Australian New Car Buyer – June 2019

AUSTRALIAN NEW CAR & SUV BUYER’S GUIDE | 17

ALFA ROMEO GIULIA FROM $60,

A

lfa 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 $60,900 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
$65,900.
Veloce, at $72,900, 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 fi ve-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 $145,900.
Up against Audi’s RS5, 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-litre twin turbo V6,

which fl ings it from 0–100km/h

in just 3.9 seconds — supercar

territory — en route to 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

want it. Badly.

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 fi nished,

with deep, luxurious leather/

Alcantara front seats, aluminium

and carbon-fi bre 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-litre V6 isn’t a primal

screamer, although it will make

the appropriate racket if you

select Race mode, brutalise the

accelerator and don’t mind frying

$1000 worth of Pirelli P Zero tyres.

At speed, it’s surprisingly

sotto voce, with a seductive,

mellifl uous 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 drivetrain

sending extra torque to the

outside rear wheel as you power

through corners, complementing

Giulia’s exceptionally fi ne

balance and responsive turn-

in. It’s one of those rare cars

that steers almost by intuition,

though, like its German rivals,

the driver-to-road connection

is slightly anaesthetised by the

array of electronic systems

doing most of the work.

Alfa has, at long last,

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?

Short warranty

Gearshift paddles are fi xed and

don’t move with the steering wheel

SPEX (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; CO 2

emissions are 189g/km

Warranty: Three years/150,

kilometres

Standard: Eight airbags, stability

control, automatic emergency

braking, blind spot monitoring,

radar cruise, rear cross traffi c

alert, camera, carbon fi bre roof,

19-inch alloy wheels, sports seats

with leather/Alcantara upholstery,

Brembo performance brakes,

carbon fi bre interior trim, Harman

Kardon audio, adaptive dampers,

8.8-inch infotainment screen,

digital radio, navigation, keyless

entry and starting

Redbook future values: 3yr: 50%;

5yr: 34%

Safety

Euro NCAP

Performance

Handling

Quality and reliability

Comfort and refi nement

Value for money

Overall

STARS

compare with ...

Audi RS5, BMW M3, AMG C63S

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