Alfa Romeo 159 - Pictures

With a broad stance and flared wheelarches, the 159 looks great on the road, but its driving manners aren’t as impressive. The ride is too brittle on broken surfaces, and it’s not as composed as the C-Class’s.

Uncomfortable driving positions are now a thing of the past in Alfas. But it’s a shame that you sit on the seats rather than in them, and have to put up with over-long bases which push into your calves.

Leather trim is standard throughout, but the bulky front seats limit legroom for those in the back, and you tend to slide around on the ridged upholstery. The Alfa was the least spacious of the four cars tested here.

The 405-litre boot is small, and there’s no external release, so you either have to push a button in the cabin or use the keyfob. And with no folding rear seats, it’s clear flexibility isn’t an Alfa strong point.

The row of sunken dials across the centre console contains information for the water and oil temperatures, plus fuel level. The Italian language labels (Acqua, Olio, Benzina) make them sound exotic, though.