Mirage77

HAVE YOU EVER seen anyone travelling with designer luggage? Not just a handbag or backpack or even those wheeled cabin bags that trendy frequent flyers drag aboard the plane with them.

I’m talking about the steamer trunks and suitcases that are usually displayed at the front of an Hermes or Louis Vuitton boutique – the kind that comes with a five-figure price tag. These things take the concept of luggage to an art form with the finest leather and hand-stitching money can buy.

As lovely as these objects d’art may be, they’ll never survive the airport conveyor belt or being tossed by baggage handlers. Expensive, stylish but not entirely practical.

In many ways, this also brings to mind the Alfa Romeo Sportwagon. The previous model, the 156, was so stylish, it’s impracticality was almost celebrated as its maker made no secret to hide the fact that it could actually carry less luggage space than the sedan variant.

This time around, its successor, the 159 Sportwagon promises an increase in luggage capacity, by just 40 litres more than the 159 sedan, which carry a 405 litre payload. Nevertheless, style is still the Sportwagon’s highlight as the latest iteration is as sexy as ever with its sloping rear section and a distinctive front end.

Like the sedan, the 159 Sportwagon is powered by a 185bhp, 2.2-litre direct injection unit that Alfa calls JTS which stands for ‘Jet Thrust Stoichiometric’. A 260bhp 3.2-litre V6 version is also available and comes fitted with all-wheel drive but the lesser-powered version tested does with front-wheel drive.

Even so, few would have reason to complain about the 159’s handling as there’s plenty of grip to take advantage of at high speeds and its steering imparts confidence with lots of feedback.

Instead of a conventional automatic gearbox, the 159 is fitted with a six-speed semi-automatic transmission known as Selespeed. The latest version is Alfa’s best effort we’ve sampled so far. It’s still not as idiot-proof as an automatic, with an unavoidable jerk when it shifts from first gear to second. At all other ratios however, the 159’s gearbox is a smooth operator.

The gearbox works even better with manual overrides actuated from shift paddles behind the steering wheel or from the gear lever.

Another noticeable improvement is with the 159 Sportwagon’s equipmentlist. Even the base model tested comes with electrically adjustable front seats, a superb sounding sound system, trip computer, dual-zone climate control, automatic headlamps, auto wipers and cruise control among others.

For an extra $12,000 you can have the ‘Luxury’ model which adds Bose speakers, xenon headlamps and the Microsoft-developed ‘Blue & Me’ system which essentially connects to your Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone for hands-free operation.

The 159 Sportwagon may be good at many things – comfort, handling and above all, style – but practical it isn’t. Its luggage bay isn’t just small by estate standards, its loading sill is much too high for hoisting heavy objects in. The rear seats fold down to liberate more room of course, but your Golden Retriever wouldn’t be too happy with that sloping roof.

However, just as there are those who buy Sport Utility Vehicles without going off-roading, there’ll be folks who’ll be drawn to the 159 Sportwagon just for its styling, and room to put their designer luggage in…

- ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

--------------------------------

Sexy as hell, this!

Mirage77