RE: Is the Alfa Romeo Giulia good enough? PH Blog

[MarshPhantom]

kambites said:

There must be something wrong with my eyes because I don't get the "pretty" thing. Except for the Alfa nose, it looks like every other blobby mess in this sector.

Agreed, like many Alfas it isn't good looking.

[Itsallicanafford]

... no mention of the Lexus IS...good plan, keep it under the radar

[Escort3500]

Interesting debate going on here, and the consensus that the generic design of most of the cars mentioned makes for pretty lacklustre cars (visually) is absolutely correct. However, I'd put the C Class in the same basket. It's got the same 'house style' as it's Audi, BMW, Jaguar counterparts IMO. But is this any different to other, less so-called 'prestige' cars? For example, the current Focus isn't much different to the Fiesta, which looks similar to the Mondeo etc. If one comes up behind you it's not easy to determine which model it is in your rear view mirror. The same goes for almost every other mainstream manufacturer's offerings. But really, it's nothing new. Go back to the seventies and the Cortina, Escort, Granada were similar in appearance and not much different to the Hunter, Marina, etc. Broadening the scope, housebuilders generally churn out the same mock-Victorian/Georgian/Edwardian facsimiles and have done for decades. Culturally, we're a homogenous society

[RossP]

I'm off to Millbrook next Saturday to have a proper go in a Quadrafoglio! Looking forward to that. I'll report back.

[dukeboy749r]

Well the dealership in Colchester aren't up to much. Emailed me back after an eight week wait, I responded and


NADA

With that on their sides Alfa have a major battle. Sadly

[StescoG66]

Evilex said:

I saw my first one today. On the hard shoulder. AA van in attendance.

No I'm not baiting. It really was.

.

Being devils advocate, given that cars seem to only have the can of gunk in the boot that could be a simple puncture.

Yesterday I saw 2 x 66 plate Mercs on the hard shoulder bonnet up and hazards flashing ( one was that hideous GLC abortion ). Would that get the same keyboard time on here? Doubt it.......

Edited by StescoG66 on Sunday 26th February 08:06

[MDMA .]

Will be a good buy in 3-5 years. I'd have one.

[littleredrooster]

RossP said:

I'm off to Millbrook next Saturday to have a proper go in a Quadrafoglio! Looking forward to that. I'll report back.

You'll love it. The steering is telepathic - you look, it goes there. Beautiful feel through the wheel for the road, and brilliant, compliant, grippy suspension.

And a barking, snarling motor which pins you into the seat when you press the loud pedal. Play with the paddles if you want, but the autobox actually does a pretty good job of sorting things out if left to its own devices. If you do use use the manual shift, you have to be very quick to react through 2nd-3rd-4th as the rev-limiter cuts in quite savagely.

Enjoy!!

[dinkel]

Having driven both 320 and A4 / A5 (yes, in S-guise) I really hope the Giulia to be at least on par. The A4 Avant diesel is a hard to beat car when behind the wheel. In the back seat there's just the so-so experience. Beemer ditto. Giulia Weekend / Sportsback anyone? 2.2 could be a cracker.

Don't overlook Volvo in this category BTW.

Can't wait to drive the AR.

[generationx]

It's an awesome car and, unlike any of the competition, wherever I go people come to look or talk about it.

Try one - you might like it!

[vikingaero]

Squint and it's a BMW 1/3 series.

[Ho Lee Kau]

I drove manual (+ceramics, +Sparco seats) Giulia Quadrifoglio for an hour last August.
It's a sweet ride, there are some tiny niggles, but it is undoubtedly a very nice machine.

Now I want to drive an automatic Giulia QF and the Stelvio, of course, which comes to Alfa dealer on March 4th.

I've seen quite a few Giulias around here (Zürich) but so far no Quadrifoglio.

I would take my QV in white with carbon brakes and yellow calipers. Not decided yet on manual vs auto, the steering is very quick, maybe it is easier to drive with auto.

[PunterCam]

Same as the rest... Dull looking.

In many ways, the fact it's RWD would put me off. FWD has come a long, long way, and I'm sick of being unable to move in even slightly slippy conditions with modern RWD cars. It's not a bloody sports car, it's a saloon!

[rxe]

I hired a diesel for a week in Spain.

It is very good on the motorway, refined, quiet, stable. Probably too good when you are not used to it, I wound it up to 180 km/h near Malaga airport. The auto box is seamless and you're at very high speeds with little perceptible shifting.

The only time it was visibly rear drive was on uphill hairpins, where harsh use of the accelerator got the back end out of sorts.

I wasn't particularly impressed with the engine, but then I'm comparing it to 2.4 remapped diesels that are very good (and musical Alfa V6s).

It had all the weird modern car annoyances - bongs and interlocks. Mercedes do need to buy one so they can properly integrate a screen into a dash - its a work of art.

Used sod all diesel - it got serious stick for a week, and about 400 miles, didn't fill up.

[Oilchange]

Alfa seem to have hit gold with this little beauty, good news for them!

[AndrewNR]

Oilchange said:

I want a Quadrifoglio.

In red please.

Same, but I'd want someone else to take the initial depreciation hit first, which is a shame.

[Robert-nszl1]

The vast majority of AA (or RAC) call outs are tyre or battery related. Then again it is an Alfa! But ALL new models are unreliable. Read about F Types for example. The Germans do seem to do well at cover ups. Sadly if it's Italian, it's unreliable. They have too much history

[big_rob_sydney]

ZesPak said:

To quote a well known petrolhead about another Alfa:
"Look at Keira Knightley, she's just an ironing board with a face and she works."

Who? Is that the girl with the overbite?

Forgettable but for a weird feature.

I quite like the looks of this though, and it seems to be a decent performer. Very positive result from what I can tell, and I'll be interested to see if, in a few years time, the reliability is up there. If it is, then this will be in the garage.

[Oilchange]

You know it's getting quite tiresome that people keep harping on about Alfas alleged reliability problems, mine' a 98 car on 126000 and going just fine, more than can be said about the poor fellows Passat in the other thread. Or the VW caddy in the other thread, or a clleague at work whose BMW grenaded its engine.
Ah, but it is an Alfa so we come to expect this.
They are no worse than the rest, maybe not as good at covering it up.


ETA, it may explain why my car gets so much attention, they simply can't believe a 19 year old Alfa could survive. Although I kid myself it's the looks, the noise etc

Edited by Oilchange on Saturday 25th February 13:29

[mug81]

I do really like these. I find the Jaguar just a little mundane, and I just don't like the C-Class at all. I don't mind Audis but after having a couple they no longer appeal.

However, would I buy one with my own hard-earned? I want to say yes, but as I am currently i would have to say no. Maybe at 5 y/o but I couldn't bear the hit as they are paying for it myself