Road Test: Jaguar XF Sportbrake 2.2d SE

Price as tested: €47,000 (approx)

+ Utterly gorgeous, terrific handling and ride, spacious, practical, agile
– 2.2 needs to be revved hard to work best, brakes could do with more bite
= Easily the equal of 520d or A6, and more characterful than either


Jaguar, it may surprise you to learn, is no stranger to the big-booted format. It has dabbled in estates before.

There was the late, unlamented X-Type estate, which was the designer Ian Callum’s first work for Jaguar. Since then Callum’s Jag portfolio has expanded prodigiously, taking Jaguar out of its 1960s-style design straitjacket and into the realm of the modern, clean cut and ruthlessly contemporary.

It was the 2008 XF that broke the Jag mould and its updated 2011 version that returned Jaguar to the design winners’ circle. So grafting an estate body on to the XF had to be done with the utmost care, preserving the beauty of line while still creating a practical, usable loadspace beneath.

Job done. The XF Sportbrake is possibly even better looking than the standard four-door, and it is certainly less boxy-looking than the rival BMW 5 Series Touring or Audi A6 Avant. In fact the Jag’s only real rival in the handsome- estate department is the new Mercedes-Benz CLS Shooting Brake, a car that will cost the better part of €30,000 more.

Underneath the swoopy rear tailgate (which raises and lowers electrically on all but the base model) is a square-sided, flat-floored 550-litre boot that matches its German rivals (except for the gargantuan Mercedes E-Class estate’s) for space and is trimmed with sumptuous carpet and shiny aluminium load rails. The entire structure aft of the front doors is all new, with more headroom for rear-seat passengers (alas, not with a commensurate increase in legroom) and darkened privacy glass if you fancy it.

Up front little appears to have changed, but Jaguar has been carefully tweaking the XF’s cabin to keep it ahead of the game. Revised dials, comfier seats and some switchgear updates keep the XF’s cabin feeling fresh. Plump for swanky Portfolio trim and the suede headlining feels so good it’s almost naughty.

So far the Sportbrake is available in Europe only with diesel engines; the updated 2.2-litre four-cylinder engine is the key one for the Irish market. Crucially, its emissions have dropped from 149g/km to 135g/km, so the XF now drops a tax band, to band B2.

We tested the 197bhp version (a 162bhp version, with the same emissions figure, is also available), and, although it occasionally struggles with the XF’s weight, it is mostly well suited to the car, revving smoothly and quietly. It’s not as economical as Jaguar claims, though, with low-40s mpg being more realistic than the claimed 55mpg. It could also do with sharper brakes; the bite point is just slightly too far down the pedal for comfort. Thankfully, that wasn’t an issue on the 3-litre V6 diesel S that we also sampled.

Comfort, in another sense, is very much a priority. The 2008 XF was often criticised for its too-firm ride. Jaguar has since honed it, and the Sportbrake’s standard-fit self-levelling rear air suspension makes it a paragon of bump-absorbing refinement.

The BMW, Mercedes and Audi rivals all beat the Jaguar for cabin space, but the Sportbrake is such a delight to drive, and so handsome with it, that we cannot see it as anything short of the best in the class.

Facts & Figures


Jaguar XF Sportbrake 2.2d SE

Price as tested: €47,000 (approx)

Range price: €TBA

Capacity: 2,279cc

Power: 197bhp

Torque: 400Nm

Top speed: 200kmh

0-100kmh: 10.9sec

Economy: 5.1l-100km (55mpg)

CO2 emissions: 135g/km

VRT Band: B2. €280 road tax

Euro NCAP rating: Not yet tested

Road Test: Citroen DS5 Hybrid4

Price as tested: €43,645

+ Style, technology, comfort, improved ride over standard car
– Still too firm, cramped in the back, not economical enough
= The best of the DS5 range by far

If ever you find yourself down the pub, debating whether or not cars can be considered as a form of art (I know, I know, not again...) then wait for everyone to exhaust their arguments and throw in the hand grenade that is the Citroen DS5 Hybrid4. It combination of looks (stunning enough that you’d seriously consider buying one just to be able to look at it every day) and technology (cutting edge diesel hybrid drivetrain) mean that it walks so deftly the line between art and science that everyone will have to re-set their arguments back to zero.

