If you're buying an Italian car, then you want it to feel just a little bit special. No, scratch that. Not just a little bit - a lot. Even if the car in question has to be somewhat practical. Something like an Alfa Romeo 147 for instance.

To be fair, the 147 always has felt a classier piece of kit than most of its rivals but finishing touches are everything in a car like this. If, for around the same money, you could just add a beautiful leather interior, a classy set of alloys and a smart paint job, what a car it would be. How the neighbour's curtains would twitch. Faced with trying to maintain 147 sales in the later years of this car's life, Alfa Romeo have done exactly that - hence the latest 147 Collezione models we're looking at here.

For not much more than standard model prices (which means from £13,950), buyers can expect to find all the options included they probably wouldn't have been able to stretch to. Which means that leather interior, exclusive 17" alloy wheels, lowered suspension and special paint all as standard. For the first time, this 147 is available in a striking Ghiaccio White special paint finish, along with the unique option of a black gloss roof. There's also a leather gear knob and leather steering wheel with remote audio controls, an Alfa code immobilizer and alarm system, remote control central door locking, electric windows, a trip Computer, an 8-speaker CD player, climate control, six airbags, ABS with EBD and ASR stability control.

Engine choices? Well there are only two, a 1.6-litre T.S petrol unit or a 1.9-litre JTDM diesel, both developing 120bhp. The diesel option is £1,000 more and there's a £500 premium if you opt for five-doors rather than the standard three.

"Try a 147 Collezione, then challenge yourself to opt for a spartan 1 Series or A3 instead. Could be a tough call."

Otherwise, it's the standard 147 recipe, one that was freshened up a little a couple of years back. The styling re-think took its cue from the marque's excitingly styled Brera, the headlamps now being a good deal sharper, tapering to inboard points. These lamps feature triple lamp clusters and the smarter bumper houses tiny front foglamps and far more aggressive air intakes.

Walk round to the rear of this Alfa and you'll spot a chromed strip at the bottom of the tailgate which should do a very good job of dissuading following drivers from high beaming you. The rear lights are a good deal larger than those of the original 147, smeared across the tailgate and rear wing. A redesigned lower bumper assembly houses the number plate and the rear end of the car is nicely finished by a reprofiled tailgate that makes the Alfa badge significantly more prominent. It's tough to spot one bad angle.

If you owned an early 147, you'll also find that the interior has come in for a little attention, the stylists charged chiefly with improving the perception of quality. Soft touch two-tone fascias are in, as are moves to make the instruments that little bit more legible. Other more elemental improvements to the car have included a revision to the suspension, aimed at improving ride quality. There's a great deal of 'tuneability' in the double wishbone front and MacPherson strut rear setup and weight has been reduced significantly.

With the launch of models like the latest 159, Alfa's understanding of how to screw together a decent quality car has come on leaps and bounds. This 147 is no exception, the current car featuring a built-in sense of occasion that's utterly absent from a Volkswagen Golf or even an Audi A3. Sit inside the 147 and the memories of Italianate driving positions that we grew up with in Alfasuds and Giuliettas are banished forever. Seat, pedals, steering wheel, gearstick and mirrors all appear to be positioned around an anthropomorphic figure of a human being rather than a gibbon (as was the case with the old 145). The rest of the interior has other such considerate touches too.

Of the two engines on offer to Collezione buyers, we'd recommend the diesel. There are of course diesels and diesels. Some aren't too far removed from the smelly old clatterers that many of us grew up with, whereas others are unrecognisable from cars of this ilk and are actually preferable to a similar capacity petrol engine. Chalk the JTDM engine as fitted to this 147 up to the latter category. It's pleasantly punchy, if not in the category of super diesels that are now being explored by companies such as Volkswagen. With common-rail Multijet technology, the 8-valve JTD engine offers a smooth, progressive power delivery, with its 280Nm of torque arriving at only 2,000rpm. All of which means you don't need to bury the accelerator pedal through the carpet in order to make respectable progress.

The torque of this 1.9-litre engine makes the big-boned 147 appear rather lithe, sprinting to 60mph in 9.6 seconds and on to a maximum speed of 120mph. This is a second quicker than the 1.6-litre petrol car, a model which gets nowhere near the JTD's average fuel return of nearly 49mpg. A CO2 emissions showing of just 153g/km also helps to make the diesel car a winner in the environmental stakes.

Overall? Well the 147 has always been an unfairly overlooked option in the premium hatch sector and that will probably continue. Nevertheless, try a Collezione version, then challenge yourself to end up in a spartan BMW 1 Series or Audi A3 instead. You could find it rather difficult..