So you guys not too impressed then eh? Thing is, I really loved the car and I'm thinking after 8 years of Golfs that it might make a nice change for a couple of years. It drove well & was quick enough (for me) and was surprisingly good inside the cabin IMHO. My main concern is depreciation and having less money in 2/3 years time to buy a MK7 GTI. Also doesn't help that my Mrs doesn't like Golfs at all!
Steve
I'm going to wade in here as somebody who moved from an Alfa Mito to a Golf GTi.
I loved my Alfa; I never spent a penny on it, and having spent £4k on my GTi already, I still don't love the Golf anything like as much and part of me yearns to be back in it.
It was a better looking car, was more interesting to sit in, mine was perfectly reliable (and you still have a year's warranty left if yours isn't, so you can make sure anything is sorted), whereas my Golf has been unreliable and full of rattles.
The steering wasn't great, but then the Golf's is also fairly dull.
At the end of the day, they're special. The reviews suggest they are 90% of the car the Golf is, but can't quite match it. The feeling you will get will more than make up for it; wanting to get in it in the morning, look back at it when it's parked.
But then we've had 2 Alfas in our family, and both were utterly reliable (although my Mito was low mileage).
We've had around 15 VAG products and only one has been as reliable, and that was a Mk4 1.6...
I don't know much about depreciation, so that bit is up to you, but I'd recommend an Alfa wholeheartedly. This is only my experience, though; there will still be a slightly higher probability of it not being perfectly reliable, but here's hoping it is fine!