Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio (2024 - ) review

This is a high-performance car, with a purchase price and running costs to match. And your wallet is going to take a beating on pretty much everything, be that fuel, insurance or tax. So, if you like the idea of a Giulia but need to maintain a grip on expenditure by all means put the money into a well-equipped Giulia Veloce instead. Still here? OK, here’s the good news! For the way it drives and the smile it puts on your face the Giulia Quadrifoglio looks cracking value compared with an equivalent BMW M3 or Mercedes-AMG C63, while the brand’s Italian heritage is glamorous enough to make it feel rather more exotic. You don’t buy a car like this for rational reasons – thankfully Alfa Romeo delivers more than enough emotional ones to make the cost feel worth bearing.

Some early Quadrifoglios supplied for reviews when the car launched suffered from embarrassing electrical glitches apparently confirming all the worst assumptions about the brand’s reputation for flaky reliability. That these same journalists still raved about how they loved the Quadrifoglio is a measure of how much fun it is to drive and, reassuringly, owners seem to have had much better experiences with their cars. Saying that, we’d be tempted to take up Alfa Romeo’s extended warranty offer at point of purchase, on the basis it increases cover from three to up to five years. Given the potential cost of repairs on a car of this nature that seems a sensible investment.

You can add >‘Level 2’ semi-autonomous driving aids in a package if you want, and thus equipped the Quadrifoglio will maintain its speed, hold its lane and slow if the traffic ahead is doing the same all on its own. Which has the potential to take a bit of stress out of boring motorway driving but the fact it’s optional points to the Quadrifoglio’s priorities as a car to entertain keen drivers. Something it’s only too happy to demonstrate at every given opportunity. While it’s impressively civilised in regular driving there’s a lot of power going to the rear wheels and that can dominate the driving experience, the Quadrifoglio squirming under heavy acceleration. Clever stability and traction control in the regular driving modes keeps it all in check, though, and it’s only when you go to Race the safety systems are fully disengaged. Officially this is best left for the circuit. But, for a skilled driver, this is where the Quadrifoglio’s true talent and natural balance really shine through.

Many manufacturers seem to think you need rock hard suspension to validate sporting ability but Alfa Romeo takes a more sophisticated approach and the Quadrifoglio is actually a surprisingly comfortable drive for something this potent. The steering is light and direct, the automatic gearbox is smooth and it feels luxurious and well-built inside. The expensive race seats are a worthwhile tick on the options list for their sporty look and feel, though your kids will play merry hell with the glossy finish of the carbon fibre backs and if you are going to use it as a family car. Work your way up the driver modes on the rotary DNA dial and a more assertive character emerges, delivering on the muscular looks and impressive stats. The adjustable suspension gets stiffer, though it’s still more comfortable than many and you can ‘decouple’ to keep the softer setting even in Dynamic mode, a trick Alfa Romeo has borrowed from Ferrari. By the time you get to Race it feels like a totally different car, the steering now faster to react, the exhaust louder and the response to the throttle even more urgent. The ability to switch from relaxed, luxurious saloon to four-door supercar at the press of a button is a neat trick and makes the Quadrifoglio way more flexible (as well as more entertaining) than something like a Porsche 911. And if you like the sound of all that but fancy a bit more space the Quadrifoglio version of the Stelvio SUV has the same engine and a very similar character. Out on the road as you work your way through the driver modes on the rotary DNA and a more assertive character emerges, delivering on the muscular looks and impressive stats. The adjustable suspension gets stiffer, though it’s still more comfortable than many and you can ‘decouple’ to keep the softer setting even in Dynamic mode, a trick Alfa Romeo has borrowed from Ferrari. By the time you get to Race it feels like a totally different car, the steering now faster to react, the exhaust louder and the response to the throttle even more urgent. The ability to switch from relaxed, luxurious saloon to four-door supercar at the press of a button is a neat trick and makes the Quadrifoglio way more flexible (as well as more entertaining) than something like a Porsche 911. And if you like the sound of all that but fancy a bit more space the Quadrifoglio version of the Stelvio SUV has the same engine and a very similar character.

Like regular Giulias the Quadrifoglio has been updated with a much-improved infotainment system, featuring a bigger screen, increased functionality and a simple, tile-based interface. Call us old-school but while you can operate through touch we preferred the turn-and-push dial for the ability to interact with the system without needing to take our eyes off the road. True, the latest BMW M3 is a generation on in terms of fancy tech and feels much more up to date. But the more traditional look and feel of the Alfa Romeo is charming in its own way and suits the character of the car. Other updates for this latest model include the new triple-lens LED headlights and a full digital instrument display. Rather charmingly this can be configured to display old-fashioned analogue style dials in a nod to Alfa Romeo’s traditional roots. In terms of spec it’s as generous as you’d hope for a car of this price, though the opportunity to spend a lot more with various bits of carbon fibre garnish inside and out is there, along with performance upgrades like a fancy Akrapovič titanium exhaust and carbon ceramic brakes. These two options alone will add nearly £10,000 to the price but even with all these boxes ticked the Quadrifoglio still looks good value against an M3.

Business as usual under the Quadrifoglio’s carbon fibre bonnet, which is good news given the power has had a small bump to 520 horsepower for a symbolic M3-beating advantage on the spec sheet, though this is even more significant for the fact the Alfa Romeo is also a lot lighter. The 2.9-litre turbocharged V6 actually shares roots with the V8s found in Ferraris like the Roma and Portofino, meaning you can genuinely say this is a saloon with the heart of a thoroughbred Italian supercar. With a top speed of over 190mph and 0-62 in less than four seconds it goes like one, too, pulling strongly from low revs for maximum flexibility but also keen to rev all the way to the redline before you grab the next gear on the long, slender shifter paddles behind the steering wheel. One small but interesting change for this car is the switch from an active locking differential at the back for a more robust and traditional mechanical one. One of those ‘if you know, you know’ technical changes that, for the folk who understand the difference, will get a big thumbs up and makes the Quadrifoglio just a little more predictable when accelerating out of corners. For all that the real delight is how much of this character you can appreciate at more sensible speeds. And that’s not an easy trick to pull off.