Which is not to say that it’s perfect. The DS5, as a whole, suffers from two significant issues. One; its ride quality is just too harsh and jittery for it to ever truly live up to its luxury billing (especially in an era when the formerly-rough-riding BMW 3 Series now glides over obstacles like a limo) and two; it’s a Citroen. Now, I count myself as a true fan of the great French marque, a Citroenista if you will, but the harsh fact of the market is that against the German ‘Big Three’ Citroen is a brand with a lot to prove in the premium segment.

This DS5 Hybrid4 is bringing some seriously cutting edge technology to the party though, and that might just be enough to allow it to jam a foot in the door. Up front lies Citroen’s familiar 163bhp 2.0-litre HDI diesel engine, which is, and always has been, a very fine unit. Behind, under the boot floor, lies a 37bhp electric motor, driving the rear wheels and fed by a stack of rechargeable batteries. We’ve become used to hybrids ever since Toyota introduced the Prius, but the DS5 (along with its cousin, the Peugeot 3008 Hy4) is the first to tie the potential fuel savings of battery power to an already frugal, low-emission diesel engine.

The result is mostly rather pleasing. There’s a rotary control switch that watches over the hybrid system mounted between the front seats. Leave it set in Auto, and the computer will effortlessly shuffle around power from the diesel, the batteries or both as needed. Keep an eye on the fighter-jet-style heads-up-display, which projects ghostly speed and sat-nav information onto the windscreen, and you’ll notice the frequency with which the speed figure turns a light blue, meaning that you’re running on pure electric power.

Flick the controller around to Sport, and suddenly you remember that 200bhp is still quite a lot of grunt, even in a car weighing a not inconsiderable 1,800kg. Now the DS5 feels very fleet of foot indeed, and what other car can you think of that can combine 99g/km Co2 emissions (depending on which wheels you specify) with an 8.3-sec 0-100kmh time?

All of that is being done while you recline in a sumptuously comfortable seat, with optional leather trim that mimics the shape of a high-end watch strap, surrounded by a battery of instruments and buttons that make you feel like you’re the pilot of a rather avant-garde jet fighter. An F-15 by Hermés, if you like.

Sadly, there are still a few flies in this otherwise lovely ointment. The ride quality, although better than in other versions of the DS5 we’ve driven, is still too harsh-edged and you really need to keep to perfectly smooth roads for the DS5 to feel at its best. Fuel economy isn’t as god as advertised either; Citroen claims that you can hit just 3.8-litres per 100km on the combined cycle (a massive 74mpg) but we could only manage a test average of around 6.5-litres per 100km (43mpg). It’s so often the case that hybrid cars are never as economical in real world driving as they claim to be, but it’s disappointing that Citroen’s combining hybrid with diesel couldn’t liberate any extra efficiency.

That love-hate relationship continues in other areas. I love the little individual sunroofs above the driver and passenger – they make you feel as if each seat should come with a massive yellow handle marked 'eject.' I love the switches mounted on the roof and I adore that swept-back chrome blade that runs from the back of the headlights to the base of the windscreen. But I hate the robotised six-speed gearbox (too... slow... at... changing... up) and the fact that the hybrid batteries really chew into your boot space.

Still, while the DS5 has to climb the steep hills of being to thirsty, too rough-riding and too French in a corner of the market that only seems to want German, the fact that it does so is testament to two things. On the one hand, its quality and technology are right up there with the Germans. On the other, it is a truly beautiful car, and in a world that seems to be a touch uglier every day, that’s a beauty that would be most welcome on the streets of Ireland.

Of course, if you wanted to buy a striking looking Citroen that can mange 40-odd-mpg and is actually a huge amount more fun to drive, you could save yourself around €10,000 and go for the DS3 Racing, the latest version of which we got to try in the same week we were driving the DS5.

Now, while our affection for the DS5 is tempered by our criticisms of its ride and economy, out love for the DS3 knows few, if any, bounds. The first premium hatch to convincingly take the fight to the doorstep of the mighty Mini, in standard form, the DS3 combines gorgeous looks, decent practicality and a peachy chassis of rare balance and deftness.

