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Rating

Verdict A true, guilt-free pleasure, even with 4x4

Thanks to the onslaught of miserablism from the greens, four-wheel-drive cars will be vandalised the instant they are left alone. But if you just have a 4x4 as a style statement, might I suggest you replace it with an Alfa Romeo Brera?

Sure, examination of the data shows it to be a heavy car that takes almost seven seconds to reach 60mph and about a week to reach a hundred. A problem? For me, yes, but if you are used to the performance levels of, say, a Shogun, that 0-60 time is going to feel like you’re stapled to the front of a Eurofighter.

You’ll be fine with the comfort, too. It rides beautifully and despite the tall tyres it handles nicely. Less successful is its interior. There’s really not much space in either the back or the front.

So why am I recommending it? Well, there are two reasons. First, as you drive along you can feel the Alfa-ness of this car, the little tingles and the droplets of feedback that you don’t really get from anything else in this class.

You haven’t bought a car to drive around in like your hair’s on fire. You’re not a yob. You’re not a bore. You’ve bought something for one reason only: because it’s beautiful.

What makes the pleasure so doubly satisfying is that you have a four-wheel-drive car, yet no one can tell.

Current price £29,250

Price when tested (Nov 2006) £29,850

Engine 3195cc, six cylinders

Power 260bhp @ 6300rpm

Torque 238 lb ft @ 4500rpm

Transmission Six-speed manual

Fuel/ 24.6mpg (combined) / 273g/km

0-62mph 6.8sec

Top speed 149mph