Alfa Romeo Giulia (2016 - 2023) review

Few will likely miss the passing of the Giulia’s diesel option, the choice now based around a single petrol engine in two states of tune, while the high-performance Quadrifoglio is pretty much a standalone model in its own right. For the regular Giulia that’s all all well and good but in this fleet-focused sector of the market the lack of any sort of hybrid is really going to hurt Alfa Romeo, especially when Benefit In Kind is such a key running cost consideration for company drivers. That’s a real shame because the Giulia is a charismatic choice but, faced with a tax bill potentially hundreds per month more than that hybrid 3 Series, C-Class or A4, it’s going to be an expensive one. The only relatively good news? Well, the more powerful and exciting Veloce version has pretty much identical CO2 and fuel consumption figures to the standard one so, if you’re shouldering those running costs, you may as well enjoy yourself while doing so.

Accepted wisdom has it you buy an Alfa Romeo with your heart but your head may come to regret it. But things have improved considerably for the brand since the introduction of the Giulia and the related Stelvio crossover, with owners reporting high satisfaction levels. That’s not too surprising, given Alfa Romeo customers tend to passionate about the brand and proud to fly the flag but things seem to be moving in the right direction. All new Alfa Romeos come with a standard three-year warranty, two years of which is manufacturer supported with a further 12 months through the dealer and offering full protection from faults or defects. Within 15 days of purchase you can upgrade this for up to two additional years through the Maximum Care programme, while an Insured Warranty can be added at a later date. Alfa Romeo also offers fixed-price service packages to help you manage maintenance costs.

Active safety and semi-autonomous driver aids were major additions for the Giulia’s 2020 model year update and are included in the Driver Assistance Package Plus. This is a cost option on all but the top of the range Veloce Ti, which includes it as standard. It comprises self-dipping auto headlights, blind spot and lane-keeping interventions to avoid unintentional swerves into unseen traffic and radar-monitored adaptive cruise control. A worthwhile package, especially if you cover a lot of miles. Saying that, we found the automated cruise control a little crude and less able to smooth out the ebbs and flows of busy motorway traffic than others we’ve tried.

Like most in the sector the Giulia looks after those seated in the front but is a little cramped in the back. This is a compromise most buyers of sporting saloons will accept and driver and front-seat passenger are well looked after in a cabin benefitting from a significant upgrade in quality. This was needed, after many early reviews picked up on the flimsy switchgear and lacklustre materials compared with direct rivals from the premium German brands. Alfa Romeo has responded, with higher quality touchpoints such as leather trim for the gear selector and a more positive, high-quality feel for commonly used interfaces like infotainment controls. Fundamentally, the Giulia seeks to remind you of the brand’s sporting heritage and feels decidedly driver-focused, with the option to adopt a reclined, low-slung seating position with the wheel pulled close to your chest. Your rear seat passengers won’t thank you but, thanks to the supercar-style shifter paddles and classic cowled instruments, the Giulia feels distinctly sporty. Likewise with the chassis set-up, which offers an expertly judged balance between sharp handling and comfort, proving these qualities needn’t be mutually exclusive. The responsive steering and rear-wheel drive balance reward the driver but passengers will also be satisfied at the suspension’s ability to swallow bumps. On cars with the optional Alfa Active suspension you can opt for Dynamic mode but ‘decouple’ the dampers back to their softer setting, a trick Alfa Romeo has borrowed from Ferrari and offers a perfect compromise for bumpy backroads.

Alfa Romeo has stripped the Giulia range back to just three trim levels, branded Sprint, Veloce and Veloce Ti, these supported with a number of self-explanatory options packages. Some of these are included as standard on higher trim levels anyway. Compared with some rivals the relatively small central screen may not seem too fancy but the operating system powering it is a huge step up from earlier Giulias and uses an easy to navigate tile-based menu system you can control by touch or a turn-and-push dial between the seats. We preferred the latter for the ability to keep eyes on the road. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also standard if you prefer to run things through your phone instead, revised connected services offering additional support even when you are away from your car. We also appreciated the option of regular USB, USB-C, a regular 3.5mm aux-in socket and wireless charging in the central storage box, this a much more inclusive option than many modern cars that leave users of older devices battling with adaptors to plug in.

Fire-breathing, Ferrari-engined Quadrifoglio aside the regular Giulia range is now based around a single 2.0-litre petrol in 200 horsepower Sprint trim or with 280 horsepower in Veloce models. All Giulias drive the rear wheels through an eight-speed automatic gearbox, which works well and is nice to shift manually via the big, supercar-style paddles behind the wheel, though the engine isn’t especially refined at a standstill and the Sprint version feels a little weak for such a sporty looking car. Per ‘Running costs’, given the Veloce’s emissions and fuel consumption are the same you may as well go with this if you can, on the basis the performance is a lot better with a noticeable increase in response in the Dynamic mode, especially if you’re willing to rev it out. The more relaxed ‘A’ for Active Efficiency meanwhile offers you a more chilled option on the motorway. If you have it this mode switch also configures the active suspension – the car we drove had the standard set-up and felt great as it was so we’d argue you probably don’t need this.