Nice little motor this. Fitted with the twin clutch transmission, an auto by any other name, apart from steering wheel paddles like in the Octavia. Similar output to the Fabia vRS ie 1.4 and 170 bhp. Cracking driving position and having only had it for 1 day, found that "makes you feel special feeling".

So, having had it for a week, this is what I thought -

The car featured here is Alfa Romeo’s new Guilietta with its brand new TCT gearbox. That’s twin clutch transmission to you and me. Apart from that, this is a five door hatch car that has styling in spades. And given its Italian heritage, so it should have. Disappointingly, the car came in Ghiaccio White whereas, as we all know, the only colour to have an Alfa in, is red. Whichever is your favourite, I found it absolutely stunning to look at and the same was said by several other people too.

With its left positioned registration plate on the front, a wide low mounted grille with foglights positioned at either side, a centrally located rising slatted triangular chrome grille and sweeping headlights with LED daytime running lights, the car’s design certainly makes a statement. Taking the design ethos still further, the rear door handles are hidden in the C Pillar to give the effect of a two door sports car, an effect it carries off very well. A small side skirt completes the look between the attractive teledial optional alloy wheels described in the press pack as simply 439 – rather dull – it’s a very nice car to look at. The door mirrors you might expect to also be white were not either, they’re painted satin chrome which is an option, and worth it in my view. At the rear the car has a small rooftop spoiler and sculpted rear finished with a small stubby aerial. The roof consisted of two smoked glass panels, one to the front is an electrically operated sunroof, the other towards the rear is fixed but makes for a light and airy cabin.

The car is available in trim levels of Turismo, Lusso, Veloce and the top of the range Cloverleaf and the TCT model tested here can be had in either 1.4 or as a 2.0 diesel.

Go for the Cloverleaf, and at the rear you can have a rear diffuser and twin chrome exhausts for added exclusivity.

Inside the car was Alfa’s sports red leather contrasting with the exterior’s white paint. Across the car is a brushed aluminum dash and a series of switches that I thought I’d seen before in a MINI such is the similarity of their design. The plastics around the cabin are not that tactile but the leather steering wheel is pleasant to hold. It’s a fully adjustable wheel and seat combination that means getting comfortable is easy and the large instrument binnacle is easy to read, if a little confusing at first. I’d normally expect the speedometer to be on the right but Alfa believe in “mucho gusto” and locate the rev counter here and the speedometer to the left which means you’re naturally drawn to the rev counter rather than your actual speed with all that that implies…

The seats are supremely comfortable and the driving position excellent.

Passengers in the rear of the car would probably struggle to sit three abreast for any length of time but head height is good. Electric windows to the front and rear are provided and the boot can be opened by either the key or the centrally located Alfa badge on the boot lid. This reveals a compact rectangular load area but is easily filled and leaves little room for anything else.

The visibility out of the front of the car is good due to the sloping nature of the bonnet and all the controls are well damped and easy to operate.

Between the front seats the car has a silver DNA button which gives three driver style settings D is dynamic, N is normal and A is all weather. Use Dynamic, and the steering weights up, the car’s ECU changes the settings in the gearbox and sharpens up the suspension. Normal setting is less aggressive but still sporty and A provides more traction. I tried the car in each setting and initially liked the Dynamic setting and opted to keep the car in this mode. But after three days of suffering from a jarring ride because of the extremely firm suspension that results, I changed it back to normal. The drive whilst in Dynamic is good, the car is eager to make progress and the changes to the gearbox result in it being held in gear longer for more acceleration. Given that the parent company is Fiat, and they in turn produce Ferraris, that’ s hardly surprising.

The suspension changes result in every imperfection in the road being felt through the car’s seats and steering wheel and it’s just too stiff to put up with on a permanent basis. So, switching back to normal setting and putting the car through its paces, I discovered that it’s possible to make millisecond style changes resulting in the car going through its six gears in the blink of an eye and well on towards being over the speed limit. But of course, if you want to do it yourself, there’s steering wheel paddles at either side of the steering wheel and this gives a degree of satisfaction and manual control. The TCT isn’t perfect though, as I took the car up hill and stopped briefly to check some directions and then tried to continue but all it would do is roll back. I resolved it by returning the gearbox to park and then back to a forward gear. Confusion sorted out, and progress maintained. I’m pleased to say that whilst this only happened once, it doesn’t have the amount of regular roll back that occurs with say, the DSG of the VAG range. VAG are now fitting hill hold control on the latest versions and this is probably why.

I covered around 150 miles during the week I had the car and it was pure fun to drive. Start the car and there’s a welcome message and the face of the Alfa and similar when turning it off. On the road there’s little wind noise around the windows and doors and the 1.4 litre petrol engine is fizzy and powerful putting out 170bhp. The steering in normal mode is precise and in true Italian style the engine loves to rev. Stopping is good too with large powerful disc brakes that are red in colour and visually draw the eye when the car is standing still. What’s not so good is the current trend for stop start mechanisms. At least it can easily be disabled but it needs doing every time the car is used. It’s just annoying, and that‘s probably the only down side.

It looks great, having lots of visual presence and fun to drive. The car tested here in basic trim is around £23,000. Thing is, like Alfa’s of old, will it be reliable or rust ? Alfa, please let me have it back so I can answer these important issues.....

Performance Figures

MPG –combined 54.3

CO2 - g/km 121

Max speed – 135 mph

0-62 - 7.7 sec

Comments welcome.....

Edited 29 May, 201214 yr by Paul007

I love love love these...

Looks really nice Paul.

I was tempted myself recently but was put off by the "no where to put your big left foot issue", maybe I had read too much but even found it a problem sat in one in the showroom.

Any thoughts as you have actually driven one......?

One of the most georgous looking cars ever, this applies to most of the Alfa range...............Except.........

...................An Aston, Orgasm on Wheels

I do not like the front, but side profie and rear look great, ( better models have twin pipes], and like the rear Led lights too

I want one of these too, best alfa since the sud. Not a staggeringly difficult task perhaps, but I love it.

Hi Paul I drove one of these with a Briskoda friend when they first came out and we were pretty impressed. We drove the manual though. It is interesting that you like the dual clutch as Autocar said it ruined the car when they did a test of it last week. Said that the ratios were odd and that the change was not smooth enough. Anyway here is what i had to say about the car

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/169643-14-turbos-back-to-back/page__hl__alfa+guilietta__fromsearch__1

Alfa say I can't have it back but I can have a MiTo so that should be interesting.