Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS

I own an Alfa Romeo GTV Edizione Sportiva '01 2.0TS and I have to admit that this is the car I dreamt of for 2 years.

It's leather interior is done with great taste.

Great grip, fun to drive, engine quite powerful (sporty behaviour), engine sound with stock exhaust is simply beautiful, driving position very confortable and above all turns a lot of heads since it has a beautiful coachwork.

An exclusive car, ideal for a summer/autumn promenade with your beloved person!

As a conclusion I won't sell it for anything... it's a great car that will make you smile whenever you get behind its wheel!

This Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS is a car for the real Alfisti. As everyone knows, Alfa has a reputation for questionable quality. But if you are looking for something to make you smile as you drive from A to B in a style that challenges the higher end sports cars, then the GTV is the car for you.

I recently went to the furniture store and had to take my girlfriend's Fiesta. I was in a bad mood all the way there, as the motorway there is amazing. It's in Erfurt (in Germany) and there are long, winding, speed limit-less autobahn, perfect for putting your foot down and testing the GTV. The Fiesta struggled up those hills and on the way back, fully loaded with coffee table, bathroom cupboard and long drink glasses, it started to overheat as we willed it to tackle those long up-hill climbs. I felt sorry for the little thing. The thing is, although I moaned for about 3 hours, I was constantly being reminded that if we had taken the GTV, our purchase possibilities would have been dramatically limited and we would have come home with a door mat and a set of 6 strawberry flavoured candles.

On our return I devised a cunning plan to take a little GTV spin and broke the handle off the espresso machine, the only solution being to nip down to the DIY store and get some superglue. I drove for almost 30 miles for that glue and smiled so much that on my return my girlfriend asked if I had accidentally left the top off the tube while driving.

I bought this Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS car new and when I was out in restaurants. etc. parking it, when strangers quite frequently used to comment how nice the car looked. Both old and young. Nice to drive fast on country B roads, go-kart type handling + performance!

Why do they fit a massive CAT converter on such a sweet sounding engine? (EU laws)!

Never buy this car new, unless you have money to burn. Alfa's don't hold there value long.

I sold this car after our baby arrived and bought a VW Golf. I miss Alfa though.

Alfas have a reputation for reliability problems, in particular the rear suspension. It is true that the bushes wear out every 10-20000 miles and that a main dealer will charge £650 to put things right with the standard quality items which will wear out again. However an independant specialist can fit uprated polycarbonate ones for a total cost of £450 and you are set for life.

It is worth mentioning the suspension as when correctly set up it makes this car a dream to handle. Coupled with the amazing TS engine this car begs to be thrown around at speed - combine this with still stunning looks and this is as near as you will get to a really serious supercar costing 15 times more. Buy the 3 litre version and kiss goodbye to your licence.

Odd electrical faults - airbag warning light staying on, intermittent wiper problems to name two of the most common ones - are irritating rather than serious. Be warned though stay away from main dealers if you have no wish to take out a second mortgage to get such items fixed.

I Bought my P reg Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS in 2001. I still smile as soon as I get in it. As I now have 80000 miles on it there have been some wear and tear replacements - brakes, tyres and a bulb. Other than that nothing has ever gone wrong. Only now, after 9 years outside is there some slight discolouration of bumpers. Which is a problem with Red GTVs of this age. I give the car a thorough look at every 6 months. Mainly to check rear-suspension. But bushes seem fine (and they are the originals). There is a little play in the steering rack (we're talking MM)- but it has been checked and is no problem. Great fun car - look after it and it will be fine. Now they are good value too.

I really wanted one of these Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS sports cars, and travelled a long way from the North of Scotland to find a nearly-new low mileage model. I owned the GTV for 18 months - the point at which I could take no more! I felt a bit guilty selling it on, as it was such a pain, but all's fair and all that!

Despite the recent face lift, there are many quality issues remaining - but it always looked good anyway, that wasn't the problem. The biggest bug-bears are the electrics and chassis/suspension. My GTV failed the first MOT at 21k miles with worn rear suspension bushes - a common fault on pre 2000 models & a £650 job. I also had to replace a cracked headlamp to the tune of £245 as the electrics were faulty and it overheated...ouch.

Overall, whilst this is a great drive and a lot of fun, the poor build really wipes all that away and makes ownwership a misery - this is compounded by poor dealer attitude and service. There are much better cars to be had for the same money. I have 2 friends who have also got rid of their Alfas for similar reasons.

Jeremy Clarkson said every petrol head should have owned an Alfa in their life. A safer bet would be to borrow a friends' for a day and leave it at that!!!