Alfa Romeo 166 3.0

Beauty contest honours have unsurprisingly eluded the BMW 5 series. Audi's A6, while losing to it in the ugly stakes, has the density and subtlety of an industrial photocopier. And, from the Pacific, the Lexus is...well..a Lexus. The 166 stands in this party, aloof and observant like the prettiest girl at the cadets' ball, conscious of her looks, aware of her class and with no need to overstate herself. For whether she be doe-eyed and raven haired, or the steel grey eyed redhead, she will warm to those who recognise her difference and spurn those who set her among the rest. And so it is with ... more

Beauty in metal. Save for her sad eyes my Alfa still stirs the soul. I am an ex car dealer, i know the potential pitfalls of owning a Milanese Missile. But the answer to avoiding issues is simple... WEEKLY - check your oil, water and tyres. service it TWICE a year or every 6000 miles and pay the little extra for good oil and parts. I bought mine 18 months old from Alfa as an ex alfa compay car - low miles and she already had an inch of invoices stacked up. All little things and all adding up to less than any BMW or Merc I have had for that long. Just by knowing what that funny sound is and ... more