New Giulietta - thoughts
Discussion
Hi all,
Long time lurker, first time poster!
I am considering buying a new Giulietta and have a number of test drives booked this weekend. My wife & I are looking at the 1.6 JTDm in Veloce trim and are prepared to travel to get the right deal. The car will be used predominantly in the city so the size of the engine isn't a huge issue. The £30 tax and 50mpg or so are very appealing, as are the looks of the alfa compared to similar competition!
I've signed up to Alfaowner, but since that is a specialist forum I thought I'd sign up here and try to get a broader view. So do any of you got any experiences of these cars, good or bad! We are looking to put down a 25% deposit and do HP for the remainder.
Your thoughts are welcomed!
Long time lurker, first time poster!
I am considering buying a new Giulietta and have a number of test drives booked this weekend. My wife & I are looking at the 1.6 JTDm in Veloce trim and are prepared to travel to get the right deal. The car will be used predominantly in the city so the size of the engine isn't a huge issue. The £30 tax and 50mpg or so are very appealing, as are the looks of the alfa compared to similar competition!
I've signed up to Alfaowner, but since that is a specialist forum I thought I'd sign up here and try to get a broader view. So do any of you got any experiences of these cars, good or bad! We are looking to put down a 25% deposit and do HP for the remainder.
Your thoughts are welcomed!
Look at Alain deCadenets column in this months massive Classic & Sprtscar magazine. You could read it in the newsagents - he had a go in a Giulietta and loved it for all the right reasons. Good modern car, not the same as everybody else, quick enough with plenty of toys - depending on spec anyway
If you take the plunge, I'd recommend joining the Owners Club for a fuller ownership experience than AO might offer. Good magazine too.
If you take the plunge, I'd recommend joining the Owners Club for a fuller ownership experience than AO might offer. Good magazine too.
First things first :- I do work in an Alfa Romeo dealership so have a vested interest to declare.
That said, I just relinquished my 1.6 JTDM2 Giulietta Veloce after 10,400 miles done at an average of 51.3 mpg, and mainly on my 48 mile each way commute.
On anything like a long journey, the consumption went up to between 57 and 58 mpg.
The 1.6 requires that you drive it like a diesel and shift up no later than 2,500 rpm if you're looking for the best economy.
On paper, 105 BHP doesn't give a true picture of the cars' potential.
Look instead at the torque, which in Dynamic mode, peaks at 320 nm, exactly the same as the 140/170BHP 2.0 litre derivatives in Normal mode.
The poise of the car is good with none of the weight induced understeer which plagues some diesels.
The Lusso version does give a softer and quieter ride and comes with the rear parking sensors, visibility pack, and auto dipping rear view mirror, all at a lower cost, but the aesthetics aren't quite so sharp as the veloce.
In summary, this is a car I'd recommend to friends and family over other derivatives, and possibly, buy with my own money if they stop giving me free ones :-)
That said, I just relinquished my 1.6 JTDM2 Giulietta Veloce after 10,400 miles done at an average of 51.3 mpg, and mainly on my 48 mile each way commute.
On anything like a long journey, the consumption went up to between 57 and 58 mpg.
The 1.6 requires that you drive it like a diesel and shift up no later than 2,500 rpm if you're looking for the best economy.
On paper, 105 BHP doesn't give a true picture of the cars' potential.
Look instead at the torque, which in Dynamic mode, peaks at 320 nm, exactly the same as the 140/170BHP 2.0 litre derivatives in Normal mode.
The poise of the car is good with none of the weight induced understeer which plagues some diesels.
The Lusso version does give a softer and quieter ride and comes with the rear parking sensors, visibility pack, and auto dipping rear view mirror, all at a lower cost, but the aesthetics aren't quite so sharp as the veloce.
In summary, this is a car I'd recommend to friends and family over other derivatives, and possibly, buy with my own money if they stop giving me free ones :-)
Yes I'd pretty much agree with the above. I've had my 140BHP JTDm Veloce for 10 months and 16000 miles now so I'm in a pretty good position to comment on the Car if not the actual Engine choice.
SO;
Good things
Handling, excellent, it took a little while to get back into the sharp almost edgy steering after three years in BMW's, but for a front wheel drive chassis I find it difficult to fault. I love the q2 diff and the fact the stability systems allow you to play a lot more than most.
Ride, the Veloce is a tad harsh and can give quite a thump through the suspension on pot holes, this tends to be heard not felt though and the general damping control I think is excellent, spot on for UK roads. I can't say that of any other Alfa I have driven.
