Alfa Romeo Brera 2.4 JTD.  30/01/07. I just lifted it today. I have been driving a Brera 2.2 petrol while waiting on my car to come through and noticed straight away the difference in the diesel car. It is so smooth to drive. First impressions are very good indeed. On the way home it was averaging 42mpg which is fantastic.  I think I'm going to like this car a lot. This was it when I arrived to pick it up from Mervyn Stewarts.

  

I couldn't wait any longer for the keys. This is Des "the best sales Manager in the world" handing over the key. Mind you he was holding onto it very tightly.  The Photo was taken by Northern Irelands top photographer Cairan O'Neil. "No really it was".

Once home it was time to get some good pics for the site. Before it rains again!

I'll put up a running report as I go along on what the cars like to live with on a daily basis. Well I've only driven the car for a week and a half now but it's a bit special. The diesel engine pulls like a train (can't wait to see what it's like once it frees up with a bit more mileage on it) and it's returning an average of 36 miles to the gallon. That's equal to the Panda  . It's a very smooth engine to. Yes there is a short power band but once the engine warms up it seems to broaden a little. I liked the 18' wheels that were on the silver car I had the loan of but the 17's make the ride a lot more pleasent with no tramlining at all. The ride is nicely on the right side of firm. The gearbox is excellent, all 6 gears just go "click, click click".  Inside it is prooving to be a very pleasent place. The seats are very comfy for the front passengers with all the clocks nicely positioned for the driver. The trip computer is easy to use and has the Alfa logo light up on it when you open the doors.  Rear seat room is quite tight. If you move the front seats forward a little 4 adults can fit, but it's not ideal.  My daughter fits in the rear no problem on her booster seat but to keep her feet from damaging the leather I've taken to fitting a bit of plastic sheeting on the rear of the passenger seat. One thing I do reccomend is the SV glass roof. with the blind open it makes the inside of the car feel very airy. It's a nice feature.  The boot is very large for a Coupe and the rear seats fold down to making it huge.  Best of all with the weather being quite poor at the moment, I get to wash it every other day.   I haven't had so many people point and give the thumbs up since I got the Ferrari.  Why anyone wouldn't think of buying a Brera when considering a TT or BM I don't know. I know I'm totally biased towards Italian cars but it really feels special.

28/02. Well that's the first 1,000 mile mark past and the car is proving to be excellent.  everytime I stop at a petrol station (which isn't often thankfully) I have people coming over just to comment at how stunning the car looks.  I can't find antything not to like about it. It feels very soild in every way.

02/03. I had a very good friend out in the car today who dispises diesel cars... He fell in love with it. He like myself found it hard to except it even was a diesel because it drives so smoothly and now that it has it's first 1,000 miles over it, it freeing up and boy can it move. In the real world (not Top Gears race track) it is an excellent handling car and none of the antics the Stig was doing with it. The mate loved it so much he wants one. Now this is a guy who has been a Mercedes man for a very long time. That's how good it is.

03/03. Mervyn Stewarts our main Alfa/Fiat dealer were launching the new Alfa Brera spider today so I nipped round to have a look and a little test drive.

    

I had to get a couple of photos of ny car with the Spider.

The Spider is everything the hard top is and I was surprised at the fact there was no scuttle shake at all. Almost all convertables I have driven have had a little amount. Well done Alfa. The sun even came out for the event.