...if I had the money

...I'd buy an Alfa Romeo 146

In another regular series, I'll be writing about cars that I'd put in my ultimate garage. Not exotics, mind you, anyone can reel off the different Ferraris and Porsches they'd have in their "dream garage". No, thanks to my substantial geekiness, my dream garage would have to be rather large as it'd be full of hundreds of cars that are cheap, obscure or perhaps just a little bit cool.

We kick off with the Alfa 146. Replacing the 33 in 1994, the 145 and 146 were designed to compete in the mid-sized hatchback market. The 3-door 145 won fans and critics alike with "bread-van" styling, and the 146 was a more conventional though still unusual 5-door hatchback. Original cars were served with Alfa's 1.5 and 1.7 boxer engines that had seen service in the 33, but these were outdated and Alfa quickly equipped the cars with their excellent 1.4, 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 Twin Spark inline-fours in 1996.

I actually came quite close to buying a 146 recently. On the lookout for cars to replace my old Fiesta, I came across a 1.8 in an unusual shade of browny-gold for not a lot of money. Unable to resist the temptation of driving my first Alfa Romeo, I took it for a test drive.

Predictably, I loved it. Sure, it had some faults - the driving position had apparently been designed for someone with body proportions not dissimilar to Bender from Futurama. Bender's flexible limbs would have made getting used to the pedals much easier too, as normal feet seemed somehow insufficient and under-jointed for the task. Also, given the choice of the 146 and the QE2 for a trip to the shops, I'd have to pick the liner for it's superior turning circle. And of course, there'd always be a tiny voice in the back of your mind telling you that it might choose not to start one morning.

Niggles aside though, it was great. It sounds clichéd to use terms like "passion" and "character" but it would be somehow wrong not to. The engine sounded alive and angry. The snarly exhaust note was intoxicating and the slick gearbox allowed me to enjoy it. The brakes were firm and responsive and any thoughts of a poor turning circle disappeared on the open road as little over two turns lock-to-lock required recalibration of my senses after slow-witted normal cars.

There were intangibles too though. The colour, which suited the car even though on anything else it would look horrific. The way the car smelled Italian - so similar to the old Fiat Unos we'd had in the family before. Even the badge in front of you on the steering wheel, which seems so much more special than so many others. Finally, I like the way you see so few of them. This isn't because they've all rotted away like Alfas of old or like Ford Escorts of the same vintage, but because not many people bought them in the first place.

And you can buy them for peanuts. It's entirely possible to get a fairly good one for less than a grand. For this reason, if I had the money, I'd buy one.

In the garage: 146 1.8ts, Grigio Luce di Amalfi ("Light Amalfi grey"), Speedline wheels from 155 Silverstone, 30mm drop.