2003 Alfa Romeo 156 GTA review from UK and Ireland

A sticking drivers side door handle was replaced at around 2,000 miles under warranty.

A slightly worn steering rack was replaced at 10,000 miles under warranty.

A rear suspension track rod was also replaced at 10,000 miles under warranty.

The steering rack replacement was a bit of a surprise both to me and the dealer - I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has suffered this problem.

At the same time it was discovered one of the rear track rods needed replacing after I had heard a fain knocking noise from the rear over rough ground.

The 3.2 V6 engine in this car not only looks sweet, but feels and sounds very sweet too.

The problem Alfa had to address is coming up with a platform to match the engine's performance; putting 250BHP and shed-loads of torque through the front wheels is always going to need careful consideration.

The Alfa engineers have actually done a mighty fine job. Given a dry road surface, the car always gives you the impression that all the power you need is available to use quite safely. Grip and stability are there in abundance when you need it in the twisty bits.

Of course, with all this performance there are always downsides and this car is no exception.

The fuel economy for a very enthusiastic driver is quite poor - expect around 15-18mpg if you like to constantly cane the car, but typical semi-urban driving can return a slightly more palatable 27-29mpg, which pleasantly seems to apply whether you drive sedately or with a fair bit of brio. Longer motorway cruising can return around 33-35mpg.

The other major downside for a car of this nature is the ride comfort at slower speeds (20-40mph) which can be harsh on our disgracefully bad UK B-roads. While the ride is nowhere near bone-jarring, you do feel every imperfection in the road through the steering wheel. Of course, that can sometimes be very useful if you're driving more enthusiastically and need to adjust your driving to the road surface quality.

The interior of the car is superb, attracting many comments from passengers, and I'm yet to come across anyone who doesn't like the car's looks, stunning yet understated as they are. The rarity factor is also quite nice.

To summarize, this is an awesome car for the enthusiastic driver who has just too much style to be a loony Imprezza driver, and too much individuality to follow the flock and buy a BMW 330. Good 'though both those cars undoubtedly are, they're just not Alfas.