DO YOU fancy a spacious and stylish hatch with a bit of luxury but don’t care to join the hordes of up-spec Mazda3 and VW Golf drivers out there? Believe it or not, your Alfa Romeo dealer may have just the (super) model you’re looking for, for the Giulietta is a grown-up go-kart with verve and style to spare. It’s too soon to make a reliability call of course, but on the strength of its packaging, driveability and efficiency, this Italian makes for an unexpectedly capable sub-$40K contender.
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Alfa Romeo 147 Twin Spark
Released: July 2005
Ended: January 2011
Family Tree: GiuliettaA BREATH of fresh air, the original 147 of 2001 thrust Alfa Romeo right up against the popular Audi A3 and VW Golf in the burgeoning posh end of the small-car market, beating the BMW 1 Series by several years. By 2005 the Series II facelift brought a sharper nose and some detailed mechanical improvements including steps to make the ride suppler and quieter, while a raft of refinement upgrades were also introduced – and all at a lower price than before. But the mainstay engine remained as before – Fiat/Alfa’s long-lived 110kW/181Nm 1970cc twin-cam four-cylinder petrol engine known as the Twin Spark - with a slick-shifting five-speed manual or problematic five-speed Selespeed automated manual gearbox. With sharp steering, reasonable fuel economy and rorty performance, the 147 Twin Spark gained a dedicated following, and remained virtually unchanged for the duration of its decade on sale in Australia.
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