Alfa Romeo Giulia 2021 Overview

Alfa Romeo was poised to shake up the established mid-size luxury sedan segment back in 2017 when it released the Giulia, unleashing a direct salvo on big Germans.

Combining stunning gorgeous looks with peppy performance was the name of the game for the Giulia, but after arriving with a lot of hype and fanfare, Alfa Romeo didn't seem to be making as much sales as they had originally hoped.

Alfa Romeo has sold just 142 Giulia so far this year, well behind the segment leaders Mercedes C-Class, BMW 3 Series and Audi A4, but a new mid-life update hopes to revive interest in the Italian sedan.

The refreshed lineup offers more standard equipment and lower prices, but has Alfa done enough to convince you to ditch the tried and true German sports sedan?

Alfa Romeo Giulia 2021: Four-leaf clover
Safety Rating
engine's type	2.9 L turbo
fuel type	Premium unleaded gasoline
Fuel efficiency	8.2l / 100km
Landing	5 Places
Price from	$110,800

Does it represent good value for money? What functions does it have? 9/10

The 2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia has been reduced from four options to three, starting with the $63,950 Sport.

The mid-range Veloce will set customers back $71,450 and the high-end Quadrifoglio $138,950 and $1450, with both prices slashed by $6950 and $XNUMX respectively.

While the entry point is higher than before, the newly introduced Sport class is actually based on the old Super class with the added Veloce package, effectively saving buyers some money over what it used to be.

An 8.8-inch screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is responsible for multimedia functions.

So privacy glass, red brake calipers, 19-inch alloy wheels, sport seats and a steering wheel are now standard throughout the lineup and all the elements you would expect from a premium and sporty European sedan.

You'll also get heated front seats and a steering wheel, something you don't usually see on any budget option, making these features especially noticeable.

Also standard on the Sport are bi-xenon headlights, push-button start, dual-zone climate control, aluminum pedals and dashboard trim.

An 8.8-inch screen is responsible for multimedia functions, although this year the system received touch functionality to make using Android Auto and Apple CarPlay more intuitive.

Red brake calipers and 19-inch alloy wheels are now standard across the range.

A wireless smartphone charger is now also standard across the line, which stops your phone from charging at 90 percent to keep your device from overheating and draining its battery.

As shown here, our Giulia Sport is $68,260 thanks to the inclusion of the Lusso Pack ($2955) and Vesuvio Gray ($1355) metallic paint.

The Lusso Pack adds active suspension, a premium Harman Kardon audio system and interior lighting, and a double-pane panoramic sunroof can also be ordered for an additional $2255.

In general, the cost of Giulia is much higher than it was before, thanks to an improved level of equipment, especially compared to the basic versions of competitors.

Is there anything interesting about its design? 9/10

Park a brand new 2020 Giulia next to its predecessor and you'll find they look the same from the outside.

It would be a little unfair to call this update a "facelift," but we're glad Alfa Romeo hasn't ruined the edgy styling of its Giulia sedan.

On sale in Australia since early 2017, Giulia doesn't look like she's aged a day. In fact, we think it has gotten a little better with age, especially in the top Quadrifoglio trim.

With a triangular front grille and off-set license plate, the Giulia looks unique compared to anything else on the road, and we appreciate its distinctive style.

The corner headlights also add an aggressive and sporty look to the Giulia, even in the base Sport trim, while the 19-inch wheels help fill out the arches and give it a more expensive feel.

Park a brand new 2020 Giulia next to its predecessor and you'll find they look the same from the outside.

The beautiful look continues in the back, with sculpted buttocks looking trained and tight, like a well-tailored pair of suit trousers rather than some ill-fitting standard trousers.

However, we'll note the black plastic on the underside of the bumper on our base Giulia Sport, which looks a little cheap with a single exhaust outlet on the left and a sea of...nothing.

However, switching to the more expensive (and more powerful) Veloce or Quadrifoglio fixes that with a proper cone and dual and quad outputs, respectively.

The Giulia certainly stands out among the plethora of Mercedes, BMW and Audi models in the executive sedan segment and proves that doing your own thing can be a lot of fun.

Combine a stylish look with more color options like the new Visconti Green and you can really make your Giulia pop, though we wish our test car had been painted in a more interesting hue.

