Alfa Romeo 145 Limited 500 1.9 JTD in 1999

An Alfa Romeo for the common man that was the basis of the 145 when it was first launched. It was a concept which worked brilliantly with the Alfasud in the Seventies but went disastrously wrong with the 33 that replaced it. When the time came to develop that car’s successor, the 145, the Milanese engineers knew they couldn’t afford another mistake. To their credit, they took an adventurous route, creating an unusually styled three-door hatchback that appeared in late 1994 and was a direct hit with traditional Alfa fans.

Its reliability and build quality, however, made it just as popular with those new to the marque. The 145 offered buyers a wide choice of four-cylinder engines. These were initially the traditional ‘boxer’ type, carried over from the 33 range. Quieter and more powerful Twin Spark engines followed soon after, however, and were introduced across the line-up.

Then in 1999, a special edition 145 was released, just 500 units and all turbodiesel power. This is however sold in left hand drive version and so no cars came to Malaysia. For the used buyer, any 145 basic unit makes an interesting and sensible buy with prices hovering between RM5,000 to RM9,000 for the 1.7 Cloverleaf.