Faults:

A lot.

Replaced the wipers and the gearbox was revised.

One time, I pulled the door handle off the car while opening the door.

At the end of its life with me, it used about a 1L of oil every week.

I had the big wheels, so tires were quite expensive. The silver paint was coming off the wheels, so it looked terrible.

The car was, at least once every two months, at the dealer (who was great).

General Comments:

I loved that car and hated selling it. First off, the engine. It's fabulous. Compared to my current one (a 1.0 Ecoboost Fiesta, packing about 140 HP), it LOVES to rev and constantly pull the leash. It did use as much oil as it used petrol (lots of it). The Selespeed transmission is pretty terrible, although I did not realise at the time how much because it was my real experience with an automatic. Everyone was surprised it had shifting paddles though, which was nice. It rode quite comfortably and the steering was light, very easy parking. The leather seats are great and I adored the Alfa logo in the headrests. Fantastic Bose stereo! Also, my grandmother sits quite comfortably in the back, and with the seats flat, my grandfather's wheelchair fits nicely.

I'll be honest, I sort of regret buying the Fiesta (new, 19k €, great car, but I genuinely miss my Alfa). If I had do it over, I would buy a low mileage, face-lifted 147.

Now, I am looking to buy (or rather choose) my first company car, so that will probably be a V40 or 1 series or something like that, no Alfa on the menu sadly. I'll probably buy a classic Alfa (looking at a GTV6).

Faults:

After taking delivery of the car, I had to bring her back to the dealer after 2 weeks due to a very loud clanking noise coming from the back left. Mechanic's report stated fire extinguisher in the boot was probable cause and didn't even test drive the car. Noise continued and was eventually repaired when the car was 2 months old. Mechanic wouldn't tell me what was wrong.

I then had to get an electronic piece replaced in the on-board computer which took 2 months.

Now my car is 5 months old and the clutch and gearbox have to be replaced. Mechanic in dealership said 'it is a construction fault'.

General Comments:

Beautiful car to look at - very stylish, but I would also like reliability.

Faults:

After a few months, the immobiliser system between the keys and the car was very tempremental and had to be replaced (under guarantee).

After the first 20,000Km service one of the belts under the bonnet was slipping and squealing (fixed after I took the car back to the garage at no extra cost).

The car developed a passenger's side door rattle. This seems to be a common problem with nearly all 147s around the world, and the garage can't seem to find the problem.

General Comments:

The main attribute that attracted me almost immediately to the 147 was the design and the small details both externally and internally.

The dash is lovely and clear, plus the red illuminations remind me of the high performance sports cars like the Ferrari 355.

The seating (which is fully adjustable) is very competent and comfortable. The space and in particular the leg room provided both for the front and rear passengers is great for the overall size of the car.

Externally, those 156 metal door handles are very nicely replicated and suite the lines and style of the car's exterior design.

The rear bumper is a bit "big" and bold, whereas the front bumper combines a sporty look with a subtle elegance. - A shame that the indicator lights are low down on the bumper instead of the fog lights.

Faults:

One flickering had to be fixed.

One plastic cover for the engine was damaged and had to be changed.

General Comments:

Overall the car is reliable and excellent built in quality.

Performance and handling are excellent.

The design is amazing, in particular the dashboard.

Comfort is correct thanks to excellent seats and superb leather.

Only cons are high consumption and uncertain resale value.

A great car which gives far more satisfaction than insipid German competitors.