Alfa Romeo Giulia is a stylish Italian sports sedan built on an all-new rear-drive platform and is designed to tackle the market segment currently dominated by the big name Germans and Brits.
A couple of months back we road tested the red hot variant, the 500 horsepower (375 kW) Giulia Quadrifoglio Verde powered by a 2.9-litre, twin-turbo V6 developed in co-operation with Ferrari.
The QV is a truly brilliant machine, but at $143,900 it’s way out of our relatively modest budget. So this time we’ve spent a week in the Giulia Veloce, at $71,895 it’s less than half the Quadrifoglio’s price.
Prices start at $59,895 for the model simply called Giulia, and there’s also the $64,195 Giulia Super petrol and $65,895 diesel. We feel the midrange Veloce is likely the pick of the group and certainly loved it during our week’s test period.
STYLING
Very sleek and Italian in its shape the Giulia grabbed plenty of attention from other drivers, even pedestrians when we were traffic lights.
Major features of the Veloce are a body kit, rear bumper with diffuser and dual exhaust tips, gloss black window surrounds, privacy glass, 19-inch five-hole dark alloy wheels, upgraded brakes with red painted calipers. It also has bi-xenon headlights with Adaptive Front Lighting System and automatic high-beam.
Inside the Veloce are are six-way adjustable sports leather seats that with power bolsters, a sports steering wheel, aluminium faced pedals and aluminium trim details.
INFOTAINMENT
An 8.8-inch touchscreen is operated through a rotary controller on the centre console. Veloce has a 10-speaker premium sound system, satellite navigation, DAB+ radio, Bluetooth phone connectivity and audio streaming.
POWERTRAINS
Alfa Giulia Veloce has the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine with 206 kW and 400 Nm. The lower cost models in the range have a similar engine, but in a lower state of tune – 147 kW and 330 Nm.
Heaven forbid, there’s even a diesel engine. A 2.2-litre producing 132 and plenty of torque at 450 Nm – but, No thank you.
All engines are longitudinally mounted and drive through an eight-speed ZF automatic.
SAFETY
The Alfa Romeo Giulia range received a five-star Euro NCAP rating and was commended for achieving the highest ever adult occupant protection score.
Even more importantly is the ability not to have a crash in the first place, with the sporting Alfa’s 50:50 weight distribution and excellent handing playing a major part.
On standby for drivers not paying attention are forward collision warning, autonomous emergency brake with pedestrian recognition, integrated brake system and lane departure warning.
DRIVING
Like its big brother the Ferrari Portofino we tested a couple of weeks back the Alfa Romeo Giulia has a start/stop button on the steering wheel. The Veloce engine springs into life eagerly with a nice growl and settles into the sort of fast idle we love in sports cars.
The sound is relatively muted during normal driving but does liven up nicely when you start to pedal the Veloce along with added intent. Very Italian…
Though it’s turbocharged, engine lag is minimal. Okay, if you’re really in the need for instant action you will notice a few tenths of a second passing before you get the best from it, but we’ve felt far worse.
Fast overtaking is easy as a solid prod on the loud pedal gets the engine and transmission working in unison to have the Alfa at the correct revs for maximum action.
The shifter paddles are large and sit at just the right distance behind the wheel.
Handling is simply brilliant thanks to near perfect front to rear with distribution. The Alfa comes alive when you hurry it along on your favourite driver’s road. Steering is nicely weighted and you quickly learn to come up with that lovely man-and-machine feel which brings a smile to your face.
Comfort is pretty good, though if you do go for the sports modes the car can be a bit bouncy on some rough and read backroads.
Alfa Giulia wouldn’t be a true Italian car without a few annoyances. The drinkholders are rather small and aren’t the easiest to get into action. And the tiny windscreen wiper control is tucked away behind the gearshift paddles.
The rear door openings are fairly small and taller passengers will need to do a bit of manoeuvring to get inside. Once there, legroom is adequate although some negotiations may be required between taller front and rear occupants. Headroom may be marginal for taller occupants.
SUMMING UP
Alfa Romeo is chasing what it says is its “renaissance” with this new rear-drive platform. The Giulia is simply brilliant in the way it drives, looks and feels.
Incidentally, Alfa has now introduced an SUV called Stelvio that’s built on the same platform as the Giulia. We will test drive and report on it soon.
AT A GLANCE
MODEL RANGE
Giulia 2.0: $59,895
Giulia 2.0 Super petrol: $64,195
Giulia Super diesel: $65,895
Giulia Veloce: $71,895
Giulia QV: $143,900
Note: These prices do not include government or dealer delivery charges. Contact your local Alfa Romeo dealer for drive-away prices.
SPECIFICATIONS (Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-door sedan)
ENGINE:
Capacity: 1.995 litres
Configuration: Four cylinders in line
Maximum Power: 206 kW @ 5250 rpm
Maximum Torque: 400 Nm @ 2250 rpm
Fuel Type: Premium unleaded petrol
Combined Fuel Cycle (ADR 81/02): 6.1 L/100km
CO2 Emissions: 141 g/km
DRIVELINE:
Eight-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length: 4643 mm
Wheelbase: 2820 mm
Width: 1860 mm
Height: 1436 mm
Turning Circle: 10.9 metres
Kerb Mass: 1490 kg
Fuel Tank Capacity: 58 litres
BRAKES:
Front: Ventilated disc
Rear: Ventilated disc
STANDARD WARRANTY:
Three years / 150,000 kilometres
MARQUE MOTORING COLUMN No 3263 (27 December 2018)
ROAD TEST
ALFA ROMEO GIULIA VELOCE
By EWAN KENNEDY, Marque Motoring
CAPTION: The sleek, stylish Alfa Giulia is a very Italian masterpiece.
