There are still a surprising number of  people who don’t know how to get in the back of a Giulietta. Sometimes you can see it coming… These are the people who opt to sit in the back, then open the front door and get cross because the driver’s seat doesn’t  roll forward enough!

There was a wedding at the White Lion in Aldeburgh last night and this morning, one of the guests tracked me down. Not because I had flirted with the bride but because he was on the verge of buying a VW Golf GTI and wanted to check out the competition. Naturally, I obliged.

While I complimented him on his choice of car, I was also keen to see what he thought of the Alfa, in a non prejudicial way. I think it was fair to say he was blown away. Once he had checked out the back seats, I took him for a drive for a few miles up the Suffolk coastline.

He played with all the buttons, loved the optional Bose sound system, cooed at the outrageously alternative dash and then gave me his verdict.

Class-leading hatchback with rock solid residuals (Golf) versus cool-looking Italian rock star car (Giulietta)? Naturally, he’s off to his Alfa dealer tomorrow…