The Racing version is something else again. Based on the standard 155bhp 1.6 THP model, it and its 1.6-litre turbocharged engine are taken away and tweaked by the same people that design and build the DS3 rally cars for the unstoppable Sebastian Loeb, a man who has almost literally won more rallies than we have had hot dinners.

So the Racing looks more butch, thanks to a 15mm suspension drop, a 30mm track widening and a gorgeously subtle carbon fibre exterior trim spruce-up. Inside, there are hip (and everything else) hugging sports seats, more carbon fibre (the real thing too, not just appliqué) and a squared-off steering wheel. It’s a delightful environment in which to sit, and thanks to this being a Citroen, comfort hasn’t bee thrown out with the sporty bath water. In fact, even on those chunky 18” rims, the DS3 actually rides better than the DS5 Hybrid...

It’s got the same 200bhp as the Hybrid too, but with only 1,165kg to haul around, it goes a good bit harder. 0-100km comes up in just 6.5secs, which is decidedly brisk. Interestingly though, this DS3 Racing feels a touch different to the last version we drove. It feels a bit less manic, less unruly. That is until you push the throttle all the way to the stop, and then it feels plenty manic enough, thanks, but there’s definitely a sense that Citroen has tried to build-in a little more day-to-day useability into what was originally supposed to be a short-run special edition. It’s a well-judged move, leaving enough mental-ness at the top end, while making the Racing feel more sensible around town. And yes, it really will do 43mpg on a long run.

Citroen DS5 Hybrid4 200 Airdream DStyle
Price as tested: €43,645
Price range: €33,195 to €46,695
Capacity: 1,997cc + hybrid battery drivetrain
Power: 200bhp
Torque: 300Nm
Top speed: 210kmh
0-100kmh: 8.3sec
Economy: 3.8l-100km (73mpg)
CO2 emissions: 99g/km (on 17” wheels)
Road Tax Band: A. €160
Euro NCAP rating: 5-star; 89% adult, 83% child, 40% pedestrian, 97% safety assist

Features: The man who puts the Jaaaaag in Jaguar

This is the man who finally got Jaguar design right, after it had languised for years, unable to break away from a slavish devotion to a classic sixties look that just didn’t work in a modern context. Ian Callum is an astonishingly talented man, with stints at Aston Martin and Ford behind him, he swept away the retro look at Jaguar and ushered in a clean, modern style, beginning with the XK and XF and onto the sometimes controversial XJ. But was that binning of retro the key to Jaguar’s recent renaissance?


“Well, it depends what you mean by retro. I think if it means deliberately copying the past in order to try and capture something from that past, it’s the wrong thing to do. I’m afraid Jaguar had fallen into that trap, a little bit. Not overtly, or even consciously, but just by not moving on quickly enough. From my point of view, it didn’t work very well."

The 2008 XF was the final nail in the coffin that Callum had prepared for Jaguar’s dark days of producing photocopies of the 1968 XJ. Out wen the sixties, in came the 21st century with a car of near perfect proportions and gorgeous detailing. Even without the retro style of the old XJ and S-Type, there was no mistaking the XF for anything other than a Jaguar. But now Callum has another tough assignment on his hands. Styling never stands still and Jaguar has to move on again. Where now?

“I’m going through that very issue at the moment, with the design team, how we go about moving on, having established the foundations. I think the key to this is not copying the past, but what we’ve tried to do with the current lineup of cars is understand the values of what Jaguar stood for in the fifties and sixties, and that’s certainly when I admired them the most, and pin down these values about modernity, about beauty of line, about purity of surface. We’ll continue with those same values; we haven’t changed those, but very much in a 21st century way. I think that this is where we wanted to get to with XF and XJ.

“Where we go to now is probably a continuation of that, we’ve made a big leap into the future, we’re now in the right place, and I think the challenge is now to move on from that in a very positive and hopefully very successful way. It’s very difficult to know how much further to take it. As a designer I perhaps always want to take it a little further than other people feel comfortable with. But we need to find that balance.”

A big move, recently, was the launch of the high performance XKR-S model, which delved into Porsche 911 GT3 territory, with an in-your-face bodykit and aerodynamic performance given preference over Jag’s traditonal GT comfort.

