31 Mar 06
There is, however, a glaring piece of cost-cutting that was particularly off-putting: the small, grey painted-plastic overhead console housing the roof blind and light controls might well be described as 'Korean-grade', except that this would do modern Korean cars a disservice. This is not the place to scrimp and even the faux-alloy would have been a million times better here.
Another issue with the Brera's cabin is headroom for taller occupants, especially in versions with the glass roof. The seats don't lower enough and, with the blind in place, you'll find the roof too close for comfort. Alfa says that if this is a big issue, specify the steel-roofed Brera without the roof blind and you'll score a bit more headroom - but we'll guess that this is at the expense of an airy, bright interior.
The Brera bills itself as a 2+2, but at the risk of sounding catty, we'd ask 'plus 2 what, exactly?' With the front seat set to accommodate my 6'2" frame, the seatback was right up against the rear seat squab. With an adult of any proportion behind me, I doubt I'd have been able to drive the car and even small children will find space at a premium. The boot is deep, but has one of the highest load lips I've ever encountered, which will make loading heavier items difficult, especially for smaller women. For moving around larger items, though, the rear seat-backs do fold down.
