Considering a Giulia Veloce - Any Thoughts?
Discussion
Following this one with interest. Currently got a BMW 640d, broadly happy with it, but the dealer experience has been abysmal. Had it 3 years, and every time it goes in for a service it goes back in the next week to try to cure the problems caused by the service department. Been the story of my BMWs since 2003.
I am lucky that local Alfa dealer is probably ok; but local BMW has poor, poor reputation.
On purpose haven't tried Veloce and QF yet, as I have 11 months of PCP left, but I think we know where this will go.
Biggest choice-gun metal or red
I am lucky that local Alfa dealer is probably ok; but local BMW has poor, poor reputation.
On purpose haven't tried Veloce and QF yet, as I have 11 months of PCP left, but I think we know where this will go.
Biggest choice-gun metal or red
Difficulties with the dealers are still the most commonly spoken about issues with Alfa, they are improving but very slowly. The main issue is the lack of them whole areas are totally devoid of an Alfa dealer, Wales and Scotland are particularly bad.
All that still doesn't detract from the Car though, which is pretty much spot on dynamically and whilst not quite up to standard in the info tech department is perfectly adequate.
All that still doesn't detract from the Car though, which is pretty much spot on dynamically and whilst not quite up to standard in the info tech department is perfectly adequate.
Mcglatch said:
Biggest choice-gun metal or red
Stromboli grey with red leather and dark 5-hole alloys. Its the only way to go.Even 6 months and 7k miles on I still miss the Veloce, so I'll be visiting my local Alfa dealer when the BMW's due to go.
The newly announced 4WD M340i (or M440i GC by the time I replace mine) sounds promising though with 4WD and 370+bhp. Let's hope Alfa have brought out the 2.0T 350bhp mild hybrid by then ... And sorted the infotainment system out.
stuart_83 said:
Stromboli grey with red leather and dark 5-hole alloys. Its the only way to go.
Even 6 months and 7k miles on I still miss the Veloce, so I'll be visiting my local Alfa dealer when the BMW's due to go.
The newly announced 4WD M340i (or M440i GC by the time I replace mine) sounds promising though with 4WD and 370+bhp. Let's hope Alfa have brought out the 2.0T 350bhp mild hybrid by then ... And sorted the infotainment system out.
I just love that there are colours named after my favourite islands -Aeolian; Vulcano, Stromboli and Lipari. I ended up going for Vesuvio though, I hope I’ll be forgiven when I take it to SicilyEven 6 months and 7k miles on I still miss the Veloce, so I'll be visiting my local Alfa dealer when the BMW's due to go.
The newly announced 4WD M340i (or M440i GC by the time I replace mine) sounds promising though with 4WD and 370+bhp. Let's hope Alfa have brought out the 2.0T 350bhp mild hybrid by then ... And sorted the infotainment system out.
I have a 2.2 diesel Speciale in Vulcano with a red interior. Took delivery in Jun17 and have covered 41000 miles to date.
Touch wood so far it's been as good as gold, averaging 45mpg. There's been the odd small niggle including fuel filler cap that warped in the cold weather last Winter. This cured itself when it warmed up so will see if it warps again. They said they would change it under warranty so no biggie.
My main gripe is the lack of dealers in my locale. It's leased and the nearest that I can use, en route to my office, is 140 miles from me. There is another 60 miles North but they would be more hassle.
Interior trim is a bit goppy, especially the door pockets. Sat nav has a mind of its own occasionally but it's having a software update next week which I have been assured should eradicate any issues.
All in all its been great and I would have no hesitation in going for another.
What average mpg can you realistically expect from the Veloce?
Touch wood so far it's been as good as gold, averaging 45mpg. There's been the odd small niggle including fuel filler cap that warped in the cold weather last Winter. This cured itself when it warmed up so will see if it warps again. They said they would change it under warranty so no biggie.
My main gripe is the lack of dealers in my locale. It's leased and the nearest that I can use, en route to my office, is 140 miles from me. There is another 60 miles North but they would be more hassle.
Interior trim is a bit goppy, especially the door pockets. Sat nav has a mind of its own occasionally but it's having a software update next week which I have been assured should eradicate any issues.
All in all its been great and I would have no hesitation in going for another.
