1999 Alfa Romeo 166 2.0 TS review from UK and Ireland

Bought second hand. Some minor niggles at time of sale, all fixed by the local (non-Alfa) dealer at no charge:

Both front sidelight bulbs were out and are an Alfa dealer-only item - Alfa dealer was very slow to supply.

Handbrake/brake fluid sensor faulty.

Heated seat switches broken.

Since then:

A very intermittent fault with central locking.

A part from the fuel management system went faulty and had to be ordered from Italy. We had a two week wait with the car off the road.

Squeaky steering column - still there.

Looks great, though I'm still not sure about the nose - it would look better with an Alfa 147 style front end. Even so, in the right colour (mine is metallic red), it looks stunning - much nicer than anything in its class. I must admit, though, I've seen it in blue and green and it doesn't look half as good.

Enough power for decent performance, though we'll definitely go for the 2.5 or 3.0 V6 next time.

Handles well, though not keen on speed bumps.

Brakes are fantastic.

Very comfortable and just sitting in it puts a smile on your face. Alfa have pretty much solved the quality issues of the past and the cabin just oozes style (I wish I'd got leather though).

Rare enough for exclusivity - you see people looking at it, obviously thinking, "What is that?". You don't get that with a Beemer!

Horrendous depreciation means it is not a good buy new, but makes it a great used buy. We got our two-year-old 166 for less than half the price when new.

Can we have it in rear-wheel drive next time!