“I have to admit that that car is quite aggressive, although I like to use the word ‘assertive’ more. That car is overt, because it has been designed in the wind tunnel, all these appendages you see are there for a very good reason. It’s to keep the car on the road at 300kmh. Therefore they have a function and so I’m very comfortable with they way they’ve evolved. We wouldn’t do that on a less powerful car,  but you’ll certainly see our cars becoming more assertive, and the simple reason for that is that the visual geography out there in the car world is very aggressive. If you go to America, people out there drive around in great big pickups and you need your cars to have a presence on the road and I think the idea of the cars becoming more subdued and a little more gentle in their attitude and their presence are probably over.”

Certainly, Callum’s latest creation, the F-Type, as fully revealed this week at the Paris Motor Show, follows these cues. Classically Jaguar proportions (long bonnet, short rear) but with aggressive (sorry, assertive) details like the deep side vents and the gaping grille. It’s a looker, that’s for sure.

“Even if a car is fairly ordinary, they need to shout a bit louder these days, and Jaguars certainly will be shouting.”

Road Test: Citroen C5 2.0 HDI Auto

Price as tested: TBA

+ Groovy looks, lovely cabin, different, unique
– Tight rear space, ride too firm
= Attractively different, differently attractive


Shall we not mention the Renault Vel Satis?

The last time a 'mainstream' French car maker tried to convince us to buy a premium saloon that wasn't a saloon, it was Renault's tall, oddball hatch. And charming though it was, it failed utterly in the face of ultra-conservative saloon buyers. It wasn't a conventional three-box and it didn't have a German badge. So no thanks, said the Irish car buying public.

And now here comes Citroen, fresh from it's reinvention of the DS nameplate, expanding a classic singular into a modern three-pronged family of verging-on-premium models.

This then is the third prong of the rebirth of DS, the DS5, a car which will seek to pull in company user-choosers and upper-end family car buyers by being different, attractive and just a little bit luxurious.  

And... It's not quite what we were expecting. With the C4-based DS4 occupying the space around the Qashqai-Golf-A3 kind of area, we expected the DS5 to be bigger by far. But it's not. In fact, it's based on the same basic chassis as the DS4 so although it's a little wider and longer, there's not the clear blue water between them that you'd expect.

That's good in one significant way though, and that's price. Official prices won't be revealed until closer to the February on-sale date but you can expect it to be about €2,500 more than an equivalent C5 saloon, which makes it a lot of luxury for the money.

On the outside it looks exceptionally distinctive. Perhaps not hopelessly gorgeous, but handsome, different and very eye-catching, especially with that chrome 'Sabre' blade running back from the headlights.

Around the back, there are hints of old-shape C4 Coupe, C6 (a little) and Smart Roadster Coupe but overall, it's a handsome beast.

Inside that's continued and with big, enveloping seats and a careful attention to cabin quality detail, the DS5 is a very pleasant place in which to spend time. There are a couple of glitches: the centre console switches are set too far back and the main instruments are a bit uninspiring, but if Citroen was trying to create a premium feel, then it has succeeded.

But not in the back and this is where the DS5's case starts to unravel a little. A car like this, with a DS badge, should be as spacious and as comfy as your lounge. Sadly though, the DS5 just lacks that last inch of knee, foot and headroom to feel properly luxurious in the back. Kids will be fine, adults will not and they're unlikely to be pleased with the cheaper plastics and fiddly electric window switches.

Thankfully the DS reclaims some ground with a big, well shaped 468-litre boot, so it is at least practical.

But what exactly is it? It's certainly  no conventional saloon, and nor is it spacious enough to be an estate (Citroen's own, and excellent, C5 Tourer murders it in the practicality stakes) or high-riding enough to be an SUV. In fact, it tries, as so many have before, to combine elements of each into a coherent whole. And the big surprise is that it comes very close to doing so successfully. After all the last car to try and combine such virtues was the Fiat Croma and  that was a car so bad as to be close to undriveable.

But the DS5 actually manages a decent fist of it. It's handsome enough to make you look past its lack of a separate boot, and in the front at least, comfy and stylish enough to make you believe in its pretensions of luxury. As ever with a Citroen, it’s the little details that sell it. That Sabre blade of chrome we’ve already mentioned, but then there’s the (optional) leather embossed with a gorgeous watch-strap pattern, the little hatch-like individual sunroofs over the driver and passenger, the neat Head Up Display, the aircraft-style switches in the roof and the pretty LED daytime running lights.

