Category: Hot Hatchbacks 
Price Range: £14,950 to £17,850
Fabulous engine when worked hard, great grip, muscular yet subtle looks, neat gearchange.
Steering less keen than expected, doesn't cope with sharp bumps, poor turning circle, restricted rear view.
Most powerful hot hatch is a lot of fun, but somehow you're left wanting more.
There are plenty of airbags here, including front-seat sidebags plus windowbags, but Alfa Romeo places more emphasis on active safety in its GTA information. So there's a feast of acronyms: ABS, EBD, VDC, MSR and ASR. The VDC (Vehicle Dynamic Control), also fitted to the 2.0-litre 147s, modulates the throttle and individual brakes to ease the GTA back on course, but doesn't cut in until the situation is, to quote Alfa, 'just about to become critical'. It cannot be turned off. ASR is a traction control system which brakes a spinning wheel, to give an effect similar to that of a limited-slip differential. MSR restores power to the engine during a clumsy downshift in which the driver hasn't matched the engine speed to the road speed, thus preventing excess engine braking from causing a skid if the road is slippery.
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