by David Finlay (5 April 2006)If I had to describe the Alfa Brera in a single word, that word would be forwards. Even when the car is sitting still, the two sets of three front lights seem to be staring fifty yards down the road, while the characteristically Italian rear is full of details which lead your eye back to the sharp end. The Brera is so forward-looking that you might imagine reverse gear was fitted only as a grudging acknowledgement of the regulations.It's the same inside. Two people can sit in the front of the Brera in reasonable comfort, enjoying the dashboard styling (which, like the headlight arrangement, is shared with the 159) and the view ahead. The windscreen is small enough for the interior mirror to cover an uncomfortably large proportion of the area, but at least looking at the road ahead isn't the gynaecological experience it was on the old Alfa Spider.But you can forget about looking behind you, because the rear window is tiny, and surrounded by enormous C-pillars. As for sitting in the back, don't give that any further thought either. With the driver's seat in a position that suits me, there isn't enough of a gap between it and the rear bench to lose a 5p piece.It hardly seems worth the bother to have built and fitted rear seats at all, since nobody is ever going to be able to use them - Alfa might as well have made the Brera a front-seater and given it permanent luggage capacity of 610 litres rather than the standard 300.On second thoughts, you would have a lot of trouble getting 610 litres' worth of stuff in there, since the tailgate is barely larger than the rear window and the load sill is ridiculously high. But hey, if you wanted practicality you should have bought a 159 instead. It's how the Brera drives that really matters.Its detail resemblances to the 159 are not the end of the story. The two cars share the same platform and suspension layout, though the Brera's wheelbase is 175mm shorter (that's about 7%), and the set-up is more sporting. That doesn't mean, however, that the Brera feels like a sports car. Considering its looks, it actually seems surprisingly saloon-like, or about the same as a really well-sorted 159. Most, but not all, of the feeling that the 159's front suspension needs to be better damped has been eradicated here, so the Brera does drive quite well, but certainly not as well as you would imagine the first time you looked at it.Of the Breras I've driven so far, the turbo diesel models actually have a slight edge on handling. The car tested here, though, uses Alfa's 185bhp 2.2-litre four-cylinder petrol unit. Its big advantage over the diesel is that it's £3000 cheaper, but it makes for a slower and less economical car.Maximum power is up at 6500rpm, maximum torque at 4500, so you have to work the engine hard to make the Brera shift, and adherence to noise regulations (boo, hiss) means that when you do that there is no longer the fabulous accompanying scream of a good Italian four-cylinder.As an entry-level car for people who like the styling and don't want to go quickly, the 2.2-litre Brera does its job well. If you want something with the performance to match the looks, you're going to have to spend more money further up the range. Engine 2198 cc, 4 cylinders Power 185 bhp @6500 rpm Torque 170 ib/ft @4500 rpm Transmission 6 speed manual Fuel/CO2 30.1 mpg / 221 g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 8.6sec Top speed 138 mph Price From £25257.00 approx Release date 08/04/2006