So what do these cars have in common? The Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon JTD, the Hyundai Getz auto, the Kia Rio sedan auto, the Mazda2 auto and the Suzuki Swift manual?

It certainly isn’t space, as only one of them is a roomy five door, five seat wagon. Nor could it be style, as the Alfa is from the skilled hands of the ‘Designer of the Century’ and, along with its sedan sibling, has been acclaimed for its style inside and out. With the Alfa 159 Sportwagon’s top speed of 226 km/h and the ability to rush to 100 km/h in 8.6 seconds, there is nothing in common when it comes to performance. Needless to say, with its handcrafted leather interior and lavish list of standard equipment, the Alfa Romeo is on a different planet when it comes to features in this list of apparent rivals. Nor can the others match Alfa Romeo’s illustrious history of records, heritage and achievement on and off the race track.

Remarkably it comes down to one figure: 7.0. - That is the average fuel consumption figure, in litres per 100 km, revealed by the official government figures, that they all share in common. Despite its space and comfort, sports car performance, wagon versatility, sumptuous interior and prolific equipment list, the Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon JTD has the same fuel economy as a group of the country’s leading economy and micro cars.