Faults:

New air con compressor £300.

New door seals.

Service history shows that there was an issue with water getting into the spark plugs and not letting the car start - was fixed by Alfa and no further problems.

General Comments:

This is a very comfortable car and the Lusso leather and air con package is very nice. Acceleration is between 7 and 8 seconds and I have taken the car to at least 135 mph. Being low and wide makes the car very stable and will take roundabouts at speed very easily.

1st gear is quite sluggish and it is not until you get to 2nd and 3rd that the speed rapidly picks up.

I have found it quite economical being a 55 litre fuel tank and I can regularly get 500 miles out of it.

I replaced the original stereo tape head unit for a CD and the sound from the speakers is very impressive holding clarity at volume.

The boot space is very limited due to the fact that the spare wheel takes up most of the space leaving only enough space for two medium bags of groceries. The rear seats provide limited space so unless you are under 10 yrs forget sitting comfortably.

Faults:

My engine caught fire at 80,000 miles.

I believe it was started by an oil leak in the engine and a broken spark plug (when I say broken, I literally mean a piece of the gold tipped spark plug had broken off, and is stuck in the piston). This lead to the two distributor caps catching fire, and I dread to think what would have happened if I had been going any faster than 50 mph.

Anyone that has seen an Alfa engine, will know that there is a casing over the engine that you need tools to remove, so even when I stopped the car, I couldn't actually see what was wrong.

On inspection from my mechanic, he estimates that there is approx €2000 worth of parts needed for the engine alone to be repaired, and it will then need to be reconditioned etc.

Aside from all this, I wasn't happy with the wear of the shock absorbers; they just weren't sufficient for a sports car, and that meant that the handling was affected i.e. I never trusted the car's handling.

Also, because the car is so low to the ground, I was always wary of the oil sump, which meant that I found myself desperately avoiding roads with the slightest pot hole.

General Comments:

Overall, I will never feel the same about Alfa Romeo's again.

All this said, the car still looks immaculate, and all electrics and inside leather upholstery are well intact; it's just an awful pity it doesn't move!!

Faults:

Absolutely nothing, although the air conditioning needs a re-gas.

General Comments:

I love my GTV, it looks great, drives great, and sounds great!

I had a 146 Ti 2.0 TS previously, I loved that until an accident, (not my fault), sadly ended it's life.

Therefore I was forced to buy the GTV, as I couldn't get a lesser car, and already had owned the best of the rest, (in non-GTA Alfa terms).

My GTV was far better than I had thought, it just seems to hug the road everywhere!!

The leather interior looks very nice and is also extremely comfortable for a 2+2.

The dash layout is superb, the angle of the fuel gauge etc. is just inspirational.

It's engine is lively and has the best note you could ask for.

The rear seats are stupidly small, only big enough for a couple of 5 year olds!! But who wants to carry extra weight with passengers when you have an exhilarating sports coupe!!!