Dynamically, it's a mixed bag. Stick to wide, mostly smooth roads and the DS5 feels composed and positive to drive with well weighted steering and excellent body control.

Stray onto twistier, bumpier stretches though and it's not so good. The steering proves under-geared and the ride quality, certainly on the 19" alloys of our test car, was little better than poor, and far too firm and jiggly for a supposedly luxurious French car.

Fitted with a conventional six-speed automatic, the 160bhp 2.0 HDI diesel is lovely, keeping itself mostly quiet, proving itself very punchy and suppressing its emissions and consumption to acceptable levels. There will be a 110bhp eHDI version that uses Citroen's annoyingly jerky EGS automated manual but manages Band A emissions and a very high tech Hybrid4 that keeps the 160bhp diesel, adds a battery-powered rear axle and provides a combined 200bhp with 99g/km emissions. Impressive stuff, but a brief spin showed that it too is hobbled by the awkward EGS box and we didn't have it long enough to see if it can get close to its claimed 3.8-litre per 100km combined fuel consumption figure. If not, then the regular HDI has a still-excellent balance of consumption and performance, and doesn't sacrifice boot space to the Hybrid's bulky battery pack.

What Citroen has wrought with the DS5 is... interesting. To be honest, I doubt that the blinkered Irish car buyer, wracked with conservatism, will ever see past the horde of more conventional three-box shapes that stand between him and the DS5. But for the 150 or so people Citroen Ireland expects to snap one up, there is something very good here.

Yes, the ride needs fixing, and if you  must regularly carry adults in the back then you're better off with a C5, but as ever, Citroen has decided to stretch it's legs out onto the precipitous high-wire marked 'different' and thank god that it's prepared to do so. Perhaps the best illustration of the DS5’s character is to look up its safety rating on www.euroncap.com Quite apart from the fact that it scores exceptionally highly in all aspects of safety, there’s the little panel underneath to contrast it with ‘Comparable Cars.’ None are listed...



Facts & Figures

Citroen DS5 2.0 HDI Auto
Price as tested: TBA
Price range: TBA
On sale: February 2012
Capacity: 1,997cc
Power: 163bhp
Torque: 340Nm
Top speed: 215kmh
0-100kmh: 8.8sec
Economy: 5.1l-100km (51.3mpg)
CO2 emissions: 133g/km (129g/km with 16” wheels)
Road Tax Band: B €156
Euro NCAP rating: 5-star adult: 89% adult, 83% child, 40% pedestrian, 97% safety assist

Road Test: Jaguar XF 2.2D SE

Price as tested: €44,995

In brief: A decade ago, a diesel Jaguar would have been close to sacrilege. Now, the smallest, most affordable oil-burning Jag is one of the famous marque’s best.


It's no coincidence that Jaguar chose Munich as the location to launch its updated XF saloon to the world's press. Munich is home to BMW and BMW is most certainly Jaguar's target as it seeks to double sales of the already-popular XF.

That the XF has sold well since its 2008 launch is more than merely pleasant news to Jaguar; it has in the most literal way saved the company. When Indian manufacturing conglomerate Tata bought Jaguar (and sister firm Land Rover) from Ford that year, Jaguar had primarily been making headlines for losing money and trying to entice US buyers with ill-considered 'retro' models like the unlovely S-Type.

The XF put a stop to the rot in two ways. Its cutting edge styling signaled the end of Jaguar's tiresome raiding of its back catalogue, and its sales revenue allowed the company time to regroup, recover and reinvigorate. That Jaguar-Land Rover recently posted a STG£1-billion profit tells you all you need to know on that score.

And how refreshing it is to be driving a new Jaguar and not commenting on or worrying about the firm's future or financial stability. And doing so in Munich, just minutes from BMW's heartland? Brave, almost arrogant. Good to see it.

Good too to see that the XF's subtle rhinoplasty has finally given it the face its body always deserved. You'd never have called the 2008 model ugly, but it lacked the piercing looks of the C-XF concept car the preceded it. Now, with narrow, feline headlights (with LED daytime running lights in the shape of a stylised J), a bigger, bolder grille and detail changes to the bumpers, the XF looks a million dollars.

