Alfa Romeo Giulia 2018 Review
Alfa Romeo’s Giulia is aggressively priced and generously equipped. It deserves to disrupt your Audi A4/BMW 3 Series/Mercedes C Class buying decision. Start money is $59,895 for the 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbopetrol Giulia, with 147kW of power and an eight-speed automatic, in a rear-wheel drive layout.
Giulia Super, with more fruit and the same drivetrain, is $64,195; with a 132kW 2.2-litre turbodiesel, it’s $65,895.
Veloce, at $71,895, looks like the value/performance/equipment sweet spot in the Giulia line-up. It gets a 206kW version of the 2.0-litre turbopetrol engine, plus premium performance hardware including adjustable suspension, a limited slip rear differential, and exquisite traditional Alfa five-hole 19-inch alloy wheels.
Alfa also needs to make a heroic, forceful statement of intent with the Giulia, and that it certainly does with the top-of-the-range Quadrifoglio, priced at $143,900.
Up against BMW’s M3 and the Mercedes AMG C 63 S, the Quadrifolglio (or four-leaf clover, Alfa’s historic racing symbol) boasts suitably ballistic numbers from a “Ferrari-inspired” 375kW, 2.9-liter twin turbo V6, which flings it from 0–100km/h in just 3.9 seconds — supercar territory — en route to a top speed of 309 km/h.
Perhaps Giulia’s greatest attraction, though, is the fact that it’s so, so gorgeous. Even if you think Alfas are and always will be rubbish, I defy you to look at the Giulia and not wantonly want it.
Alfa has sometimes left all the beauty on the outside, though, and compromised its cars with a cheap, industrial-grade cabin.
Not here. Giulia’s interior is beautifully styled and finished, with deep, luxurious leather/Alcantara front seats, aluminum and carbon-fibre trim in Quadrifolglio and a driving position that’s entirely conventional, unlike Alfas of yore, which had the ergonomics of an alien spacecraft.
The dash and control layout owes much to BMW, particularly the iDrive-type infotainment system.
Understated opulence in a Gran Turismo package, in the manner of Maserati, is the overall impression when you walk around and climb into Giulia.
The Maserati connection is also clearly evident in the way Giulia drives.
Although its numbers suggest otherwise, Quadrifolglio’s 2.9-liter V6 isn’t a primal screamer, although it will make the appropriate racket if you select Race mode, brutalize the accelerator and don’t mind frying $1000 worth of Pirelli P Zero tires.
At speed, it’s surprisingly sotto voce, with a seductive, mellifluous thrum, even as it approaches the 6500rpm redline. I anticipated a nuclear-grade top-end kick, as you tend to do when 375kW is involved, but it didn’t really happen. The engine has so much grunt that its power arrives almost as an afterthought.
The eight-speed auto works seamlessly with your right foot, especially in Dynamic and Race modes, where paddles tempt you to compare your gear-shifting skills with the engineers’ algorithms.
You can feel the drive-train sending extra torque to the outside rear wheel as you power through corners, complementing Giulia’s exceptionally fi ne balance and responsive turning. It’s one of those rare cars that steer almost by intuition, though, like its German rivals, the driver-to-road connection is slightly anesthetized by the array of electronic systems doing most of the work. Alfa has delivered a machine that really does deserve comparison with Germany’s best. The brand still carries heavy baggage as a maker of self-destructing cars. It claims those days are over, of course, but Giulia will be the acid test.
THINGS WE LIKE
✔ At last, a viable alternative to Audi, BMW and Mercedes
✔ Looks like a million dollars, costs much less
✔ Comfortable, spacious, luxurious cabin
✔ Quadrifolglio performance
✔ Torque vectoring works
✔ Loaded with gear
THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT LIKE
Will it throw tantrums?
Alfa resale values are not strong
Gearshift paddles are fixed and don’t move with the steering wheel
SPECS (Quadrifolglio)
• Made in Italy
• 2.9-litre twin turbo petrol V6/eight speed automatic/rear-wheel drive
• 375kW of power at 6500rpm/600Nm of torque from 2500-5000rpm
• 0–100km/h in 3.9 seconds (claimed)
• 5.7L/100km highway; 12.4L/100km city; 95 octane premium; CO2 emissions are 189g/km
• Warranty: Three years/150,000 kilometers
• Standard: Eight airbags, stability control, automatic emergency braking, blind spot monitoring, radar cruise, rear cross traffic alert, camera, carbon fibre roof, 19-inch alloy wheels, sports seats with leather/Alcantara upholstery, Brembo performance brakes, carbon fibre interior trim, Harman Kardon audio, adaptive dampers, 8.8-inch infotainment screen, digital radio, navigation, keyless entry and starting
• Redbook future values: 3yr: 43%; 5yr: 24%
Giulia Super, with more fruit and the same drivetrain, is $64,195; with a 132kW 2.2-litre turbodiesel, it’s $65,895.