Performance, for a 140BHP it's fine, the 170 is certainly livelier though, can't comment on the 1.6. Mine returns 48MPG average across the extra urban driving I do. I like DNA the N setting is fine around town, D livens things up on the back roads, the throttle response in D on the 140 is almost too lively I noticed a 170JTDm felt slightly less edgy in D, perhaps the 140 mapping is different here?. The A setting was astonishing in Snow, I found grip where I never expected, brilliant system.
Quality, nothing much has gone wrong (I had a lumpy idle which was fixed quickly) and nothing rattles or falls off in your hand.
Less good things.
Road noise, I find it much noisier than I would like, a Lusso with smaller wheels might help, but I didn't tick the 18" option, so mine are 17" with Pirrelli Cinturato's.
Front leg space, the lack of a clutch foot rest and the constricted space for your left leg is not good at all, probably the Car's biggest fault. I know a colleague of mine firmly stated he would never have one for that reason alone.
The Veloce seats although look and feel great to touch lack side support and are certainly not the best for comfort.
I think the back feels a little claustrophobic for some, my daughter always complains about this.
Blue and Me is poorly designed and confusing to use, it should be an excellent feature but is let down by the way the menu system is set up.
To sum up, I'd say this is the best 'allrounder' Alfa have built for decades and is genuinly as good as the competition in most respects and better than the majority in some. Fix the silly problems with the seats, the clutch foot and B&M, add a bit more noise suppression and it would be fantastic.
SO;
Good things
Handling, excellent, it took a little while to get back into the sharp almost edgy steering after three years in BMW's, but for a front wheel drive chassis I find it difficult to fault. I love the q2 diff and the fact the stability systems allow you to play a lot more than most.
Ride, the Veloce is a tad harsh and can give quite a thump through the suspension on pot holes, this tends to be heard not felt though and the general damping control I think is excellent, spot on for UK roads. I can't say that of any other Alfa I have driven.
Performance, for a 140BHP it's fine, the 170 is certainly livelier though, can't comment on the 1.6. Mine returns 48MPG average across the extra urban driving I do. I like DNA the N setting is fine around town, D livens things up on the back roads, the throttle response in D on the 140 is almost too lively I noticed a 170JTDm felt slightly less edgy in D, perhaps the 140 mapping is different here?. The A setting was astonishing in Snow, I found grip where I never expected, brilliant system.
Quality, nothing much has gone wrong (I had a lumpy idle which was fixed quickly) and nothing rattles or falls off in your hand.
Less good things.
Road noise, I find it much noisier than I would like, a Lusso with smaller wheels might help, but I didn't tick the 18" option, so mine are 17" with Pirrelli Cinturato's.
Front leg space, the lack of a clutch foot rest and the constricted space for your left leg is not good at all, probably the Car's biggest fault. I know a colleague of mine firmly stated he would never have one for that reason alone.
The Veloce seats although look and feel great to touch lack side support and are certainly not the best for comfort.
I think the back feels a little claustrophobic for some, my daughter always complains about this.
Blue and Me is poorly designed and confusing to use, it should be an excellent feature but is let down by the way the menu system is set up.
To sum up, I'd say this is the best 'allrounder' Alfa have built for decades and is genuinly as good as the competition in most respects and better than the majority in some. Fix the silly problems with the seats, the clutch foot and B&M, add a bit more noise suppression and it would be fantastic.
Thank you for the input, it's good to hear a description of the diesels. So far we've only driven a 1.4 MA veloce and the ride was quite firm, however the asthetics and interior touches, in our opinion are worth the extra cash over the lusso. We will be ticking the parking sensor box that's for sure.
Any other opinions welcomed
Any other opinions welcomed
Edited by Coupe 20vt on Sunday 11th March 07:13
We have a 2.0 Lusso with 18" wheels and sill mouldings.
Interestingly, it rides well on the low profiles and it remains quieter than the Veloce.
There's a March only 4 year PCP on Giuliettas with the 1.6 JTDM2 Lusso at £299 deposit and 47 monthly payments of £299 which might suit you.
Interestingly, it rides well on the low profiles and it remains quieter than the Veloce.
There's a March only 4 year PCP on Giuliettas with the 1.6 JTDM2 Lusso at £299 deposit and 47 monthly payments of £299 which might suit you.
Edited by Le Man on Saturday 10th March 11:48
Coupe 20vt said:
Any other opinions welcomed
I had a 170bhp diesel Veloce for a month, I did around 2000 miles. This is what I posted on another forum about it:I'm a fan of the look of the Giulietta, but I don't think this (darker metallic red) is the right colour for it - it somehow accentuates the bulbous-ness of the front wings/lights. I happened to park beside a grey one (Anthracite maybe?) at the supermarket, so I was able to compare the two and I still like the basic shape, it's just that the colour doesn't do it justice. Colour's a personal thing, though.
