Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong - so far absolute reliability.

General Comments:

Fantastic, communicative, tactile, satisfying drivers car that is surprisingly cheap to run and service.

Could do with stronger dampers, but that is my only (mild) complaint.

Love the engine note, and the fast that it is SO incredibly responsive.

Faults:

I have had a couple of lamps burn out.

General Comments:

This car has been a joy to drive on all sorts of roads. It has great performance for a modestly priced car and excellent build quality. We also get excellent mileage. (33.5 mp)

My wife and I are both over 6 feet tall and this vehicle has better head room, even in the back seat, than almost any other car I have ridden in, SUV excepted. The seats are extremely comfortable for my body size and I have driven numerous 4+ hour trips without any fatigue.

I just wish I could buy one when I get back to the US.

Faults:

Headlight washer jets blocked, dealership has agreed to fix this for free at next (and first) service.

General Comments:

This car is brilliant, it looks sensational in Gabbiano Blue with blue leather, we also had the 17 inch sports alloys, and this combination is timeless, really fantastic.

So far it has proved faultless, we have covered many long trips in the car and it has had some hard use, with a family being the main users, along with a dog. This type of use really shows up a cars quality and the Alfa is miles ahead of the Freelander we used to have, that was a hateful car, which just proves how well Alfa have come on in the past few years.

The 2.0 litre engine in out car is very powerful, it needs some revs to really fly, but it sounds fantastic so letting it spin fast is really a pleasure not a chore, coupled to the manual box its also very smooth in traffic, and a great car to learn to drive in too, as our son found out.

There are only 2 downsides to this car, both are not important to us, we realise that an Alfa is never goin to be that economical, we average just 22.3mpg, and also the car is quite noisy on the motorway due to its wide tires, owners of narrower tired cars may find its quieter.

Basically this car is fantastic, we will be upgrading to a 147 GTA in the future, our car has been faultless, its well equipped, gorgeous, fast, not too expensive and really turns heads, if anyone is thinking about buying it, do, this is a true sports family hatch, everything about it is great, and, after all, its italian, which is always a good thing!

Faults:

Squeaking sounds on the meter console and doors.

Rattling engine sound during acceleration and cold start.

Squeaking clutch sound.

General Comments:

It is a beautiful car inside out.

Handling is superb for a 1.6 liter car although it could use a little bit more torque.

The rattling sound was a bit annoying since the dealer could not rectify the problem after 3 visits. Just took the car from the garage today and the rattling sound is still there. It seems that the sound came from the timing belt. Need to pay a visit to the garrage again and a few more days without a car.

Overall, the car is fine except for the problems and inefficiency of the dealer in terms of service. There is no courtesy car. Otherwise it is good value for money considering the specs.