Faults:

A beautiful car to drive and look at but the after service from the dealership is appalling. They really have no interest in fixing my problems. I have a dash rattle, dodgy climate control and the locks play up.

General Comments:

None of the problems are life threatening but very very irritating!!! Dealer seems to think just cause I paid nearly £20000 for this work of art, I shouldn't complain. If you want a straight answer then yes I recommend this car, but it's not perfect, it still has build quality problems, and you'd better wake up if you think the dealer cares once you've bought the car. By the way, I've moved on to my third dealership, it must be a conspiracy.

Faults:

1. Airbag electonics faulty on delivery.

2. Child lock catch slips to lock.

3. Climate control not efficient (still ongoing battle with Alfa dealer to fix it).

General Comments:

1. Power not smooth, only over 3000rpm.

2. Can't see speedo even after tilting steering wheel (I'm only 5' 10").

3. Good looks.

4. Dealer network not interested in fixing faults.

Faults:

Nothing except for a poor reliability image inherited from some of its predecessors.

General Comments:

My hire car for three days. I have never driven an Alfa Romeo before but had heard a lot about poor dealer service, and poor quality, faulty cars which rusted if left out in the rain overnight. However, I absolutely loved this car. I drove it from Aberdeen to Manchester (via Wales!) and back, and enjoyed every minute of it. This car is possibly one of the sexiest on the market - I loved the attention. Motorway cruising was effortless and the car never needed to be thrashed to get respectable performance out of it. Fuel consumption was adequate, handling good and performance excellent. I did suffer a sore back after 3-4 hours behind the wheel and my girlfriend complained that she couldn't see the speedo from the passenger side, but who cares? Being a hire car it was probably abused before I drove it, but it didn't seem to be any the worse for it.

I loved it so much that I didn't want to give it back, and as soon as I've graduated I am going to forego the pleasure of having kids and spend my money on one of these instead!!

Faults:

Stereo failed, electric door mirror failed, engine management failed two weeks after I bought it. Leather seat stitching ripped under little stress, speaker panel hanging off, dashboard rattle, poor finsh to interior in parts.

Power steering hose leaked (very dangerous if unnoticed).

General Comments:

This car has given me a lot of trouble and it's only done 7000 miles. My most recent and still unsolved problem is a noise from the engine which has not been fixed by the dealership, three visits later! Still I love the car but be warned, it's well known that the Alfa dealership network is well below par, don't expect good service, I didn't get it and many others don't too. You don't think about this much when you buy a car but believe me when things go wrong, you are at the mercy of the dealership and if they let you down, you are stuffed!

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

Car is only two months old, but it is a dream come true!

People tell me that everytime they see me in the car, I'm grinning like a Cheshire cat!

Imported from Holland, with no problems.

I'd recommend the car and the process to anyone...

Faults:

Suspension much too soft.

Had to replace oil sump due to damage going over a moderate crest.

General Comments:

Firmer suspension would be an improvement.

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

Fantastic car to drive - sounds good, looks good and if you are feeling down just go for a spin and it will put a big cheesy grin on your face.

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong with car this far. It's much too expensive to take the car to the service station.

General Comments:

For some time I had a chance to try a 156 3.0 V6. I find the 2.0 TS much more fun to drive. The smaller engine of the two feels much stronger!

Best buy: 156 2.0 TS!!