Alfa Romeo 156 2.0 Twin Spark

I recently trialed the new Alfa Romeo Estate (?) as an alternative to my current company car since I am looking for somothing slightly larger to accomodate all the kit required when my wife and I take our daughter on holiday with us.

Torn between a 4x4 and the dull estates on the market I though the Alfa Romeo was an attractive and sporty alternative.

In true Alfa Romeo style, the car accelerates like a beast, from 0-62mph in 8.9 secs! The handling is good, although a little on the hard side.

While I was instantly impressed by the performance and luxury of the car (apart from the lack of cup-holders!) I was extrenely dissapointed with the space available in the car.

While the driver and passenger have plenty of room in the front, the rear of the car is quite squashed and the boot space is even more restrictive. We only just managed to get my duaghter's pram (granted it's a large Mama's and Papa's affair) in the boot.

The design of the car is fairly unique. From the outside it is really impossing, however the interior leaves a little to be desired. There is extremely porr visabilty, both throught the rear-view and the side mirrors. The dashboard is sparsley populated and it's difficult to read the gauges since the steering wheel is so small.

After 7 days with the car I was still happy with the performance but found the estate length pointless.