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The Giulietta name is as Italian as pasta, pizza and Pompeii. More than 130,000 of the original Alfa Romeo Giuliettas were built between 1954 and 1965. Now Alfa has revived the Giulietta name in the prestige small-medium car segment. It’s great to see Alfa Romeo use the evocative name Giulietta instead of a boring numerical handles it has given its beautiful cars in recent times. We ask you, 147, 158 - boring!
There are two key elements to the style of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta. One is bonnet lines that seem to fall over the front of the car in line with the shield-style grille. Secondly, the four-door car looks like a sports coupe thanks to cleverly hidden rear door handles. The result is an Italian machine that looks sporty, but has the practical and usable space of a five door.
Alfa imports the Giulietta to Australia with a choice of two engines. One is a 1.4-litre Alfa Romeo MultiAir with 125 kW of power that powers the Giulietta from 0-100 km/h in 7.8 seconds. Also available is the Giulietta QV which boasts the latest incarnation of the Alfa 1750 TBi engine. Its power output is 173 kW with torque of 340 Nm in Dynamic mode at just 1900 rpm. It sprints from 0-100 km/h in 6.8 seconds and has a top speed of 242 km/h.
We found the consumption of the 1.4-litre engine to be about six to seven litres per hundred kilometres on the highway and it seldom got over nine litres per hundred kilometres in town. These are impressive numbers for a car of this size with the very Italian performance characteristics that we just love.
Both engines are linked to a six-speed manual transmission with a tall sixth gear that means at highway speeds the engine idles along reducing noise and lowering fuel consumption. No automatic transmissions are available.
Alfa Romeo Giulietta’s interior is surprisingly large compared to its outside appearance. However, even Alfa can’t work miracles with space and there are some compromises. In reality the car is mostly about the driver. Even tall drivers are catered for with the driver’s seat lowered and fully adjustable steering column.
However, tall front-seat occupants impact on those in the back seats. With medium height in the front rear seat passengers retain good legroom. Head room could be tight for tall rear seat passengers. Though the Giulietta is configured as a five-seater, in the real world it is ideal for four passengers and a fifth full size in the middle of the rear seat if urgently required.
With no fifth passenger in the car, the armrest with fold out cup holders gives a feeling of luxury. Behind this rear seat centre armrest is a ski hatch, the rear seats have a 60/40 split fold for when extra cargo area is needed above the standard 350 litres.
The moment you get behind the wheel the Alfa Romeo Giulietta feels right. Our test car was fitted with cloth upholstery and sports seats which we found supportive without compromising comfort.
This is a true drivers’ car thanks to the willing turbocharged engine, sublime six-speed transmission and great handling. There’s some torque steer under hard acceleration in first gear, but we quite enjoy this in a performance car.
The main instruments - tachometer and speedometer - are large and easy to read which is just as well with the free-revving engine and Australia’s obsession with speed laws.
The dash layout is contemporary. We liked the main switches that run across the centre of the dash for easy access. Auto stop/start is standard, but, unusually for us, we found ourselves turning off this fuel saving feature as the engine was too slow in starting. This was partially irritating in heavy traffic driving.
In hard cornering there’s a hint of understeer, as you’d expect from a front-wheel drive, but no more than expected.
Giulietta has been awarded a EuroNCAP five-star safety rating thanks to a raft of active and passive safety equipment and technology. There are six airbags, three-point seatbelts and self-aligning head restraints. Like many new cars from the European marques, Alfa Giulietta has automatic daytime running lights and LED tail lights that are brighter than conventional bulbs.
Crash avoidance technology includes ABS brakes with EBD, Vehicle Dynamic Control, cornering brake control, dynamic steering torque and brake assist.
All-in-all the Alfa Romeo Giulietta is a thoroughly likable Italian car that will appeal to those looking for more than mere transport in their day-to-day driving.
AT A GLANCE
MODEL RANGE AND PRICING
Giulietta 1.4-litre four-door sedan: $36,990 (manual)
Giulietta QV 1.4-litre four-door sedan: $41,990 (manual)
Note: These prices do not include government or dealer charges.
FEATURES
ABS Brakes: Standard in both models
Automatic Transmission: Not offered
Cruise Control: Standard in both models
Dual Front Airbags: Standard in both models
Front Side Airbags: Standard in both models
Electronic Stability Program: Standard in both models
Rear Parking Sensors: Standard in both models
Reversing Camera: Not offered
USB/Auxiliary Audio Inputs: Standard in both models
Satellite Navigation: Not offered
Bluetooth: Standard in both models
Steering Wheel Mounted Controls: Standard in both models
SPECIFICATIONS (Alfa Romeo Giulietta 1.4-litre four-door sedan)
ENGINE:
Capacity: 1.368 litres
Configuration: Four cylinders in line
Compression Ratio: 9.8:1
Bore/Stroke: 72.0 mm x 84.0 mm
Maximum Power: 125 kW @ 5500 rpm
Maximum Torque: 250 Nm @ 2500 rpm (dynamic mode)
DRIVELINE:
Driven Wheels: Front
Manual Transmission: Six-speed
Automatic Transmission: Not offered
Final Drive Ratio: 3.833:1
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length: 4351 mm
Wheelbase: 2634 mm
Width: 1798 mm
Height: 1465 mm
Turning Circle: 10.9 metres
Kerb Mass: 1290 kg
Fuel Tank Capacity: 60 litres
Towing Ability: 1300 kg with braked trailer
SUSPENSION AND BRAKES:
Front Suspension: MacPherson struts, coil springs, gas damper, anti-roll bar
Rear Suspension: Multilink, coil springs, gas damper, anti-roll bar
Front Brakes: Ventilated Disc
Rear Brakes: Disc
PERFORMANCE:
0-100 km/h Acceleration: 7.8 seconds
FUEL CONSUMPTION:
Type: 95 RON
Combined Cycle (ADR 81/01): 7.8 L/100km
GREEN VEHICLE GUIDE RATINGS:
Greenhouse Rating: 8/10
Air Pollution Rating: 7.5/10
STANDARD WARRANTY:
Three years/ 100,000 km |
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