Beautiful sunset, warm lights in front of us! Edoardo is ready to capture details and pictures with all the necessary equipment. The model this time is Italian and it one of those brands that envy all the world; Alfa Romeo.
A very important brand in the automotive field: excellence, innovation and above all sportsmanship. We are facing a Giulietta, name repeated for the third time on an Alfa Romeo’s car. Is it really deserving this important brand? I don’t hide my love for the Alfa brand and a part of me is a little “alfista”.
As for all the “alfisti” my love for the Alfa Romeo brand ends with the “75”, so the answer as a nostalgic is no but for the content needed to compete in today’s automotive market is definitely an extremely valid car. Let us see that, first of all from the point of view of the real “alfista”, an extremely demanding viewpoint and careful about specific details, especially technicals which should not miss on a real car of the “Biscione”. The name “Giulietta” appeared for the first time in 1955 on a midsize sedan from Alfa Romeo, the first to open the door to mass production cars for the Milanese brand.
That car was extremely fast for its time and highly successful. Henry Ford, a proper car expert, usually did an hat tip when he saw it pass on the road. The name was revived in 1977 for another middle-class sedan, a real Alfa Romeo, fast and fun to drive, with powerful versions 1.8l and 2.0l, very aggressive in the Autodelta turbo version.
Those were times when for chasing an Alfa Romeo, remaining in the same automotive category, another Alfa Romeo was needed. What were the key point of those Alfa? Many things, the most important was the rear-wheel drive. Fans already stuck up their nose when they hear about the front wheel drive, as in the case of the today’s Giulietta.
The second important thing is the engine. Did you ever heard the engine noise of a mid-80s Alfa? It really sounds aggressive, apparently a roaring lion, before moving on high revs with a full deep roar. The Alfa Romeo uses a petrol engine, not diesel.
The traction on the front wheels and the engine not “roaring”, put this Giulietta in the opaque shade of modern diesel engines, excellent in fuel efficiency but definitely not exciting. Let’s see it then in a modern way, and let’s leave aside the nostalgia.
The Giulietta today is part of an highly competitive market, where the main protagonist is the Volkswagen Golf, the real benchmark of the category. Since its launch the Giulietta has shown to have all the content to compete with the others and it really was. She head-high at the fierce competition.
The reason for the success is surely the winning design. The triangle grille has its charms, the tail proves to be equally successful designed with the famous rear led headlights.
From a three-quarter view looks very slender, sleek and aggressive. Appreciated the detail of the rear handle incorporated in the door, already present on the 147 and the 156. The relationship with the more anonymous Fiat Bravo is well hidden.
The version of our shooting is an Exclusive, set up with the beautiful QV Line package making it aesthetically identical to the Quadrifoglio Verde version.
Very attractive are the interiors with quality materials used in many parts of the car. The seats are perfect shaped and contain very well the driver.
The QV Line package offers a leather steering wheel, the door sill with the logo of the four-leaf clover, 18 ” alloy wheels, sporty pedals, special brake system with Brembo red calipers and other details that enrich the vehicle and make it stand out compared to other versions.
The engine is a 2.0 175HP, not a record breaker but definitely powerful but the front-wheel drive is really a shame.
The Golf also offers the chance to have the 4 wheel drive with the R version and it would be great to see that also on the Giulietta with all those HP and torque. The gearshift is not a traditional manual but a TCT, the dual clutch system of Alfa Romeo, definitely better than a traditional automatic but not so fast as you would expect.
On the road you will surely appreciate the overall handling, with a little swaying inevitable due to the high centre of gravity as on every car suitable for long distances.
Very versatile is the DNA switch that with some electronic intervention changes the character of the car, making it suitable for any situation.
Finally, the brakes are the best part, aside from the aesthetic beauty of the red Brembo calipers that make them truly sporty, is also very effective. In conclusion we can say that this car is in step with the times.
For those who are searching practicality, quality and also have some claim for a sporty driving, they can find in the Giulietta the right car. For us nostalgic and fans of the true Alfa Romeo is better looking at the future. Rumors about say that an older sister will come in the Alfa Romeo line up and it will be ready to challenge the German cars and it will probably call with a legendary name: Giulia.
By: Leonardo Stefani
Photos: Edoardo Mascalchi, Marco Dellisanti
Alfa Romeo Giulietta QV-Line 2.0 JTDM 175CV TCT:
Technical Data:
– 1956 cm3 diesel engine
– Power: 175 CV
– Torque 350 Nm
– Alfa TCT duoble clutch automatic gearbox
– Maximum speed 218 Km/h
– 0/100 km/h in 8.0 seconds
