Faults:

Just the brake light bulb (fingers crossed).

General Comments:

This car is very quick as a B.M.W 330 and a Nissan 200ZX found out, when they lost the traffic light grand pris.

The handling is a lot better than most car mags say it is, it's like it's on rails till it gets wet that is.

My car has only done 1,500 miles on the new engine and has just started to loosen up a bit. but I've still got 145 mph out of her so far, keep running out of road.

Faults:

Selespeed light occasionally illuminates when car is 1st started. Goes out once the car has been driven 50 yards.

Battery died at 3 years and 3 weeks old.

General Comments:

Looks stunning with the shape and concealed rear handles making it a sexy family saloon car with the look of a 2 door coupe.

Handling is very good, with better road holding than my previous car which was a Nissan Almera GTi. The down side being a rough ride over anything, but perfect roads. Also find quite a lot of road noise makes it into the cabin, but if I was worried about that I would have bought an Audi.

Interior still looks like new, with the only squeak coming from the seat belt holder touching the leather seat.

Performance from the 2 litre twinspark is fairly good. K&N air filter has added a real growl to the engine, and once she hits 5700 rpm takes on a completely different note, almost VTEC like. fuel economy is worse than expected with 25-27 mpg being the norm. Maybe somthing to do with the sound of the engine when you have got the pedal buried in the carpet.

The selespeed gearbox is good fun to play with. The fast changes above 5000 rpm are a bit harsh, but only those that do not appreciate sports car performance will complain. First couple of changes from cold can be a bit jerky, but once warm they can be as smooth as an auto box. Just a bit of a shame that it forces a change at around 6800 rpm. Would be nice to squeeze that last 200 rpm (or maybe a bit more) out of her.

Reliability issues do worry me, especially having read the reviews on this site. The previous owner handed me bills for over £4000. This included new gearbox at 18000 miles, new top end on the engine at 28,000 miles as a result of broken cambelt, and a variety of other odd bits at the 30,000 mile service. I just hope the 1st owner troubles have been sorted now.

Faults:

Glovebox started popping open over bumps

CV joint failed

Coil pack burned out

Clutch failed (no warning)

Gearbox oil leak

Noisy tappets

Intermittent rev counter failure

Air conditioning compressor failed

Gear linkage went out of adjustment

Uneven front tyre wear.

General Comments:

I could go on and on about the tale of woe this car inflicted on me, but the list above should give you an idea. This all happened within 11 months and 13,000 miles. The car had none of these faults when I first got it.

The 2.5 V6 is one of the best sounding engines ever built and has a fantastic top end rush. Over 5,000 RPM it just howls, the car squats and hot hatches go backwards, quickly. The car also handles neatly, looks fantastic and has a definite sense of occasion that rivals such as the 3-series and Mondeo just can't get near.

Trouble is, and being brutally honest, my 156 turned out to be a cheaply built, fragile pile of junk. It always seemed to need something doing to it. I was fooled by the surprisingly good quality interior which is actually very nicely finished. Sadly though, the engine, trim, electrics and ancillaries are all as fragile and temperamental as you might think in even your most cynical moments.

Dealers are shocking too. They never carry the right spares in stock, close down/move at random and charge the earth. Sadly, you still have to buy something boring like a 3 series if you need your car to actually get you where you want to go. Alfa Romeo, despite claims to the contrary, still seem incapable of making cars that work, and that stay in one piece. In this day and age, that is completely inexcusable.