Inside, there are few changes since last year’s interior makeover. It’s a stylish cabin that works particularly well at night, when the red dials create a superb atmosphere. It’s comfortable, too, even if the seat is a little soft for decent back support. Although the wheel is set low, partially obscuring the dials for taller drivers, it’s within reasonable reach, and there’s plenty of adjustment on offer. Rear legroom is fine, but headroom is tight.
Equipment levels are decent, including a dual-zone climate control system and six airbags as standard. At £20,025 the JTD undercuts its most obvious rivals. That said you can’t expect the same running costs as some. We were slightly disappointed with our touring figure of 36mpg, given Alfa’s quoted combined figure of 42.8. Even at 36mpg, you could expect just under 500 miles from a tankful. Good, but some way off the BMW 320d’s frugality.
