Living with the Alfa Romeo Giulia

You cannot be considered a true petrol head until you have owned at least one Alfa Romeo.

A statement that echoes around the corridors of the motoring world but, if we are being honest, owning an Alfa has been made difficult, not least by the Italian manufacturers themselves.

With cars riddled with issues, a dealer network that laughed at you while you bought your blessed motor (true story, an Alfa sales guy actually giggled at me whilst purchasing my 147) and residual values that make investing in a solero as a long term pension plan look like a smart choice. You would excuse people for not rushing to a showroom to buy one of these beautiful, but deeply flawed machines.

Despite these facts, the hardy few, including myself, stuck by the marque. Hopeful that one day our loyalty would be rewarded…..

And boy oh boy were we rewarded.

The Alfa Romeo Giulia was announced to the world in 2015 and my brain exploded with delight. Since then the performance of the insane Quadrifoglio is well document as is the smile it has put on the face of car journalists and automotive purists alike.

Credit: Car and Driver

Credit: Car and Driver

Alfa Romeo have produced a spectacular car but what is it like to live with, every day and in its slightly more sedate form?

I’ve owned an Alfa Romeo Giulia Speciale since April 2017 so allow me to fill in some of the blanks.

Style

In reality, we would all want the crazy/beautiful QF with its mad bonnet, quad exhausts, flared…well everything and that super cool red ignition button. However in the real world you need to get a practical saloon car that looks good and is economical on the commute. I plumped for the Speciale. It’s the mid range option but comes with the uprated body kit, snazzy 18’ alloys, double exhaust and a rather cool looking rear diffuser. The car sits in Rosso metallic paint, of course, and with a tan interior that tops it off nicely it is a very handsome car.

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Performance

The 2.2 diesel packs a decent punch and as you’d expect has a bunch of low down torque. It’ll get you to 60mph in 7.1 seconds but genuinely feels faster. The fact the power is put down exclusively via the back two wheels adds to a great drive and the chassis is fantastically poised. It can get a little tail happy if you push it but the traction control will see you right, sometimes when you don’t want it to. Unlike in the QF, you can’t turn the traction off which is a bit of a shame but despite this it still handles like a dream.

Usability

As you’d expect, the Giulia is really practical. The driver and passenger travel in huge comfort. The Speciale comes with leather, electric, heated seats as standard and they are just divine. I particularly enjoy the heated steering wheel that, in the UK at least, makes for a lovely treat on our cooler days. The boot isn’t as large as say the Audi A4 or BMW 3 series, it has been a bit of a struggle to cram two suitcases and hand luggage in the back but with some thought you’ll manage. The rear passengers also get to enjoy sportier, supportive seats but anyone in the middle is going to have a cosy ride. Other than that it is a car which is super easy to live with everyday.

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Economy

Pretty good. I average 41 mpg, considering I make relatively short journeys nowadays and can get a tad carried away with my right foot, that is not a bad return.

The Giulia is equipped with the Alfa DNA system that allows you to choose your driving mode. If you keep it in natural mode you can’t go far wrong, you get a good mix of performance and fuel economy. Dynamic will see you drain the tank a little faster but you can take advantage of that sexy chassis and all weather mode seriously tempers the performance but maximises fuel usage. Plus when you switch modes, a cool graphic pops up on the central display…doesn’t make difference to much but looks great and reminds you what you’re in.

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Quirks and issues

This is the part where you’d expect me to talk about how many issues, breakdowns and near misses I’ve had with this car, well, prepare to be disappointed. After 19,700 miles, the Giulia, mechanically, hasn’t skipped a beat.

I’m on the same tyres (yep they need changing, like right now, but still), same break pads, topped the oil up twice and that’s it. It’s been perfect.

Admittedly, the software on the infotainment system hasn’t been the best. It’s needed two upgrades, the sat nav will randomly go blank, the bluetooth system will drop your phone with no warning and with no reason and there was that one time when the entire dashboard just disappeared for two days. Literally showed nothing, but it came back and for that you can only be thankful.

Still, my 147 was in the garage at least once a month for the 23 months I owned that little money pit so minor software glitches are a lottery win as far as I’m concerned.

My 147 in its natural habitat..

My 147 in its natural habitat..

In summary, the Giulia has been the perfect companion. Taken me from the south of England to the Highlands of Scotland, numerous cross country trips and even a hop skip and a jump to the shop is exciting.

Every time I leave my house and see her sat there on the drive I genuinely stop and admire what Alfa have produced.

That is the sign of a truly ground breaking car, a sign of artistic achievement, a sign of love.

Alfa are back.

Here's something we put together last year a few months after picking the Giulia up - enjoy