Large headlights also play an important role in the car's new frontal makeup. Similar in form to those presented on the Italdesign-Giugiaro Visconte at the Geneva Motor Show last March, the headlights now offer better night-time performance, especially when combined with the new Xenon option.

The indicators and mistlights have now switched position, with the indicators now logically housed within the headlight module. The mistlights are now positioned in the outer extremities of the bumper intakes. Interestingly (obviously a safety feature), the mistlights cannot be activated together with the main-beam headlights.

The new bonnet and wings fit better then ever before. Panel gaps are amazingly uniform, a detail which highly inspires confidence in the car's build quality. The front wings now have clear-lens indicator repeators sourced from the luxury Nuova 166 flagship model.

From the side, little has changed, a fact which is understandable with any facelift for reasons of cost. The range does, however, have a new assortment of alloy wheels and wheel trims. 
  

 
17" alloy wheels already offered in the original 147 range were fitted to the car that we tested, and they suited the new style reasonably well. However, the new 16" multispoke alloys are even more flattering, designed with the facelift specifically in mind.

Interestingly, in order to transfer costs elsewhere, the passenger door key hole has been removed. A part which, quite frankly never got used on the old model, due to the standard remote central locking.

Now for the rear end, and the car's most substantial external improvement. The tailgate has been totally re-engineered, and is now weightier and better built than that of the older model. It shuts with a quality sound, rather than a flimsy clunk and inspires far more confidence in the car's quality.

Other changes to the tailgate include a reallocation of the Alfa Romeo badge, now sitting prominently on a slight swelling without the unnecessary grey plastic surround left over from the flip-up badge days.

Larger rear light units in the tailgate section cunningly give the car a fresh look, despite the outer units being carried over from the old model. A subtle chrome strip along the bottom completes the assembly, and helps protect the paintwork from scratches caused by opening the tailgate when dirty.

Another notable improvement is the rear bumper design. Now far cleaner in form then before, the shape relates to that of the handsome Bertone-designed GT Coupe. The exhaust silencer is also somewhat better hidden then before, and a sporty unpainted black-finish diffuser-type touch has been added to the bumper lip. The latter was perfectly complimented by a generously sized stainless exhaust tip on the model that we tested. 

Perhaps as a gesture of sporting goodwill, the Alfa Romeo stylists have included a removable section on the right-hand-side of the bumper for an additional exhaust outlet. Next to this is a neat flap in order to access the tow-hook, an element which was much more visible on the older model.

Also noticeable is the new material used for the guttering strips in the roof. On the original 147, these were colour-coded and had the habit to lift at the ends, either due to aerodynamics or torsional body twist. Now, these are unpainted and appear to have a different material which seems less prone to lifting.

Interior
Wow. What a difference. The materials and finish in the high-spec version we drove wouldn't have shamed a Maserati sports coupé. An Alfatex finish on the dashboard gives a superbly soft and expensive-look. A real "up-yours" gesture to the hard plastic used on the Volkswagen Golf V dashboard. But then again, this is an Alfa, designed by people who have a passion for beautiful things for people who have a passion for beautiful things.

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