Faults:

Dual wishbone had to be replaced.

Dashboard rattle needed fixing - an expensive operation.

The standard audio is far from satisfactory, and replaced by a Pioneer radio-CD and speakers.

Cooler thermometer kept the cooling permanently on at 70 degrees Celsius, and had to replaced.

Brakes would not let me stop at speed bumps. Disks and pads were mistakenly replaced in search for the actual source of error: the braking center - had to be replaced.

Faulty lambda sensor - replaced.

Faulty idle regulator - replaced.

Rear dampers and mounting rubbers - replaced.

All that kept me from revving from idle to 3,000 rpm, the faulty air meter had to be replaced.

General Comments:

This car is the best 4-door mid-sized sedan when it comes to looks and interior and exterior design.

The 2.0 liter engine is the best in its class.

Braking is 156's weakest point. I am considering an upgrade to 2.5 V6, and am deeply concerned about braking performance for a faster machine.

Faults:

When I bought the Alfa I suspected the battery was on the way out, but indeed there was a fault on the alternator. luckily it was under warranty.

Within approx 3000 miles there was vibration coming from the dashbored where I still have to put up with it.

General Comments:

Brilliant car to drive with far more standard kit than a BMW or Audi. The Twin Spark engine makes me wish I could buy the GTA version, but my 1.8 is good enough- For Now!

Excellent comfort on long and short journey. However there could be a better size boot.

Generally why buy a Vectra as a family car when you could drive an Italian beauty!

Faults:

Passenger's airbag light came on whilst on holiday in France. French dealer gave reassurance. Solved by U. K dealer under warranty. Air conditioning on early cars often fed water into the interior because of a pipe that was fitted short at the factory. Solved under warranty. Carpets now dry! Wiper motor replaced after third year-again under warranty.

General Comments:

A wonderful car to drive long distances. It can cruise at 80m.p.h.for 24 hours without using any oil. It returns 38 m.p.g. Long lines of lorries can be effortlessly and safely overtaken on Alpine passes. It can potter in town without a splutter. Having driven a new JTS I can see no reason to change my car after nearly 5 years of ownership. The best car I have owned and my 10th Alfa.I've had my Alfasud ti for 23 years, so this will probably beat that!

Faults:

Wheel bearing failed at 10000 miles.

Sidelights regularly failed, sometimes they started working again by themselves!

When the discs were changed (36000 miles) the replacement set warped slightly despite careful running-in.

All suspension bushes wore badly at about 50000 miles resulting in more road noise and poor handling, stupidly I brought this up with the dealer after 60000miles had elapsed (just) and had to pay for it!

The dealer was generally poor.

General Comments:

Excellent performance if you accept that nothing much happens below 4500 revs.

Superb gearbox, though a mushy clutch spoils things slightly. Very close ratios.

Handling good on smooth surfaces, but poor on bumpy roads, where the SP model often grounds out and tends to jump straight on over bumps. Front end feels a little heavy, but not as much as the magazines would make out.

Engine character is amazing - my Volkswagen V6 (current day to day car) has nothing like the noise, smoothness or high-revs performance.

I liked the interior and the comfort - a lot - and never found the quick steering made it nervous like various magazines suggested.