The Alfa Romeo Giulia is one of the more interesting offerings from Alfa in recent times. It seems to have that classic Alfa DNA that has made the brand so famous worldwide. Yet, in typical Alfa fashion, it is certainly not without its faults.
This sports sedan is in direct competition with the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes's C Class, and Audi's A4 and S4. It is a car that can for sure divide opinion, as it is either loved or overlooked completely in favor of its more accomplished German competitors. Is the Alfa Romeo a cool sports car? Most definitely! Would we buy one? Probably not.
10 Why The Giulia Is Awesome: Fast
The first and most obvious reason you may be considering buying a Giulia is its speed. There are very few sedans out there that can match the speed of the Giulia, especially in V6 Quadrifoglio guise.
Even the standard sedan has a 280 HP turbocharged four-cylinder engine which is plentiful, to say the least. However, for anyone who wants even more power, the option of a Ferrari-developed V6 offers a whole 505 HP and a top speed of around 200 MPH.
9 Why We Wouldn't Buy One: Expensive To Maintain
A massive problem with this car, however, is that parts do tend to fail and things need to be replaced. The prices are fairly astronomical, which means this is not a great option for someone looking for a car that's easily maintained.
All cars need routine check-ups, however, the Alfa servicing doesn't come cheap. Even the parts needed for regular maintenance are relatively expensive, such as air cleaner cartridges, the drive/accessory belt, brake fluid changes, oil changes, and spark plugs.
8 Why The Giulia Is Awesome: Reasonably Priced
Despite the high price of the Giulia's maintenance bill, the car doesn't actually cost all that much to buy outright, which could perhaps soften the blow slightly for anyone interested in a purchase.
The base 2021 Giulia sedan costs just over $40,000 and the V6 Quadrifoglio costs around $70,000. This means both the base model and the higher-spec version is on par with most of the German equivalents.
7 Why We Wouldn't Buy One: Only Available In Automatic
Now, this may be a deal-breaker to some, while to others it may be welcome. Those who prefer their cars with a manual transmission, unfortunately, you aren't going to be getting that here with the Giulia.
For people who like the feel of a manual, stick shift transmission, you may be disappointed to hear that the Giulia is only available as an automatic. Manual transmissions give slightly more control when driving, especially for those who like to take their cars to the track, so unfortunately for those, the Giulia may not be for you.
6 Why The Giulia Is Awesome: Comes With Good Features As Standard
Now, when comparing the car to its close rivals, for example, the M3/M4, C63 AMG, or perhaps the Audi RS4/RS5, it's evident just from looking at the brand's website that the available options that come as standard with the Giulia trump that of its close competitors.
A few of the things that come as standard on the Giulia are a remote start system, a genuine leather interior, heated front seats for both driver and passenger, rain-sensing wipers, parking sensors, a heated steering wheel, and so on. Competitors definitely pale in comparison in this department.
5 Why We Wouldn't Buy One: Unreliable
One thing that has plagued Alfa Romeos since the beginning is reliability. Alfas have been notorious for faults, and it seems the newest addition to Alfa's roster keeps true to form as being particularly unreliable.
This is especially bad given that the car on the whole seems so much more refined compared to Alfas of old. This makes it particularly disappointing. It's also common for recalls to be made by Alfa Romeo in order to fix these issues.
4 Why The Giulia Is Awesome: Practical
However, to somewhat contradict the last section slightly, the practicality of the Giulia is surprisingly good. When compared to other similarly sized sedans, it actually outdoes its competitors in a lot of areas.
Folding rear seats are standard and there is plenty of legroom for both the front and rear passengers. The rear has a decent-sized area for storage as it was actually modeled after the 3-Series BMW, a good source of inspiration for sure.
3 Why We Wouldn't Buy One: German Alternatives
All things considered, as a daily driver, the Alfa may not be the best possible choice. Its use as a sedan for driving fast and for possible track use, cannot be matched. Unfortunately, as a sedan, it has to perform as well on the streets as it does on the race track.
For this reason, there are a number of very capable German cars for a similar price, especially the base Giulia sedan price. For this reason, it's quite hard to recommend the Giulia simply for its expensive maintenance cost and poor reliability. German cars have a long history of reliability and there are some great options from BMW and Mercedes, in particular, that may be better as daily drivers.
2 Why The Giulia Is Awesome: Stylish
One area where the German saloons fall short is styling. That's not to say that the German competitors are lacking in the looks department. However, when put up against the Alfa there is almost no competition whatsoever as the Alfa is purely in a class of its own.
Its understated, yet sleek lines, and that classic Alfa front grille make it stand out so much more than the relatively more bland-looking Mercedes and BMWs. It manages to toe the line between sporty and sophisticated better than almost any sedan on the road today.
1 Why We Wouldn't Buy One: Poor Fuel Economy
For various reasons, this area is a little more interesting and is not so black and white. This mainly comes down to the individual buyer rather than the car itself. This is because the fuel economy depends on the model of Alfa Giulia being purchased.
The V6 Alfa Giulia drinks fuel at an astonishing rate. However, this should hardly be surprising given that it's a 2.9-liter V6 with over 500 HP, so this is definitely something that should be noted for potential customers of the Giulia's highest-powered offering. To balance this out slightly, however, the base model Giulia actually does have relatively good fuel economy, especially when compared to the alternatives from Lexus and Infiniti, but it still cannot match the Germans in this area.