Alfa Romeo Giulia Review 2023
The Alfa Romeo Giulia is a luxury four-door executive saloon that has a beautiful exterior and dynamic performance. Coming with typical Italian flamboyance via a powerful engine and agile handling, the Giulia is great for those looking for some fun.
Rivals to the Giulia include the BMW M3 Saloon, Jaguar XE, Mercedes-Benz C-Class Saloon, and Audi A4 Saloon.
Our Alfa Romeo Giulia review covers:
- Flamboyant styling that's great to look at
- Practical interior with some luxury features
- 480-litre boot
- 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine or a 2.9-litre unit exclusive to the Quadrifoglio
- Three trim levels
Pros:
- Fantastic performance
- Handling is superb
- Relatively spacious and practical interior
Cons:
- Interior is not as luxurious as rivals
- Suspension not great over potholes
- Quadrifoglio version is ridiculously expensive
Alfa Romeo's are known for their flash and bold exteriors, and the Giulia doesn't disappoint; it looks like it belongs cruising around Lake Como on a summer's day. You get a V-shaped front grille with black air intakes on either side, creases in the bonnet, and three-bulb headlights.
Sitting quite low, the Giulia isn't the easiest of cars to get into, especially if you've got a bad back. However, once you're inside, there's plenty of space. Two six-footers have plenty of room in the front, while rear space is also pretty generous and should be more than enough for a pair of adults.
Open the boot, and you get 480 litres of space, which is on par with the BMW 3 Series Saloon and way ahead of the Jaguar XE. The back seats split and fold 40/20/40, which helps with loading larger items or packing for a weekend away.
The interior of the Giulia is a good blend of practicality and luxury. The dashboard feels well put together and built to last, and there's also a good amount of premium materials like soft-touch plastics and a leather gear selector. Although not on par with the BMW M3 Saloon or Mercedes C-Class Saloon, the Giulia's interior is respectable.
On the dash is an 8.8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with all the usual features like a DAB radio, smartphone mirroring, and sat-nav. It's a decent system and can be used via a rotary dial between the front seats, but it falls short of the cutting-edge tech found in the BMW M3 Saloon or Audi A4 Saloon.
There's also a 12.3-inch colour instrument display behind the steering wheel that can be chosen in three different layouts: Evolved, Relaxed, and Heritage.
Three trim levels are available: Sprint, Veloce, and Competizione.
Sprint has 18-inch alloy wheels, full LED matrix trilobe headlamps, climate control, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, faux leather and cloth seats, keyless entry, a wireless charging pad, front and rear parking sensors, active cruise control, and lane departure warning.
Veloce adds 19-inch alloy wheels, heated and six-way adjustable front seats with lumbar support, sports leather seats, black window surrounds, aluminium interior inserts, and limited-slip differential.
Competizione has a leather dashboard, door panels, and central armrest, a Harman Kardon audio system, dark tinted rear windows,
There's also a performance Giulia, called the Quadrifoglio, that uses a 2.9-litre engine and is fitted with a bespoke suspension, faster steering, and bigger brakes.
The engine range is quite simple for the Giulia. There's the entry-level 2.0-litre petrol engine or a 2.9-litre V6 engine that's exclusive to the Quadrifoglio version. Both come with an eight-speed automatic gearbox and rear-wheel drive.
The entry-level unit is a superb engine and standard to all three trim levels. Coming with 276hp and shooting from 0-62mph in 5.7 seconds, you have plenty of power at your disposal. When behind the wheel, we'd say that it feels even more powerful, making it our pick of the engines.
The range-topping V6 is exclusive to the Giulia Quadrifoglio. Once you've processed just how expensive it is (it's a lot), the Quadrifoglio is a superb performance engine. Shooting from 0-62mph in 3.9 seconds and with a top speed of 191mph, it's a ridiculously powerful unit that rivals the Porsche Taycan 4S and BMW M4.
Get on the road, and the Giulia is a superb drive. It's fun and engaging, and although its suspension can be a bit bouncy, this shouldn't wipe the huge smile from your face.
Around town, the Giulia has sharp and direct steering. However, this comes at the expense of manoeuvrability. It's a bit tricky to navigate through a tight car park, and the suspension is unforgiving on crumbling urban roads.
Increase the speed, and you get a touch of true Italian flamboyance. The engines get up to motorway speed with ease, and when there, there's minimal road and wind noise. You also get adaptive cruise control as standard, which is great for long-distance journeys.
The Giulia comes into its own on a country road. Its steering is fantastic and incredibly responsive, and the rear-wheel drive system is wonderfully balanced. The standard version is also great, meaning you don't have to upgrade to the expensive Quadrifoglio to enjoy the drive. We'd argue that the Giulia is the best saloon car on country roads, even better than the Jaguar XE and BMW M3 Saloon.
Prices for the new Alfa Romeo Giulia start from £39,134.00 OTR* or to lease from £382.32 per month.
Looking to get behind the wheel of the Alfa Romeo Giulia? Nationwide Vehicle Contracts is one of the UK's largest car leasing brokers and offers a range of leasing deals to suit your every need.
Leasing may be cheaper than an outright purchase, thanks to a low initial deposit and fixed monthly rentals.
*' On the road' price correct at time of publication and includes one year's road fund license, DVLA first registration fee and number plate fee. Prices are subject to change; always check with your nearest retailer.
