I've always thought what an absolutely stonkingly good looking car this is, so it came as a great delight to me today when i had to move one 200yds at a garage I was working at.

No exactly a big test drive granted, but just to sit in and manouver it was hopefully going to be an absolute pleasure.

Errrm no. Talk about looks being deceiving. :eek:

Dashboard rattled and squeaked on tickover, handbrake nearly impossible to release with the center armrest folded down, and the clutch pedal weighed a ton. Clicky accelerator pedal too.

All the internal plastics appear to be made from recycled yogurt pots btw.

All in all a massive disappointment.

Nice wheels, and I dare say it drives and handles beautifully, but I've crossed it off my 'must consider when the time comes' list.

Had the same sort of experience at Allums open day, drove about 30yards up the road and turned round and parked it. atleast i can say i've driven an Alfa now,

Shame, I've wanted one for a while :(

Thats Alfa's for you, always breaking in some sort of form

Ah yes the Alfa Romeo, made from yogurt cartons and blue tak

Ah yes the Alfa Romeo, made from yogurt cartons and blue tak

Reading the road test reportrs, and I note they go on about 'things' have been much improved since the bad ole days.

A couple of the mechanics came sauntering up whilst I was standing there looking at it scratching my head in confusion and great sadness, and they agreed with me.

Stunning looking car, but absolute **** quality. We created a noise resembling a hippo bouncing on an old spring mattress by simply pressing up and down on the top right hand corner of the dashboard.

If it wasn't so sad I'd have laughed, but I was truly disillusioned.

BTW, the car was a mere 2 years old JTD (that made my Fabia engine sound silky smooth by comparison) with 40k on the clock....yours for a mere 11995! :eek:

^^^ :rofl:

Not really a good car for late night antics with the girlfriend then Creaky mattress syndrome

To be honest, I got the same impression after test driving two Mk1 Octavias. I thought they felt very cheap and nasty,

To be honest, I got the same impression after test driving two Mk1 Octavias. I thought they felt very cheap and nasty,

Octavia is a Maybach by comparison to Alfas in terms of build quality.

Just my initial and dismal unhappy opinion on a 200yard test drive of course. :rotz:

Why can't they get it right after all these years?

I wouldn't mind a 155 like Gabrielle Tarquini (is that how you spell his name?) or the 165

Octavia is a Maybach by comparison to Alfas in terms of build quality.

Just my initial and dismal unhappy opinion on a 200yard test drive of course. :rotz:

Why can't they get it right after all these years?

Never had the 'joy' of driving an Alfa, but I was genuinely surprised (in a nasty way) by the octavia. Still, we can't all think the same can we!?!?!

The mk 1 octavia was a 1996 car at which at that point is was on par preety much with most stuff on the market. Of course by modern standards it looks dated.

The mk 1 octavia was a 1996 car at which at that point is was on par pretty much with most stuff on the market. Of course by modern standards it looks dated.

I didn't say it looks dated, I said I was amazed at how low rent it felt and drove. I drove two 'average' spec models, a 1.6 and a 1.9 D 105bhp. This was in 2008. One model was on an 03 and the other an 05.

Your comment about it originally coming out in 1996 does have to be kept in mind though. It goes some way to explain why I then went and got in two mondeos (an 05 and a 54) and thought they felt and both drove like a lot more of a solid and well put together vehicle.

tbh I was quite impressed with the quality of the MITO I had for an hour or so

I had a GT as a Demo when i worked for Alfa- Gotta say it was the 1.9 mjet and i loved it- no issue at all no squeaks, no rattles, clutch was light I loved it- Id have another any day even if i had to buy one- 2nd hand though am not stupid.

Might do that once i've got/finished the vrs

I had a GT as a Demo when i worked for Alfa- Gotta say it was the 1.9 mjet and i loved it- no issue at all no squeaks, no rattles, clutch was light I loved it- Id have another any day even if i had to buy one- 2nd hand though am not stupid.

Might do that once i've got/finished the vrs

P'raps the one I 'test drove' was a friday afternoon dog then?

My mate had a Brera 2.4 JTD. He loved it but has to get rid of it when he had a sprog.

Said the reliability was pretty good, no major dramas. He had a 156 before that and again found it reliable.

I can remember going to an Alfa dealer with my Dad and all of the cars in the showroom had the guts of the electronics hanging in the footwells or sticker stating something was broken.

P'raps the one I 'test drove' was a friday afternoon dog then?

Stranger things have happended- Those Italians can sometimes make a decent car.

My Demo was met black, 17 super sports, black alloys and smoked windows and dealer map (150bhp as standard/ 185bhp roughly))

And id have it in heart beat. I loved it