The beautiful look continues in the back, with sculpted buttocks looking trained and tight like a well-tailored pair of suit pants.

With this option, the Vesuvio Gray Giulia matches too closely with the grey, black, white and silver colors you usually see on premium midsize sedans, but all colors except white and red cost $1355.

Inside, much of the interior remains the same, but Alfa Romeo has made things a little more upscale with a few small touches that add up to make a big difference.

The center console, while unchanged, has received a more upscale makeover with carbon fiber trim with aluminum and gloss black elements.

The shifter is particularly comfortable with its leather-like dimpled design, while other touch points such as media control, drive select, and volume knobs also provide a more weighty and substantial feel.

In addition, the Giulia retains premium interior materials, a soft-touch multifunction leather steering wheel and mixed-material trim for an elegant and sophisticated interior worthy of a premium European model.

Our test car came equipped with the standard black interior, but more adventurous buyers can opt for brown or red – the latter of which would certainly be our choice.

How practical is the interior space? 7/10

With a length of 4643mm, a width of 1860mm, a height of 1436mm and a wheelbase of 2820mm, the Giulia offers plenty of room for passengers both front and rear.

The sporty front seats are especially pleasant; Tight-fitting, well-reinforced and super supportive, which means no fatigue even after long driving trips.

Storage solutions, however, are somewhat limited.

The door pockets won't fit a bottle of any size thanks to the design of the armrest, and the two center cupholders are positioned in such a way that the bottle blocks the climate control.

However, a spacious storage compartment can be found under the center armrest, and the design of the wireless charger stows your device almost vertically in a separate compartment to prevent you from scratching the screen.

The Giulia offers plenty of room for passengers, both front and rear.

The size of the glove box is standard, but the owner's manual takes up a bit of space, and the driver also has access to another small compartment to the right of the steering wheel.

At least Alfa now has a convenient key fob holder to the left of the gear selector? Although this feature becomes redundant with keyless entry and button start, which means you'll likely just leave the keys in your pocket.

The rear seats offer plenty of head, leg and shoulder room for outboard passengers, even with the front seat set to my 183cm (6ft 0in) height, but the door pockets are, again, disappointingly small. .

I fit in the middle seat quite well, but wouldn't want to stay there for long periods of time due to the transmission tunnel eating into the legroom.

Rear passengers have access to a fold-down armrest with cup holders, dual air vents and one USB port.

The rear seats offer ample head, leg and shoulder room for passengers in the outboard seats.

Opening the trunk of the Giulia reveals enough room to swallow 480 liters, which is the same volume as the 3 Series and surpasses the C-Class (425 liters) and A4 (460 liters).

This is enough for one large and one small suitcase, there is a little space on the sides for small items, and four luggage attachment points are located on the floor.

There are also latches in the trunk to fold down the rear seats, but considering they're not spring-loaded, you still need to press them down with something long or walk up to the rear seats to flip them over.

The Alfa Romeo didn't show volume with the seats folded down, but we did notice that the opening to the cabin is noticeably narrow and rather shallow.

What are the main characteristics of the engine and transmission? 7/10

The Alfa Romeo Giulia Sport is equipped with a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine producing 147 kW at 5000 rpm and 330 Nm of torque at 1750 rpm.

Paired with a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission and rear-wheel drive, the Alfa Romeo Giulia Sport is said to accelerate from 0 to 100 km in 6.6 seconds, with a top speed limited to 230 km/h.

While those results may not sound like much in 2020, the driver-focused, rear-wheel-drive layout and quick acceleration times are more than on par with its German gasoline-powered counterparts.

Buyers who want a bit more performance can also opt for the Veloce trim, which boosts the 2.0-liter engine to 206kW/400Nm, while the Quadrifoglio uses a 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 with 375kW/600Nm of torque.

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How much fuel does it consume? 7/10

Officially, the Alfa Romeo Giulia will consume 6.0 liters per 100 km on the combined cycle, but our weekend with the car produced a much higher figure of 9.4 liters per 100 km.

The test drive consisted of navigating the narrow inner streets of north Melbourne, as well as a short motorway drive to find some winding B back roads, so your mileage may vary.

