Alfa Romeo Giulia Review

Is the aging Alfa Romeo Giulia just the perfect level of tech, driver involvement and beauty to still rival its much newer competition?

The Alfa Romeo Giulia is a vehicle that finally delivered on an age-old promise. A promise that Alfa would produce not just a fun car to drive, or a beautiful car, but a car that genuinely rivals the Germans at their own game. For so many years the companies’ offerings have fallen flat.

They may have been pretty, but the looks often wrote a cheque the car couldn’t cash once you actually started the act of driving. There are few manufacturers that seem to be as universally loved as Alfa Romeo. Even after years of mediocrity, reliability woes and a seemingly uncertain direction, every time a new vehicle is launched from the brand, we faun over it hoping it will be the second coming. In 2015 the Giulia arrived and finally all our prayers were answered.

In the past ten years the Giulia has faced some stiff competition, and while it hasn’t always beaten them on paper, even after all these years its name is always mentioned as one of the best. The jewel in the crown was the Quadrifolio. A 500bhp rear-wheel drive monster that finally had the dynamic capability and sense of occasion to match its emotional draw and exterior looks.

It faced off against two separate generations of BMW M3, Audi RS4 and has even been around long enough to see the kings of the V8, AMG, remove their seemingly halo product and replace it with a 2.0L four-cylinder hybrid in the C63. Through it all, the QV his stayed front and centre amongst enthusiasts.

While the QV is a sensational bit of kit, the rest of the range unfortunately seemed to fall in its shadow. The more basic Giulias were arguably even better looking and are still a hoot to drive. Possibly the most beautiful vehicle in the line-up is the Veloce. Out goes the twin-turbo V6, and in its place is a 2.02.0-cylinder turbo developing 280 BHP and 400Nm. A decent enough amount of power, but by no means game changing. It will hit 62mph from a standstill and 5.7 seconds which is certainly fast enough for any UK road. The reason for its sprightlier performance, considering its power deficit to some of its rivals, all lies in its weight.

The Alfa Giulia Veloce weighs in at a remarkable 1429 kgs. That is a massive 115 kilos lighter than the equivalent BMW 335i and are whopping 300 kilos lighter than the Mercedes 300e, although in fairness the Mercedes is a hybrid. That weight advantage doesn’t end in a straight line either. Through the corners it flows beautifully and as it weighs so much less, the suspension doesn’t need to be stupidly firm. This means that it handles the lumps, bumps and holes of the British B-road with a huge level of confidence. It doesn’t skip when you hit a mid-corner bump and when the road tightens up unexpectedly you can merely lift off the accelerator, and it won’t feel like it’s trying to swap ends. It just grips and goes.

The brakes are strong and precise. There was no feeling of fade even after some fairly high-speed stops, yet another advantage of its lightweight. There is a Performance Pack available which offers variable damper modes and a proper limited slip diff. If a twisty road, or even the possibility of some track days are on your mind, we would definitely recommend it, but for everyone else the vehicle rides so well it’s not a necessity.

The steering is a little too quick for our liking. You do get used to it, but in everyday driving it would start to get a little tiresome. The gearbox is an 8-speed dual clutch unit that is simply brilliant. It’s one of the smoothest on the market when left to its own devices but pop it into its manual mode and it’s quick to respond and possibly even more importantly, means that you get to use the best puddle shifters on any vehicle, at any price. They are so satisfying to with a beautiful tactile click with every gear change.

The driving position is spot on. The seats offer a lot of support as well as being comfortable. They look nice as well which is always a bonus. The steering wheel, as with so many Alfa Romeos over the years, is a thing of beauty. It is the perfect size and thickness while also having high-quality feeling physical buttons and a stop start button that hangs off the steering wheel spoke. For some reason this makes it inherently cool.

The new 12.3-inch digital display is beautiful to look at, reasonably easy to use. It doesn’t offer the same level of adjustability and personalization as something like Audi’s incredible Virtual Cockpit. While the central 8.8-inch touch screen infotainment system is looking mighty small these days, it does come with a rotary controller, like BMW’s iDrive system, which makes it not only easier to use but safer as well. The system itself is reasonably responsive and quick to use, but most importantly comes as standard with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The rest of the interior isn’t as plush or as well put together as any of the Germans, but the materials are mostly good.

More importantly though the dashboard features proper buttons and knobs that are logically laid out and have a lovely feeling of quality each and every one of them. A significant upgrade compared to some of the first Giulias that rolled out of the factory that felt a little cheap in this regard. The Veloce also gets an upgraded 600-watt Harman Kardon sound system with 14 speakers and a subwoofer. It is possibly worth the upgrade alone. There is enough space in the front of the Giulia to get comfortable, but rear room is a little on the tight side.

While there is more space than a Volvo S60, the Germans all have the Alfa beat for both head and knee room. The other problem is that all the materials are black. Not so much a problem in the front, but in the back, it can feel a little claustrophobic, particularly with some heavily tinted rear windows. The boot is a respectable 480L. The opening is a little small though so actually filling the space can be tricky. The rear seats fold 40:20:40 though so getting longer in items won’t be a problem.

The Alfa Romeo Giulia is nearly at the end of its life. It’ll be replaced in the coming months, but even after all these years it’s still holds its own against some of the toughest competitors on the market. It’s great to drive, easily the best-looking small sports sedan on sale and fast enough to keep anyone entertained. This truly is the car Alfa needed. We hope the replacement is just as good, and for just as long as the current model.

Author: Tom Edwards