Alfa Romeo 156 3.2 GTA Saloon 4dr Petrol Manual (287 g/km, 250 bhp) for £24,995

In the early 2000's if car manufacturers adverts were to be believed, there’s one attribute which virtually all new cars had to have in common, and have had for many years, and that is they’re all ‘fun to drive’. In truth most were boring until you got into sporty models with badges like GTi, R, M, AMG etc etc.... To be fair Alfa Romeo didnt make that vapid claim in those precise words for its new model, at least not in print, but the GTA is nonetheless huge fun to drive and was a welcome tonic for anyone becoming a little jaded by average workaday modern cars cars puffed up by dubious hype. It all starts while approaching the GTA. In common with the other 156s, nothing fundamental on the outside had changed. But on the flagship GTA there are tasty new alloys (hiding big multi-piston Brembo hardware), a front airdam and lower front spots linking broader front wings. There are vented side skirts along each sill while the lower portion of the tail section now features twin tailpipes a