BODY COPY
Alfa Romeo Giulia is a stylish Italian sports sedan built on an all-new rear-drive platform and is designed to tackle the market segment currently dominated by the big name Germans and Brits.
A couple of months back we road tested the red hot variant, the 500 horsepower (375 kW) Giulia Quadrifoglio Verde powered by a 2.9-litre, twin-turbo V6 developed in co-operation with Ferrari.
The QV is a truly brilliant machine, but at $143,900 it’s way out of our relatively modest budget. So this time we’ve spent a week in the Giulia Veloce, at $71,895 it’s less than half the Quadrifoglio’s price.
Prices start at $59,895 for the model simply called Giulia, and there’s also the $64,195 Giulia Super petrol and $65,895 diesel. We feel the midrange Veloce is likely the pick of the group and certainly loved it during our week’s test period.
STYLING
Very sleek and Italian in its shape the Giulia grabbed plenty of attention from other drivers, even pedestrians when we were traffic lights.
Major features of the Veloce are a body kit, rear bumper with diffuser and dual exhaust tips, gloss black window surrounds, privacy glass, 19-inch five-hole dark alloy wheels, upgraded brakes with red painted calipers. It also has bi-xenon headlights with Adaptive Front Lighting System and automatic high-beam.
Inside the Veloce are are six-way adjustable sports leather seats that with power bolsters, a sports steering wheel, aluminium faced pedals and aluminium trim details.
INFOTAINMENT
An 8.8-inch touchscreen is operated through a rotary controller on the centre console. Veloce has a 10-speaker premium sound system, satellite navigation, DAB+ radio, Bluetooth phone connectivity and audio streaming.
POWERTRAINS
Alfa Giulia Veloce has the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine with 206 kW and 400 Nm. The lower cost models in the range have a similar engine, but in a lower state of tune – 147 kW and 330 Nm.
Heaven forbid, there’s even a diesel engine. A 2.2-litre producing 132 and plenty of torque at 450 Nm – but, No thank you.
All engines are longitudinally mounted and drive through an eight-speed ZF automatic.
SAFETY
The Alfa Romeo Giulia range received a five-star Euro NCAP rating and was commended for achieving the highest ever adult occupant protection score.
Even more importantly is the ability not to have a crash in the first place, with the sporting Alfa’s 50:50 weight distribution and excellent handing playing a major part.
On standby for drivers not paying attention are forward collision warning, autonomous emergency brake with pedestrian recognition, integrated brake system and lane departure warning.
DRIVING
Like its big brother the Ferrari Portofino we tested a couple of weeks back the Alfa Romeo Giulia has a start/stop button on the steering wheel. The Veloce engine springs into life eagerly with a nice growl and settles into the sort of fast idle we love in sports cars.
The sound is relatively muted during normal driving but does liven up nicely when you start to pedal the Veloce along with added intent. Very Italian…
Though it’s turbocharged, engine lag is minimal. Okay, if you’re really in the need for instant action you will notice a few tenths of a second passing before you get the best from it, but we’ve felt far worse.
Fast overtaking is easy as a solid prod on the loud pedal gets the engine and transmission working in unison to have the Alfa at the correct revs for maximum action.
The shifter paddles are large and sit at just the right distance behind the wheel.
Handling is simply brilliant thanks to near perfect front to rear with distribution. The Alfa comes alive when you hurry it along on your favourite driver’s road. Steering is nicely weighted and you quickly learn to come up with that lovely man-and-machine feel which brings a smile to your face.
Comfort is pretty good, though if you do go for the sports modes the car can be a bit bouncy on some rough and read backroads.
Alfa Giulia wouldn’t be a true Italian car without a few annoyances. The drinkholders are rather small and aren’t the easiest to get into action. And the tiny windscreen wiper control is tucked away behind the gearshift paddles.
The rear door openings are fairly small and taller passengers will need to do a bit of manoeuvring to get inside. Once there, legroom is adequate although some negotiations may be required between taller front and rear occupants. Headroom may be marginal for taller occupants.
SUMMING UP
Alfa Romeo is chasing what it says is its “renaissance” with this new rear-drive platform. The Giulia is simply brilliant in the way it drives, looks and feels.
Incidentally, Alfa has now introduced an SUV called Stelvio that’s built on the same platform as the Giulia. We will test drive and report on it soon.
AT A GLANCE
MODEL RANGE
Giulia 2.0: $59,895
Giulia 2.0 Super petrol: $64,195
Giulia Super diesel: $65,895
Giulia Veloce: $71,895
Giulia QV: $143,900
Note: These prices do not include government or dealer delivery charges. Contact your local Alfa Romeo dealer for drive-away prices.
SPECIFICATIONS (Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-door sedan)
ENGINE:
Capacity: 1.995 litres
Configuration: Four cylinders in line
Maximum Power: 206 kW @ 5250 rpm
Maximum Torque: 400 Nm @ 2250 rpm
Fuel Type: Premium unleaded petrol
Combined Fuel Cycle (ADR 81/02): 6.1 L/100km
CO2 Emissions: 141 g/km
DRIVELINE:
Eight-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length: 4643 mm
Wheelbase: 2820 mm
Width: 1860 mm
Height: 1436 mm
Turning Circle: 10.9 metres
Kerb Mass: 1490 kg
Fuel Tank Capacity: 58 litres
BRAKES:
Front: Ventilated disc
Rear: Ventilated disc
STANDARD WARRANTY:
Three years / 150,000 kilometres
