Alfa Romeo GT Saloon 2004 - Present

The Alfa GT Coupe is, from a certain point of view, the most versatile of the entire Alfa range. It's certainly the most versatile all round performer, boasting decent performance, good boot space and reliable motoring. All this with dynamite good looks, inside and out, help make the GT Coupe the jewel in Alfa's crown.

The GT comes with the choice of three engines and few models offer such stark differences between petrol and diesel. The 1.9 diesel engine is likely to be the top seller by quite a margin as it offers decent performance and still returns a very respectable 45 mpg. The petrol units come in two sizes 2.0L and the mighty 3.2L. Both are good performers, the 3.2 cannot fail to delight with 0 - 60 in six and a half seconds and top speed of 151 mph, but this comes at a price with the quoted fuel consumption being 22 mpg, you can expect to get figures in the teens for urban driving, ouch. The 2.0L offers something of a halfway house with fuel figures of 32 mpg and performance statistics of 8.3 seconds and 134 mph.

When behind the wheel of the GT you can't help feeling that more work should have gone into the steering mechanism. The feel is a little disappointing and the turning circle is huge, which makes manoeuvring and parking tricky. There are good levels of space for all occupants of the car, and the seats are comfortable and supportive. The suspension offers good insulation from the road imperfections while retaining the desired driving line with ease. The diesel model comes with the Q2 System limited slip differential, which improves levels of grip while adding to the quality of the drive.

The boot is among the biggest of it's class, with 320 litres (not something often said of an Alfa), which enhances the reputation of being an all round workhorse of a car.

With the GT Alfa have created a more all round performer, the best all rounder in it range, but this has come at a bewildering cost, that of handling and driver satisfaction. Lets hope that they see the potential to merge all of the best bits in the Alfa range and treat us to a drivers car that's practical too.

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