What average mpg can you realistically expect from the Veloce?
E31Shrew said:
I have a 2.2 diesel Speciale in Vulcano with a red interior. Took delivery in Jun17 and have covered 41000 miles to date.
Touch wood so far it's been as good as gold, averaging 45mpg. There's been the odd small niggle including fuel filler cap that warped in the cold weather last Winter. This cured itself when it warmed up so will see if it warps again. They said they would change it under warranty so no biggie.
My main gripe is the lack of dealers in my locale. It's leased and the nearest that I can use, en route to my office, is 140 miles from me. There is another 60 miles North but they would be more hassle.
Interior trim is a bit goppy, especially the door pockets. Sat nav has a mind of its own occasionally but it's having a software update next week which I have been assured should eradicate any issues.
All in all its been great and I would have no hesitation in going for another.
What average mpg can you realistically expect from the Veloce?
My Veloce has averaged 29.7 mpg over 8000 miles with a pretty even mix of motorway and town work and it gets driven fairly hard at times. Pretty good I think and it’s one of the few things about the car that’s exceeded my expectations. Touch wood so far it's been as good as gold, averaging 45mpg. There's been the odd small niggle including fuel filler cap that warped in the cold weather last Winter. This cured itself when it warmed up so will see if it warps again. They said they would change it under warranty so no biggie.
My main gripe is the lack of dealers in my locale. It's leased and the nearest that I can use, en route to my office, is 140 miles from me. There is another 60 miles North but they would be more hassle.
Interior trim is a bit goppy, especially the door pockets. Sat nav has a mind of its own occasionally but it's having a software update next week which I have been assured should eradicate any issues.
All in all its been great and I would have no hesitation in going for another.
What average mpg can you realistically expect from the Veloce?
I averaged around 28mpg during the 1800 miles of my ownership. As much as I tried I couldn't get it much above 30mpg during my commute.
I previously had a MK3 Octavia VRS DSG remapped to 290bhp which rarely returned below 34mpg, and frequently close to 40mpg on the same trips and driving style. My 440i averages early 30s, but has two more cylinders, 80bhp more, and carrying another 250+kg.
Seeing as the car's pretty light the fuel consumption is quite poor tbh, but I suppose it's all subjective and depends on what you're happy with. I have a feeling it's to do with the gearing.
Couldn't argue with the performance and driving experience at all.
I previously had a MK3 Octavia VRS DSG remapped to 290bhp which rarely returned below 34mpg, and frequently close to 40mpg on the same trips and driving style. My 440i averages early 30s, but has two more cylinders, 80bhp more, and carrying another 250+kg.
Seeing as the car's pretty light the fuel consumption is quite poor tbh, but I suppose it's all subjective and depends on what you're happy with. I have a feeling it's to do with the gearing.
Couldn't argue with the performance and driving experience at all.
stuart_83 said:
I averaged around 28mpg during the 1800 miles of my ownership. As much as I tried I couldn't get it much above 30mpg during my commute.
I previously had a MK3 Octavia VRS DSG remapped to 290bhp which rarely returned below 34mpg, and frequently close to 40mpg on the same trips and driving style. My 440i averages early 30s, but has two more cylinders, 80bhp more, and carrying another 250+kg.
Seeing as the car's pretty light the fuel consumption is quite poor tbh, but I suppose it's all subjective and depends on what you're happy with. I have a feeling it's to do with the gearing.
Couldn't argue with the performance and driving experience at all.
It's not actually that light. The book lies I previously had a MK3 Octavia VRS DSG remapped to 290bhp which rarely returned below 34mpg, and frequently close to 40mpg on the same trips and driving style. My 440i averages early 30s, but has two more cylinders, 80bhp more, and carrying another 250+kg.
Seeing as the car's pretty light the fuel consumption is quite poor tbh, but I suppose it's all subjective and depends on what you're happy with. I have a feeling it's to do with the gearing.
Couldn't argue with the performance and driving experience at all.
ecain63 said:
It's not actually that light. The book lies
The Alfa or the Beemer? 
The Alfa definitely felt a hell of a lot lighter than the BMW, it's just a very well set up car ... It followed the corners perfectly and worked with you whereas the 4 series feels like it wants to fight you at times!
