ALFA GIULIETTA SALES continued their upward trend with 74 new owners driving off showroom floors in May. This is good news for a brand that has really struggled in SA during the last few years. Let’s hope the public enthusiasm for the new cars is well supported and we continue to see Alfas on our streets.

While I remain a passionate Alfisti, I have to admit I have finally unearthed a few niggles – or eccentricities as Alfa owners prefer to call them.

The first issue is that the stop-start system which cuts the engine at traffic lights, or whenever you happen to be in neutral and at a standstill, has gone on vacation. I am now greeted with a ‘stop-start unavailable’ readout on the dashboard every time the function fails to engage. I’ll have to investigate this issue a little further if it persists but will first give the system the mandatory week to sort itself out as it’s not actually that much of a hindrance when driving.

The second and slightly more annoying issue is with the petrol filler cap. As with a lot of vehicles nowadays, the filler cap locks and unlocks along with the door locks, so when you want to fill up with fuel you unlock your doors and the filler cap can be released with an inward push. That’s not been happening of late. When the door unlocks the filler cap can be pushed in but it doesn’t release, so the attendant continues to push harder and harder at it with grubby fingers until the areas looks like it’s been attacked by a toddler who’s just gorged on a slab of melted chocolate. It now takes several flicks on the unlock button inside the car to encourage the filler cap to open. I will definitely get this attended to ASAP as I don’t want to be stranded at a petrol station unable to get fuel into the car. Now that would be an embarrassing phone call.

Apart from these two, um, eccentricities, the Alfa has treated me well this month. I’m always pleased to return to its stylish confines after driving some of the other test machinery we have at the office.

PREVIOUS UPDATE HERE