Alfa Brera

on sale 8th April 2006

It was never meant to be built. It was a beautiful thought, an idea that allowed the designer’s imagination to run wild. Alfa Romeo’s new sports coupe, the Brera was first shown at the Geneva Motor Show four years ago as a concept. But such a stunning design could not fail to impress, so designer Giorgetto Giugiaro and Alfa Romeo responded to public demand and on the 8th April this year, the new Alfa Brera will be on your nearest Alfa Romeo dealer’s forecourt.

The Alfa Brera has a gorgeous exterior design. The front has triple front headlights and the offset Alfa number plate. It sits low to the ground, but apart from struggling to open the long heavy doors, it is easy enough to get in and out of. The rear is very distinctive with a v shaped rear window and four chrome exhausts. The resulting narrow space between the spoiler at the top and the angled sides, mars visibility when reversing. However, there are very large wing mirrors, which compensate.

The beauty of this car is enough to bring a smile to your face, and this sense of desirability continues in the quality interior. There are two trim levels, the Brera and the Brera SV. The top of the range has a huge panoramic sunroof, which makes the cabin feel very light and airy. The titanium effect centre console houses an electronic, key activated, engine start button, in true Formula One style. There are few useful storage spaces but between the seats there is a temperature controlled box.

The driver’s instrument binnacle houses a large deeply hooded speedometer and rev counter, but there is far too much clutter on them. Dual zone climate controls and stereo radio/CD player all have large knobs for easy use. A very useful feature is that within the fuel gauge dial, it actually states whether the engine is petrol or diesel. It may seem a minor point, but when you are driving an Alfa diesel, it is so quiet, you could easily be forgiven for thinking it must be a petrol. It also raises the question as to why every other manufacturer doesn’t state the obvious on the fuel gauge.

What isn’t obvious at all on the Alfa, is the boot opening. It is tucked away in the covered storage box between the seats, but there is a boot remote opening control on the key fob. The boot itself is large for a sports car and it will hold 300 litres with seats in position and 610 litres with seats folded down.

There is however little leg room for rear occupants of this two plus two sports coupe, although there is more room in the rear than in the rear of the current competitor, the Audi TT.

Start the ignition and I guarantee that the smile on your face will get bigger and bigger. There are two petrol engines, a 2.2 and a 3.2 litre and one diesel engine, a 2.4 litre. Yes, I know, sports car and diesel don’t always go hand in hand, but this is one sports car where I favour the diesel way above the petrol.

I drove the 2.2 litre petrol with 17” alloy wheels and found the suspension very jittery. At one point, over a very bumpy road, the car seemed to take off. However, the wealth of safety systems soon brought it back into line. I much preferred the 2.4 litre diesel with 18” alloy wheels. The combination of larger wheels and a heavier engine made the journey a lot more comfortable and with such a wealth of pulling power, I wasn’t constantly changing gear. The diesel engine is also extremely quiet and has a nicer sounding engine note in my opinion, than the petrol version.

There is little to hear in the cabin, apart from road noise and the very distinctive Alfa sound, which made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck and an inane grin appear on my face.

What wiped the grin off my face was the price, which starts from £22,800 otr. My favourite model, the top of the range 2.4 litre diesel costs £27,500 otr. It is competitively priced compared to its rivals, but very unfortunately, way out of my budget. I had to be prised out of the seat!!

By Sue Cooke