There were plenty of reasons to get excited by the
new arrival, because Alfa clearly hadn't cut corners
when developing the Giulia. An entire new platform was
created, named Giorgio, featuring advanced and
lightweight construction; all Giulias have aluminium
suspension arms and subframes, cast aluminium
suspension towers, aluminium doors and wings plus a
carbonfibre driveshaft.
UK orders opened in October 2016, with prices
starting at £29,180 for the entry-level Giulia 2.0 Turbo.
Above this sat the Giulia Super, then Tecnica, with
Speciale topping the list of standard trims. The most
costly mainstream model was the Giulia 2.2 JTDm-2
180 Speciale at £34,150. Then there was a massive gulf
up to the Giulia Quadrifoglio, initially priced at £59,000.
Entry-level Giulias came with 16-inch alloys, a 6.5-
inch info display, eight-speaker audio, cruise control,
DAB radio, dual-zone climate control, automatic lights
and wipers and rear parking sensors. Moving up to
Super brought 17-inch wheels, an 8.8-inch display and
part-leather trim, while Tecnica added a cooled glove
box, front parking sensors, rear parking camera and
electric adjustment for the front seats. The Speciale
came with 18-inch alloys, bi-xenon headlights, heated
washer jets, front seats and steering wheel, body kit,
leather trim and power folding door mirrors. It's not
until you bought the range-topping Giulia Quadrifoglio
that you got auto emergency braking and blind spot
warning, along with active dampers, 19-inch wheels
and leather-and-Alcantara trim.
From September 2017, Apple Carplay and Android
Auto became a £250 option on all Giulias. Earlier that
year, the Giulia Veloce had been introduced, bridging
the gap between the Speciale and Quadrifoglio with its
£37,935 price tag. It was powered by a 280hp
turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol engine to give 0-62mph in
5.7 seconds and a 149mph top speed.
Two special editions were launched in 2018: the
Quadrifoglio NRING and the Nero Edizione. Whereas the
former cost £82,500 and was restricted to 108 units in
Europe/Middle East, the latter was more attainable
with its £34,990 price tag. The NRING featured
standard ceramic brakes, Sparco racing seats,
adaptive cruise control, a Harman Kardon audioO
ver the years, the motoring press have
used the term 'last chance saloon' on
more occasions than we care to
remember, when introducing new models
from Alfa Romeo. Every time Alfa has
unveiled its latest Audi/BMW/Mercedes rival, the
company has insisted that this time it’s got the right
product to compete. So expectations were sky-high
when Alfa Romeo announced its all-new rear-wheel
drive saloon, the Giulia.
We got our first glimpse of the Giulia on Alfa
Romeo's 105th birthday, in June 2015. At
first it was shown only in
Quadrifoglio form, with a
510hp twin-turbo V6
engine and 191mph
top speed. While
the halo
Quadrifoglio
grabbed most
of the
headlines, Alfa
followed up
with a
succession
of more
attainable
Giulias at
the March
2016 Geneva
Motor Show.
For those
wanting a
decent dose
of economy,
the 2.2-litre
JTDm-2 diesel
came in 150hp and
180hp forms, while those
after something sportier could choose
the 200hp 2.0-litre petrol unit. All UK cars came with
an eight-speed automatic transmission as standard,
with no manual option (buyers in mainland Europe
could specify a six-speed manual transmission).