The half-leather interior is nice, and most of the bits that you touch feel fine. The heater vents above the radio are a nice touch - the vanes hinge at the front, so it maintains an unbroken line regardless of whether they're pointing up or down. There are a couple of things that grate - the heater controls are OK, but if you over-reach by half-an-inch when you're adjusting them then your fingernails hit the plastic behind them, and it feels a bit cheap and brittle. The plastic surrounding the window switches could be a lot better too. I like the toggle switches, and the Blue+Me works well.
Struggling a bit to get a good seating position - the wheel is adjustable up+down as well as in+out, but doesn't go low enough. I suspect a bit more faffing with both the wheel and the seat will likely sort it, but I've faffed a bit already. The handbrake is on the far side of the central console from the driver, which takes a bit of getting used to.
The clutch footrest is a bit of an issue for me. Not only does it not have a footrest, but if you put your foot on the floor where the footrest would be, there's a plastic spar or something on the side of the tunnel that digs into the side of your leg. The day after I got it, I drove to Aberdeen - that's about 160 miles, and I was feeling it by the end of the journey.
Which is a shame, because in terms of refinement (wind and road noise, etc.) it's brilliant, and the ride on the 17" wheels is miles better than either the 159 or the 147, accepting that they each had the sportier suspension and were on 19" and 18" wheels respectively. It's maybe slightly on the soft side if you're a bit exuberant, but a much better compromise than the 159 in non-ti spec, which I always felt was a bit wallowy. I've not had much chance to try it other than in town and on the motorway, so I can't really comment much on the handling.
It's my first experience of DNA, and initially I thought I'd echo other's comments that N isn't much use. But after using it for a few days, I think N might be better than D in town driving - the throttle response in D is sharper, but the steering just seems to be heavier as opposed to better.
Economy is better than the 159 and better than the 147 too, I reckon about 3-5mpg better than the 147 over the same journey, and it certainly goes well enough.
As well as the suspension creak, there are a few zings and zizzes from the interior - it's a hire car, though, so should probably cut it some slack.
The lady at Avis didn't tell me it had stop+start, so it took me by surprise at the first junction. Getting used to it now, but first doesn't always engage cleanly (again, it's a hire car) so it takes more concentration than I'd like.
So as I say, a bit mixed. There's a lot to like about it. There are some things not to like - some specific to this car, some not. None of them, individually, is a show-stopper. And I'm sure familiarity would make some of them go away. But the Alfa configurator tells me it would be about £23k to buy before options - I'm sure it's competitive with its rivals, but in absolute terms that's quite a lot of money, and I'm not entirely sure I would spend it. And that's a shame, because I desperately wanted to love it.
___
I should add that I tried another couple since then, dealer courtesy cars as opposed to hire cars, and unfortunately they did nothing to change my overall opinion. I seem to be in the minority, though - most owners seem pleased with theirs.
i bought ex demo cloverleaf for good bit less than £23,000-in d mode you can see mpg decrease dramatically lol but very enjoyable,seems much better build quality than my old 147 but agree re clutch rest and cannot find button inside car to open boot so have to use fob all the time-bit annoying as on call doctor in and out of boot
martin
martin
p1doc said:
i bought ex demo cloverleaf for good bit less than £23,000-in d mode you can see mpg decrease dramatically lol but very enjoyable,seems much better build quality than my old 147 but agree re clutch rest and cannot find button inside car to open boot so have to use fob all the time-bit annoying as on call doctor in and out of boot
martin
Dont you just touch the Alfa badge on the boot? Or do you mean a button on the dash?martin
valiant said:
Doesn't this model have a DPF?
OP is using predominately in the city with probably lots of short journeys. Shouldn't he stick with a petrol? Or are Alfa diesels better than others when it comes to the dreaded DPF?
OP is using predominately in the city with probably lots of short journeys. Shouldn't he stick with a petrol? Or are Alfa diesels better than others when it comes to the dreaded DPF?
Everything has a DPF now. Alfa Romeo is significantly superior to all it's rivals due to siting the DPF immediately below the turbocharger. The difference this makes is that because the temperature of our DPF is regularly above 650 degrees, so-called cold regeneration takes place, which means that the build up of carbon particulates which choke the DPFs of rival makes never takes place. This is why Honda and Toyota have expressed interest in buying customer engines, and probably why VW, who struggled to comply with Euro5 emissions regulations, have made moves to acquire Alfa Romeo. For the record, the JTDM2 engines are already Euro6 compliant, over two years before the next cut in emission levels kick in.