MarkJS said:
If you have access to a good indy it might be slightly more attractive, but owning a Veloce (or any Giulia) outside the warranty period frightens the life out of me.
Of course, just after I bought mine in June 18, they announced the new 5 year warranty, 3 years servicing and 5 year breakdown.Edited by MarkJS on Tuesday 7th August 16:49
I'm quite lucky as my dealer is within walking distance to work and I've only had to take it in once (to check if front parking sensors should shut off, the same as the rear, when the car is in 'Park' - they annoyingly don't). I'm also on good terms with the sales and servicing staff, as we've bought cars from there before.
My post was a bit short as my Fish and Chips arrived..... !
You were saying do all mid sized saloons Have light steering and the answer is yes, all cars full stop! Have light steering now. It’s the way of the world.
As direct comparison I had recent experience of a C Class Merc when my Giulia got damaged. The steering was also light, but no where near as sharp as the Giulia. I think it also had some sort of variable system where it was more highly geared around the centre less so with more lock. It just felt horrible, pretty much like the suspension did, which was not even on the same planet as the Alfa.
I would comment that the initial feeling of quality in the Merc was very good, but dig deeper and it was less convincing. Some very poor plastics on the centre consol, on a par with the lower door cards on the Giulia.
Road testers often moan about the gear selector in the Giulia feeling cheap, which to be fair it does ( did as the new my2020 is better). But the stupid wand on the steering column of the Merc felt really clunky. The gear paddles were not even close to the quality of the Alfa. I kept knocking the Merc into neutral instead of wiping my windscreen! Who the hell though it was a good idea to have the gear selector on a column stalk!.
The only thing I think the Merc was better at was the infotainment system though it was very complicated and I just left it to its own devices mostly.
You were saying do all mid sized saloons Have light steering and the answer is yes, all cars full stop! Have light steering now. It’s the way of the world.
As direct comparison I had recent experience of a C Class Merc when my Giulia got damaged. The steering was also light, but no where near as sharp as the Giulia. I think it also had some sort of variable system where it was more highly geared around the centre less so with more lock. It just felt horrible, pretty much like the suspension did, which was not even on the same planet as the Alfa.
I would comment that the initial feeling of quality in the Merc was very good, but dig deeper and it was less convincing. Some very poor plastics on the centre consol, on a par with the lower door cards on the Giulia.
Road testers often moan about the gear selector in the Giulia feeling cheap, which to be fair it does ( did as the new my2020 is better). But the stupid wand on the steering column of the Merc felt really clunky. The gear paddles were not even close to the quality of the Alfa. I kept knocking the Merc into neutral instead of wiping my windscreen! Who the hell though it was a good idea to have the gear selector on a column stalk!.
The only thing I think the Merc was better at was the infotainment system though it was very complicated and I just left it to its own devices mostly.
ComStrike said:
Wife is due a new car.
I've been considering one of these due to it being a kind of semi skimmed version of the real deal
Cant justify the outlay on the QF for her to do the school run.
So whats the general opinion ?
Was looking at facelift with QF wheels & carbon pack
Absolutely love mine and can’t see me swapping it for anything else for a long time. Drives so sharp. Facelift polishes it off nicely with the improved gear selector and infotainment.I've been considering one of these due to it being a kind of semi skimmed version of the real deal
Cant justify the outlay on the QF for her to do the school run.
So whats the general opinion ?
Was looking at facelift with QF wheels & carbon pack
Veloce is a quick enough to have fun without worrying about spinning it on the school run, and you get 90% of the looks of the QF too if that’s important.
Do it
I was thinking of a Veloce to take over from my very old BMW but the test drive convinced me that I'd never get to enjoy its abilities during most of my driving, especially these days.
My head finally won over my heart and I bought a brand new Duster for £10.5k.
Now I keep seeing that rare beast the Giulia everywhere
The Duster is surprisingly fun though and I've already surprised a few sporty saloons.
If I ever move back to the country and I have the extra cash, maybe.....
My head finally won over my heart and I bought a brand new Duster for £10.5k.
Now I keep seeing that rare beast the Giulia everywhere
The Duster is surprisingly fun though and I've already surprised a few sporty saloons.
If I ever move back to the country and I have the extra cash, maybe.....
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