Veloce, at $71,895, looks like the value/performance/equipment sweet spot in the Giulia line-up. It gets a 206kW version of the 2.0-litre turbopetrol engine, plus premium performance hardware including adjustable suspension, a limited slip rear differential, and exquisite traditional Alfa five-hole 19-inch alloy wheels.
Alfa also needs to make a heroic, forceful statement of intent with the Giulia, and that it certainly does with the top-of-the-range Quadrifoglio, priced at $143,900.
Up against BMW’s M3 and the Mercedes AMG C 63 S, the Quadrifolglio (or four-leaf clover, Alfa’s historic racing symbol) boasts suitably ballistic numbers from a “Ferrari-inspired” 375kW, 2.9-liter twin turbo V6, which flings it from 0–100km/h in just 3.9 seconds — supercar territory — en route to a top speed of 309 km/h.
Perhaps Giulia’s greatest attraction, though, is the fact that it’s so, so gorgeous. Even if you think Alfas are and always will be rubbish, I defy you to look at the Giulia and not wantonly want it.
Alfa has sometimes left all the beauty on the outside, though, and compromised its cars with a cheap, industrial-grade cabin.
Not here. Giulia’s interior is beautifully styled and finished, with deep, luxurious leather/Alcantara front seats, aluminum and carbon-fibre trim in Quadrifolglio and a driving position that’s entirely conventional, unlike Alfas of yore, which had the ergonomics of an alien spacecraft.
The dash and control layout owes much to BMW, particularly the iDrive-type infotainment system.
Understated opulence in a Gran Turismo package, in the manner of Maserati, is the overall impression when you walk around and climb into Giulia.
The Maserati connection is also clearly evident in the way Giulia drives.
Although its numbers suggest otherwise, Quadrifolglio’s 2.9-liter V6 isn’t a primal screamer, although it will make the appropriate racket if you select Race mode, brutalize the accelerator and don’t mind frying $1000 worth of Pirelli P Zero tires.
At speed, it’s surprisingly sotto voce, with a seductive, mellifluous thrum, even as it approaches the 6500rpm redline. I anticipated a nuclear-grade top-end kick, as you tend to do when 375kW is involved, but it didn’t really happen. The engine has so much grunt that its power arrives almost as an afterthought.
The eight-speed auto works seamlessly with your right foot, especially in Dynamic and Race modes, where paddles tempt you to compare your gear-shifting skills with the engineers’ algorithms.
You can feel the drive-train sending extra torque to the outside rear wheel as you power through corners, complementing Giulia’s exceptionally fi ne balance and responsive turning. It’s one of those rare cars that steer almost by intuition, though, like its German rivals, the driver-to-road connection is slightly anesthetized by the array of electronic systems doing most of the work. Alfa has delivered a machine that really does deserve comparison with Germany’s best. The brand still carries heavy baggage as a maker of self-destructing cars. It claims those days are over, of course, but Giulia will be the acid test.
THINGS WE LIKE
✔ At last, a viable alternative to Audi, BMW and Mercedes
✔ Looks like a million dollars, costs much less
✔ Comfortable, spacious, luxurious cabin
✔ Quadrifolglio performance
✔ Torque vectoring works
✔ Loaded with gear
THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT LIKE
Will it throw tantrums?
Alfa resale values are not strong
Gearshift paddles are fixed and don’t move with the steering wheel
SPECS (Quadrifolglio)
• Made in Italy
• 2.9-litre twin turbo petrol V6/eight speed automatic/rear-wheel drive
• 375kW of power at 6500rpm/600Nm of torque from 2500-5000rpm
• 0–100km/h in 3.9 seconds (claimed)
• 5.7L/100km highway; 12.4L/100km city; 95 octane premium; CO2 emissions are 189g/km
• Warranty: Three years/150,000 kilometers
• Standard: Eight airbags, stability control, automatic emergency braking, blind spot monitoring, radar cruise, rear cross traffic alert, camera, carbon fibre roof, 19-inch alloy wheels, sports seats with leather/Alcantara upholstery, Brembo performance brakes, carbon fibre interior trim, Harman Kardon audio, adaptive dampers, 8.8-inch infotainment screen, digital radio, navigation, keyless entry and starting
• Redbook future values: 3yr: 43%; 5yr: 24%
Comments
Post a Comment