1995 Alfa Romeo 145 16v review from UK and Ireland

Very little in 5 days!

Exhaust back box has a hole in it.

Engine lumpy at tick-over. Just needs a good service!

Alarm doesn't work.

Gear change is very sloppy, but that is due to gear cables being worn. Bit expensive to replace at £50 a shot.

This is the first Alfa I've owned, and I love it.

The car was bought at auction for £280, as the garage that owned it last went bankrupt, so it was an absolute steal!

The exterior was covered with decals, and with it being a works vehicle, the interior was really grubby and oily.

With a bit of elbow grease, the body work has polished up very nicely, and the insides are very hard wearing.

The boxer 1.7 makes a great sound, and likes to be revved hard to get some go out of it. At 70 the engine's doing about 3500 rpm, which is a bit high, considering the red line is at 6500.

I was quite surprised to find the engine being longitudinally mounted and driving the front wheels (i.e. old Saab model style).

I'm getting about 40mpg, which is real good, I though it would drink fuel, so this is a nice surprise. Usually Alfas have a knack of bad electrics, but so far (Touch wood) nothing has gone really wrong apart from the alarm going off after being set.

Inside, the car is quite airy and light, and things are fairly close at hand.

It's taken a few days to get used to the 'Italian' driving position. Knees bent, arms stretched, but it's still comfortable.

Steering wise, it's pin sharp, it's nice to feel what the wheels are doing, and not being left feeling-less, like my old Saab.

The ride is quite hard, so you do feel a lot of bumps and holes, and the car leans when cornering hard, but that's down to a possible sports kit, that may have been fitted.

Overall, I'm very pleasantly surprised, and have grown very quickly to love the car.