Driven: Alfa Romeo Giulietta 1750TBi

PH tries out Alfa's newest hot hatch - the 232bhp Giulietta Quadrifoglio Verde

The laconic expression of the sicurezza chap says it all. With a barely perceptible movement of his hand he waves us out onto the test track of Alfa Romeo’s Balocco proving ground, his face remaining impassive behind mirrored shades as he leans against his dark blue Alfa 159. No safety briefing, no signing your life away, no limit on laps – just grab the keys to a car and head for a hoon.

But don’t take this refreshing lack of restrictions as a lack of interest on the part of Alfa in its new Giulietta. Rather, it is a mark of the company’s confidence in its latest hatchback.

The Giulietta in which we’ve been waved on to the circuit so nonchalantly is the 1750tbi Quadrifoglio Verde, Alfa Romeo’s answer to the Golf GTI and the top of the Giulietta range.

Alfa Romeo has big ambitions for the Giulietta. And it is making strong claims for it: best-in-class ride combined with best-in-class handling, clever engines combining performance and fuel economy, an innovative design that mixes unparalleled impact absorption with lightness, a body that melds spaciousness with the sporty design expected of an Alfa Romeo.

These are brave claims indeed. But then this is the car that must firmly re-establish Alfa Romeo as a credible player in the almost-but-not-quite premium segment. In short it must be like a Golf, but with added Italian passion. And as the flag-bearer of the range, the Quadrifoglio Verde is the car that’s arguably under the most pressure to perform.

First impressions are mostly good - the body looks suitably hunkered-down over the wheels and there are plenty of Alfa cues, from the hidden rear door handles, to the Mito-esque lights, to the robustly retro shield grille. Whether you think it all hangs together properly is of course a matter of personal taste, although to these eyes it can look a touch gawky from some angles.

Inside there are swathes of leather, appropriately cowled dials a lovely part-suede steering wheel and a general sense that where you’re sitting is a bit special. There are two major flaws to the interior, however; the sat-nav/infotainment system and the gear knob.

Perversely, the fiddly, occasionally counter-intuitive and often obstreperous controls for the sat-nav and music system are, though objectively a more serious problem, somehow less of a concern than what’s on top of the gear stick. For some reason, the gear knob is an oversized (approaching tennis ball-diameter) faux-aluminium plastic ball. It feels large and low-rent in your palm, and rather spoils what otherwise would be a cabin full of pleasing tactile sensations.

As we accelerate onto the track the 1742cc turbocharged motor pulls smoothly and strongly (and so it should - the 1750tbi’s 144lb ft per litre is the highest specific torque output ever to grace a production car’s spec sheet).

In many ways this is quite an impressive engine. As we’ve just alluded to, its bald figures are good: variable valve timing, direct injection and a ‘scavenging’ system on the turbo results in 232bhp and 251lb ft of torque. The way it delivers its power is smooth and progressive, too (although it does need to take a pause for breath at very low revs). And a combined mpg of just over 37mpg is perfectly acceptable, too. Straight-line performance is therefore pretty much on the mark for a mid-range hot hatch - 0-62mph is done in 6.8secs and the top speed is 150mph. As is the price, which at £24,495, is within a couple of hundred quid of the Golf GTI's price tag.

There is a real problem, though: the 1750tbi, for all its impressive pace and refinement, is not an engine blessed with great character. In a Golf GTI or a fast Ford Focus this could be forgiven, but in a hot Alfa it seems almost sacrilegious.

This car’smost direct ancestor – the 147 GTA – had a truly glorious V6 battle cry, and previous Giuliettas of the 1950s and early 1980s were also possessed of fine vocal talents. A great Alfa engine should make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up; the 1750tbi does not do this.

The Quadrifoglio Verde goes some way to make up for its lack of voice with a fair degree of athletic prowess when the track turns twisty. The MacPherson strut front, multi-link rear suspension set-up is well capable of keeping body movements in check, while the Q2 electronic differential – although not as effective as a mechanical set-up – still helps the Giulietta haul itself effectively out of tight corners.

Again, though, there is a limit to the Giulietta’s dynamic prowess. The gearshift is reasonably slick, but a little baggy around the edges. The brakes work well initially, but succumb to fade fairly rapidly. The super-sharp steering is pretty good on track, but the clever dual-pinion electric power steering system (the electric motor sits right on top of the rack) is supposed to emulate the feel of a hydraulically assisted set-up. This is something it fails to do – there’s a distinct whiff of a Sega Rally 2 arcade machine in the way the steering goes about its business.

Curiously the most annoying thing of all is the way the hazard warning lights flash if you brake remotely heavily. We understand that this is a sensible safety feature on the road – and it may be that we failed to find the button that switched it off – but on a car that may well do more than the odd track day it is more than mildly irritating.

It’s far from a bad car, the new Alfa Giulietta 1750tbi. In many ways it is really rather good – its crashworthiness, refinement and build quality are all up with the best in its class. And even its downsides are more niggles than serious flaws. But in creating such a competent fast hatch Alfa has come perilously close to losing sight of the spirit and passion that makes the brand great – the hot Giulietta just doesn’t stir the soul in the way an Alfa Romeo should.

I really hate to say this, but the Golf GTI has more heart than the Alfa Romeo Giulietta 1750tbi Quadrifoglio Verde. Alfa Romeo might have great confidence in its newest product, but it could just be a bit misplaced.

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young_bairn

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