Yet it will cost a much more reasonable €44,995 for a basic SE model; about €10k cheaper than the previous basic XF. And that's because Jaguar has introduced a four-cylinder diesel engine to the XF. It may sound prosaic to discuss a four-banger fuel-saver when talking about a Jaguar, but the simple fact is that its rivals (the BMW 5 Series, Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Audi A6) all score their biggest sales with just such engines.

So, lifted from the Land Rover Freelander and forthcoming Range Rover Evoque, the XF's 2.2-litre turbocharged engine gets a new oil pan and new active engine mounts, as well as a dual-layer bulkhead to keep noise to a minimum. And it works. At all but a cold start up, the XF's new engine is pleasingly refined although you're never in doubt that it is a diesel.

It is very punchy though. With 188bhp and 450Nm of torque, shifting even the XF's 1,745kg bulk wasn't going to be hard. 450Nm is actually more torque than the old 2.7-litre V6 diesel and the XF wafts along just as a Jaguar should, with real thump when the slick-shifting 8-speed ZF automatic gearbox (the only transmission option) kicks down. It can be a touch hesitant pulling out of a tight junction though as the engine takes a second or two to start pulling properly.  It's frugal though, and comes with a standard stop-start system that is impressive for the speed with which it kicks the engine back into life. Jaguar claims 5.4-litres per 100km on the combined fuel consumption cycle and an early production car drove the 1,312km from the factory in England's midlands to Munich on one 64-litre tank of fuel.

Co2 emissions are a touch high though. BMW's 520d and Audi's A6 2.0 TDI both slot into Band B for emissions, with 129g/km figures with makes the Jag's 149g/km look pretty lofty. Adding automatic gearboxes to the BMW and Audi raises their figures to 139g/km but that still leaves the Jaguar driver paying an extra €150 a year in road tax. Hardly a deal breaker but a serious consideration (as will the BIK figure be) for the fleet managers that Jaguar will be courting with this model.

Perhaps it would be best to forget the figures for now and concentrate on the driving. We'll hold back on any definitive judgement until we get some Irish tarmac under the tyres, but the XF feels wonderfully lithe and fluid to drive, with exceptionally well balanced steering and a ride quality that's only upset at low speeds by short-wave urban lumps and ripples. If you want your executive saloon to deliver on true driver enjoyment, the XF stands head and shoulders above even the mighty 5 Series. Remarkable when you think that its chassis dates back to a late nineties Lincoln.

Its cabin can't compete though. We love the blue mood lighting, the avant-garde rotary gear selector and the touch sensitive lights, and there's little enough to quibble with when it comes to quality of assembly. But the main dials look cheap and uninteresting and the touch-screen infotainment system is fiddly. Space in the back is only fine if you're stepping out of a 5 Series; compared to an A6 or (especially) an E-Class, it's too tight, even if the boot is reasonably generous.

But you would have to be a spectacular curmudgeon not to be charmed by this car, just a little bit. The new 2.2 diesel is a welcome addition to the XF range, expanding its appeal and making it noticeably more affordable to run. That it falls short of the Germans in the efficiency stakes is a shame, but that detracts not a bit from how terrific this car is to drive.
Facts & Figures

Jaguar XF 2.2D SE
Price as tested: €44,995
Range price: €44,995 to €114,800
Capacity: 2,179cc
Power: 188bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Top speed: 240kmh
0-100kmh: 8.5sec
Economy: 5.4l-100km (52.3mpg)
CO2 emissions: 149g/km
VRT Band: C. €302 road tax
Euro NCAP rating: Not yet tested

Road Test: Alfa Romeo 159 2.0 JTDM 136bhp TI

Price as tested: €32,495

In brief: Often overlooked, but the masses don’t know what they’re missing out on. Age keeps it behind the opposition, but charm and real quality help bridge the gap.


I think it’s fair to call the Alfa 159 a bit of a forgotten car. It’s predecessor, the 156, was one of the biggest sellers in Alfa’s history, but when the 159 was launched it dropped quickly under the radar and pretty much stayed there. While the likes of the BMW 3 Series and Audi A4 have since been scaling Everest-like heights in sales terms, the 159 remains one for the cognoscenti.

