I had a late, facelift 156 SW (with the 2.4 20v engine, that lives on in the 159). It was ace. Not that practical as an estate, but a lovely place to be, especially with the electric Recaros that mine had. It was over 100k miles when I changed it, never broke down, only real problem was a turbo pipe splitting (not expensive to change) right before a service, and it was driveable, just not as quick. My mate with a similar age/miles A4 Avant had a string of problems, including his aircon controls dying and needing expensive replacement as it was out of warranty. So much for brand reputations.
Almost replaced it with another Alfa, but the 159 is a size up (has far more room for passengers and luggage, but way more than I needed), the 147 too old, the Mito too small. As and when I have kids, a 159SW might be on the cards.
I've had enough italian cars to know that all the pub "car expert" talk about them being unreliable rustbuckets may have been true once, but not for a decade or two at least. Even my Ducati Monster started first time yesterday after 6 weeks of being left outside under a cover. It's not a heart or head decision any more!