Faults:

ABS and automated driving aid warning lights came on for no reason. This could be resolved by turning the engine off and on again, but the frequency of the warning became tedious. Problem due to a faulty brake sensor and was fixed under warranty - apparently this fault should have been picked up in the pre-delivery checks. I bought this car from Wundercars and saved over £3,000 on the UK list price, but the car was filthy and the tyres dangerously over inflated. The company have since gone bust - you get what you pay for!

Under tray is hanging down underneath the car - possibly caused by me driving into a "ramp" on some resurfacing works too fast! Parts currently on order as these are falling off right left and center. Not covered by warranty, but only £35 to fix back on or can be taken off completely. Still, a bit miffed as it sounds like a design fault to me.

General Comments:

It's know as the black dream - metallic fire black and it goes and looks like a dream! Red leather interior is well upholstered and fun, but a bit garish for some tastes.

I love the look of the exterior, but the cockpit sold it to me. Classy, fully loaded, solid. reminded me of the Audi TT which was over £12,000 more!

Sounds great too - how many cars will you drive for an hour with the stereo turned off and the windows open so you can hear the engine singing to you?

Rear seats a cramped and the latch to move the seats forward on the 3 door look and feel fragile.

Drinks plenty of oil, but this seems to be the norm for 147s.

I hate dealing with garages and being without the car for a while, but on balance it's worth it - just look, listen and feel it!

It could do with more pace from 0-30 mph, but from there it does fine.

Faults:

Nothing wrong.

General Comments:

I bought it because it was a looker and it does command attention.

In third gear it is superb and tricky overtaking is a cinch.

Can reach 140mph.

Looks great inside which is rare. The BMW is awful inside and so is the Toyota MR2 but the Alpha is very special internally.

Faults:

One indicator lamp filled with water.

The engine under-tray came loose.

There is an intermittent "untraceable" loose-sounding component in the driver's door.

General Comments:

I chose this car for the semi-automatic gearbox, and the rest of it came as a pleasant surprise during the first test drive.

The performance isn't startling - Rolls-Royce's "adequate" best describes it - but it can cruise at high speed for hours on end and still have reserves of power for any eventuality.

The air conditioning is superb, and can almost make me forget the convertible I once owned.

The seats, with optional leather trim, are adjustable to a near-perfect position.

The Selespeed system has only ever had one problem, caused by overheating in extreme conditions: the rest of the time it has never missed a beat.

If I were given a free rein to improve it, I'd start with the headlights.

Its electronically enhanced handling is hard to fault, with seemingly endless reserves of grip.

The fuel consumption is an average of 31 mpg, now that the engine is nicely run in: at first it returned about 26-28.

Its reliability is a match for any vehicle I've ever owned or driven.