Faults:

Thermostat stuck open (a new replacement was faulty).

General Comments:

Hated it from day one, but it has grown on me in the 12 months of owning it.

Have been worried again from day one about it breaking. I bought it as a car that I had used now and again got written off, and this was nearest to me with the spec I wanted.

After 12 months, I have been surprised by its reliability.

My recent cars prior were a Fiat Marea 2.4 diesel estate (had for 6 years), a Subaru Impreza Turbo estate (MY2000), and a 1.5 dci Renault Megane.

The Fiat 2.4 estate was a brilliant car; Fiats in my experience tend to be better put together, and the Fiat drove better than this 156; nippier and nice to drive.

This 156 does nothing for me in terms of driving; it is the first car I have had without a turbo for over 12 years. It certainly doesn't make me want to drive fast, and I have always been a bit of a speed freak.

I was really disappointed when I bought it and drove it away; foot down and no torque and no power, feels better after 12 months, but initially disappointing.

The interior is about the best thing about it.

Charcoal leather seats look good and feel good; good on a run across France.

MPG wise, I probably get 29-32. Last time I checked, it was 32mpg.

Uses a bit of oil and water, so need to check weekly.

I don't think I would have another, but Alfas do tend to look better than most in their price range.

If I did get another, I'd look at the JTD.

Faults:

Faulty electrics. The sidelight warning kept coming on when the sidelight was still operational.

Air con is the most ineffective air con I've ever used.

Clutch judder since new which the dealership refuse to acknowledge because they haven't managed to replicate it yet.

Bonnet catch fails and the car has had to be recalled.

I appear to have a bent suspension, but haven't been in an accident so I must have done this knocking a kerb whilst parking.

3 year warranty comes with the car, but the dealerships will not support this if you are at all late on your service (even by just a month).

Poor complaints procedure. Is there a complaints team to handle complaints about the complaints team?

Authorized dealerships quoted me a service price on the telephone, upped the price when I arrived for the service and then added VAT. I walked out in disgust.

General Comments:

Great handling. the car sits into the corners and never feels like it will leave the road.