No. 7: Alpha Romeo Giulia
Alfa Romeo are well known for making classy luxury and sports cars. The Guilia is a great choice for women with more disposable income and a love of driving. It boasts excellent handling, especially on corners making it a must-have for countryside enthusiasts who want to take long drives down narrow and winding country lanes.
You would probably expect an Italian car to be more sporty than the rest and in this case you would be right. Although it was brought out to rival mid-sized luxury cars such as Mercedes C class and BMW 3 Series the Giulia is very much a driver's car. It can be thrown into corners with full confidence, steering is light and precise and it is well balanced.
Despite all the high-tech it contains (the usual collision warning system, automatic braking, pedestrian detection etc) and the plush interior it is a particularly light car thanks to generous use of aluminium and carbon fibre. All this weight paring gives better performance and lower fuel consumption.
Getting a balance between creating a lightweight, nimble car and a luxurious one does of course mean making a few compromises. The ride can be a little harsh at times and road noise can be obtrusive. Little things such as illogical switch settings and a less than perfect entertainment system could be seen as drawbacks but then features which are optional extras on some of its rivals are standard; such as lane warning, parking sensors, dual zone climate control and satnav.
As ever there is a huge variety of model choices, with prices from around £33,000 to about £63,500.
If you fancied a luxury saloon like the BMW 3 Series but really wanted something more sporty, the Alfa Romeo Giullia may be the car for you.