Some say you can’t be a petrolhead until you’ve driven an Alfa Romeo. Trawl the company’s history and it’s easy to see why: Ascari, Nuvolari, Mezzario and Fangio have all steered them to victory; Zagato, Bertone, Giugiaro, and Scaglietti have all styled them.
The cars have won more Targa Florios - considered by many to be the greatest of all road races – than any other manufacturer and a man called Enzo Ferrari managed its Formula One team before moving to Maranello to dabble in car manufacturing himself.
The cars have won more Targa Florios - considered by many to be the greatest of all road races – than any other manufacturer and a man called Enzo Ferrari managed its Formula One team before moving to Maranello to dabble in car manufacturing himself.
Although there have been bad times as the company’s centenary approached things were looking up. The gorgeous 8C supercar showed that Alfa Romeo is still a force to be reckoned with when left to get on with things and the MiTo gave small car buyers a real alternative to BMW’s ubiquitous MINI. So what then of its new Giulietta, the car that Alfa Romeo hopes will steal sales from the benchmarks that are the Focus and the Golf?
Take one look at the Giulietta and you know instantly that it’s an Alfa Romeo. The trademark shield-shaped grille, the slim chrome badges, the red brake callipers, the purposeful stance and twin exhausts, plus the unmistakably bold Italian styling that makes a five door look like a three door, are all there.
Inside it’s the same story. Pleated leather seats, podded dials, a narrow pedal box, plus a few hard plastics here and there, as well as some fragile feeling rocker switches leave you in no doubt that you’re in something from Northern Italy. The tell-tale Cloverleaf on the front wings is a nice touch too.
Alfa Romeo has been putting the Quadrifoglio Verde (that’s Cloverleaf in Italian) on its most sporting models since 1921 and on the Giulietta it not only signifies that “our” car is the only one in the range not to get stop-start as standard but that it’s also the range-topping quick one. It may only have a 1.8 litre engine but thanks to some clever valve timing, direct injection and a turbo this Giulietta comes with 235bhp and 251 lb-ft of purposeful low-end torque. Both came in very useful in the Shropshire hills.
The engine sounds great especially when working hard, and despite having fewer cylinders than you might expect from an Italian thoroughbred they all add to the aural experience.
But you’ll have flick the DNA switch in front of the gearlever to D for Dynamic to really appreciate them. In N or normal the Giulietta can feel a little inert, as if someone has slackened a few screws and numbed its responses. It makes you wonder why D isn’t the default setting. Thankfully I didn’t have call to use A for all-weather.
If the engine is the pleasure than unfortunately the ride can be a pain. The Cloverleaf sits 10mm lower than its lesser brethrens and despite its aluminium multilink rear suspension the ride isn’t anywhere near as good as it could or should be. Maybe the optional 18-inch rims and low profile tyres don’t help. Maybe The Clun Valley’s road surface – surely one of the worst in the county - is a pretty unforgiving test surface for something that was designed for use on the autostrada, but unfortunately in this spec the Giulietta’s ride is just too hard and un-forgiving.
At £24,995 upwards – our car came in at £31,065 with options - the Giulietta Cloverleaf offers an alternative for those that think a Focus ST is too common and a Golf GTI is too obvious. To some the Alfa Romeo badge and distinctive styling will make it feel very special indeed. Some however, will be left wondering if it’s special enough.
By Liam Bird
Take one look at the Giulietta and you know instantly that it’s an Alfa Romeo. The trademark shield-shaped grille, the slim chrome badges, the red brake callipers, the purposeful stance and twin exhausts, plus the unmistakably bold Italian styling that makes a five door look like a three door, are all there.
Inside it’s the same story. Pleated leather seats, podded dials, a narrow pedal box, plus a few hard plastics here and there, as well as some fragile feeling rocker switches leave you in no doubt that you’re in something from Northern Italy. The tell-tale Cloverleaf on the front wings is a nice touch too.
Alfa Romeo has been putting the Quadrifoglio Verde (that’s Cloverleaf in Italian) on its most sporting models since 1921 and on the Giulietta it not only signifies that “our” car is the only one in the range not to get stop-start as standard but that it’s also the range-topping quick one. It may only have a 1.8 litre engine but thanks to some clever valve timing, direct injection and a turbo this Giulietta comes with 235bhp and 251 lb-ft of purposeful low-end torque. Both came in very useful in the Shropshire hills.
The engine sounds great especially when working hard, and despite having fewer cylinders than you might expect from an Italian thoroughbred they all add to the aural experience.
But you’ll have flick the DNA switch in front of the gearlever to D for Dynamic to really appreciate them. In N or normal the Giulietta can feel a little inert, as if someone has slackened a few screws and numbed its responses. It makes you wonder why D isn’t the default setting. Thankfully I didn’t have call to use A for all-weather.
If the engine is the pleasure than unfortunately the ride can be a pain. The Cloverleaf sits 10mm lower than its lesser brethrens and despite its aluminium multilink rear suspension the ride isn’t anywhere near as good as it could or should be. Maybe the optional 18-inch rims and low profile tyres don’t help. Maybe The Clun Valley’s road surface – surely one of the worst in the county - is a pretty unforgiving test surface for something that was designed for use on the autostrada, but unfortunately in this spec the Giulietta’s ride is just too hard and un-forgiving.
At £24,995 upwards – our car came in at £31,065 with options - the Giulietta Cloverleaf offers an alternative for those that think a Focus ST is too common and a Golf GTI is too obvious. To some the Alfa Romeo badge and distinctive styling will make it feel very special indeed. Some however, will be left wondering if it’s special enough.
By Liam Bird
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