Thank you all for the input, it is good to get a more rounded opinion of these cars than those on AO.
Given that the car which we are replacing is a 2000 1.3 SR Toyota Yaris, anything of this age was always going to be a massive step up!
A freind of mine has recently bought a new Bravo and mentioned the DPF being closer to the turbo. Since we are going to be using it 95% for city driving this reassured me. Especially as previously we were considering a 2008 - 2009 159 1.9 JTDm, which seems to have issues with the DPF clogging up due to city driving.
The foot rest was an initial concern. I understand that the LHD market has one, and this appears to be a classic Italian afterthought. That said having test driven 4 cars now I found that I can simply slot my foot under the pedals without any discomfort.
I've read and watched plenty of reviews on the Alfa Giuletta and while the steering may not be as sharp as a focus or Golf it was the looks, specification and discount available which easily sold it to us over the rivals. Where we live we see about 1 Giulietta every 1 - 2 weeks, rather than daily compared to the Golf / Focus.
Over the course of the last 3 weeks I've been in contact with several dealers, and yesterday we visited three Alfa Romeo dealerships across the South. It appeared that what I was asking for was too much off the asking price and wanting a low APR. I had an affinity voucher from the Fiat Coupe Club, which entitled me to a 16% discount, but unfortunately we were unable to get the APR low enough to make the payments work. All 5 dealers said that they couldn't marry the 16% discount with a ~3% APR.
What we have bought is a 61 plate 2.0 JTDm 140bhp Veloce in Alfa Red & Rear parking sensors, it has 6k on the clock and came with a huge sum off the original list price. We collect it next weekend, my wife was over the moon.
On the way home yesterday my Fiat Coupe 20VT thew a strop, as the downpipe radially split in half, leaving us on the hard shoulder on the A3. She's not even being sold so this was totally unwarranted! Two Italian cars, what have we got ourselves in for?
Given that the car which we are replacing is a 2000 1.3 SR Toyota Yaris, anything of this age was always going to be a massive step up!
A freind of mine has recently bought a new Bravo and mentioned the DPF being closer to the turbo. Since we are going to be using it 95% for city driving this reassured me. Especially as previously we were considering a 2008 - 2009 159 1.9 JTDm, which seems to have issues with the DPF clogging up due to city driving.
The foot rest was an initial concern. I understand that the LHD market has one, and this appears to be a classic Italian afterthought. That said having test driven 4 cars now I found that I can simply slot my foot under the pedals without any discomfort.
I've read and watched plenty of reviews on the Alfa Giuletta and while the steering may not be as sharp as a focus or Golf it was the looks, specification and discount available which easily sold it to us over the rivals. Where we live we see about 1 Giulietta every 1 - 2 weeks, rather than daily compared to the Golf / Focus.
Over the course of the last 3 weeks I've been in contact with several dealers, and yesterday we visited three Alfa Romeo dealerships across the South. It appeared that what I was asking for was too much off the asking price and wanting a low APR. I had an affinity voucher from the Fiat Coupe Club, which entitled me to a 16% discount, but unfortunately we were unable to get the APR low enough to make the payments work. All 5 dealers said that they couldn't marry the 16% discount with a ~3% APR.
What we have bought is a 61 plate 2.0 JTDm 140bhp Veloce in Alfa Red & Rear parking sensors, it has 6k on the clock and came with a huge sum off the original list price. We collect it next weekend, my wife was over the moon.
On the way home yesterday my Fiat Coupe 20VT thew a strop, as the downpipe radially split in half, leaving us on the hard shoulder on the A3. She's not even being sold so this was totally unwarranted! Two Italian cars, what have we got ourselves in for?
Good decision, I don't think you will regret going for the 140 over the 105.
Don't believe all you read about the steering not being as sharp as a Golf or Focus, IMO it's because it IS so sharp that it confuses people who step from one car to another.
Alfa steering racks are the quickest racks in general use on mainstream cars, something like 2.2 turns lock to lock, it takes a few weeks to become accustomed to it, the impression is a lack of feel, but in reality that's just a perception, when you go back into something with slow steering, you find yourself having to make extra corrections all the time because you aren't turning in enough.
Don't believe all you read about the steering not being as sharp as a Golf or Focus, IMO it's because it IS so sharp that it confuses people who step from one car to another.
Alfa steering racks are the quickest racks in general use on mainstream cars, something like 2.2 turns lock to lock, it takes a few weeks to become accustomed to it, the impression is a lack of feel, but in reality that's just a perception, when you go back into something with slow steering, you find yourself having to make extra corrections all the time because you aren't turning in enough.
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