But not, crucially, one for just die-hard Alfa fans. It used to be that you had to be pretty die-hard to put up with the quality and dynamic foibles that once came a standard with an Alfa, but that has simply not been the case for may a year now, and the 159 (and its smaller siblings, the Giulietta and Mito) are proof of that.

If we’re going to talk about flaws (and we may as well do, now that we’ve started) then anything you can properly criticise the 159 for is based much more on age than on any particular flaw. So, the fact that it’s not quite as spacious as you’d like, the fact that the driving position is more awkward than it should be and the suppression of noise, vibration and harshness isn’t what it should be can all be traced back to the fact that the platform the 159 rides on dates its development back almost a decade. Car design, in technology terms, has moved on since then.

But not in terms of aesthetics. There’s no denying it, this is a properly beautiful car, and our test car in its bright red paintwork and with the 19” alloys that come with the TI specification looked utterly bewitching.

And pretty gorgeous inside too. The optional biscuit leather seats (with the Alfa logo embroidered in red stitching) the deeply inset dials and the slim-rimmed three-spoke steering wheel all create an almost clichéd Italian cabin experience.

What’s not a cliché is the quality. This is a car assembled with palpable care and attention to detail. There was not a single creak or groan, and all of the surfaces that you touch and feel (aside from some slightly brittle column stalks) are of the highest order.

Yes, the driving position is a little too high and a touch offset, but the seats are very comfy and supportive and that thin-rimmed steering wheel feels utterly brilliant to hold. Tactility, as well as quality, is the order of the day.

Nestling behind those squinting lights is a new 2.0-litre JTDM diesel engine. Gone is the old 1.9 diesel and in comes this one, with 134bhp and a healthy 350Nm of torque. Against the stop watch it delivers a 9.9sec 0-100kmh time and returns 5.1-litres per 100km on the combined fuel economy cycle.

Subjectively though, it feels much quicker. Must be the torque, which when you keep the engine in the right rev band, allows the 159 to bound along the road with great gulps of forward thrust. The six-speed manual gearbox is delightful, feeling properly mechanical as you move it across the gate, so stirring the 159’s engine is no chore. Of course, no diesel can give you the proper Alfa Romeo alto-soprano scram at high rpm, but against that we’ll take the excellent fuel economy and the 134g/km Co2 emissions.

A shame that there’s a bit too much clatter and gurgle at low and urban speeds, but once you’re cruising on main roads, that does go away, to be replaced by a bit too much wind and tyre noise. Again, blame the 159’s age. It’s not especially bad but an A4 or C-Class are noticeably quieter.

But the good news comes when you get to a smooth, sweeping stretch of corners. Then, with that torque wave to float on, the 159 reminds you of why it’s actually a proper sports saloon.

The ride, which is a touch firm around town, improves the faster you go and that steering; quick geared across its locks and full of feel, allows you to point the 159 exactly where you want it. OK, so perhaps this front-driver cannot match the handling ‘purity’ of a rear-drive BMW, but on the right road it flows wonderfully and rewards the driver with proper enthusiasm. In fact, given how anodyne and removed from the action so many modern cars are, the 159 is nothing short of refreshing.

Next year, there will be a replacement, called the Giulia, based on an all-new platform and doubtless with better refinement, more space and even better economy and emissions. But something tells us that it won’t be quite as good to drive as a 159. Electric power steering will rob the 159’s delicate feel and balance and the extra length and bulk will probably take away some of its fabulous chuckabillty.

And that will be a shame. You know that thing of never realising what you have until it's gone? I reckon that could well be the case with the 159. Get out and grab one while you still can.

Facts & Figures

Alfa Romeo 159 2.0 JTDM 134bhp TI
Price as tested: €32,495
Range price: €27,995 to €36,995
Capacity: 1,856cc
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 350Nm
Top speed: 202kmh
0-100kmh: 9.9sec
Economy: 5.1l-100km (55.4mpg)
CO2 emissions: 134g/km
VRT Band: B. €156 road tax
Euro NCAP rating: 5-star adult, 4-star child, 1-star pedestrian