It is worth noting that the Giulia Sport runs on Premium 95 RON petrol, which makes it a bit more expensive to fill up at a gas station.

What safety equipment is installed? What is the safety rating? 9/10

The Alfa Romeo Giulia sedan received the maximum five-star safety rating from the ANCAP in May 2018, with tests based on a 2016 left-hand drive model in the Euro NCAP exams.

In the adult and pediatric protection tests, Giulia scored 98% and 81% respectively, degrading only for "adequate" children's chest protection in the frontal displacement test.

In terms of pedestrian protection, the Giulia scored 69%, while the safety assistance score scored 60%.

The Alfa Romeo Giulia sedan has received the highest five-star safety rating from ANCAP.

However, after this test, Alfa Romeo added lane keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring and automatic high beams as standard, which were previously optional.

In addition, the 2020 Giulia includes Driver Attention Warning and Traffic Sign Recognition, Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) with Pedestrian Detection, Automatic Headlights and Windshield Wipers, Hill Start Assist, Lane Departure Warning, Tire Pressure Monitoring, free of charge. and a rear view camera with rear parking sensors.

The AEB Giulia operates at speeds from 10 km/h to 80 km/h, according to ANCAP, helping drivers mitigate the effects of an accident.

But the Giulia lacks rear cross-traffic alert and an automatic emergency call feature.

Warranty and safety rating

Basic Warranty

3 years / 150,000 km


guarantee

ANCAP Safety Rating

How much does it cost to own? What kind of guarantee is provided? 7/10

Like all new Alfa Romeo cars, the Giulia comes with a three-year warranty or 150,000 km, which is the same as the warranty period for BMW and Audi models, although the Germans offer unlimited mileage.

However, Alfa Romeo lags behind premium industry leaders Genesis and Mercedes-Benz, which offer a five-year unlimited mileage warranty, while Lexus offers a four-year 100,000 km warranty.

Service intervals on the Alfa Romeo Giulia Sport are every 12 months or 15,000 km, whichever comes first.

The first service will cost owners $345, the second $645, the third $465, the fourth $1065, and the fifth $345, for a total of $2865 over five years of ownership. 

What is it like to drive? 8/10

Like all reputable sports sedans, the Alfa Romeo Giulia features a front-engine and rear-wheel drive layout to tempt those who prefer to drive rather than drive.

The exterior of the Giulia certainly promises sharp and interesting handling, while the interior touchpoints do nothing to detract from that potential.

Sit on the cozy bucket seat, wrap your arms around the gorgeous steering wheel, and you'll notice that Alfa has created the Giulia for the driver.

The steering wheel is a particularly nice touch point and features large paddles mounted on the steering column rather than on the steering wheel, making it nearly impossible to miss a shift, even mid-corner.

However, for those who like to use a shifter, the high/low gear selection is located in the preferred back/forward position respectively.

Wrap your hands around the amazingly sized steering wheel and you'll notice that Alfa has created a Giulia for the driver.

The adaptive dampers in our test car can also be boosted regardless of the selected driving mode. 

Speaking of which, three driving modes are offered - Dynamic, Natural and Advanced Efficiency (DNA in Alfa's parlance) that change the car's feel from hardcore to more eco-friendly.

With suspension that can be changed on the fly, riders can choose the softest setting for Melbourne's bumpy, tram-laden city streets, with the engine in full attack mode to get past traffic lights for daring overtaking.

It's also a plus that the suspension can be changed at the push of a button on the center console, instead of usually diving into a whole bunch of complicated menus to tweak and fine-tune certain elements.

At the heart of the Giulia is a double-wishbone front suspension and a multi-link rear suspension that help keep communication and thrilling experiences from the driver's seat.

The appearance of the Giulia certainly promises sharp and interesting handling.

Don't get us wrong, the Giulia Sport won't skid or lose traction on dry roads, but the 147kW/330Nm engine offers enough power to make driving fun.

Push hard into a corner and you'll hear tires squeal, but luckily the steering feels sharp and direct, meaning it's easy and fun to hunt for apexes even if you're keeping things below the posted speed limit.

The multimedia system in the Giulia is vastly improved with a touchscreen that makes Android Auto feel more natural, but the 8.8-inch screen looks rather small when tucked away in the dashboard.

The rotary controller is also better, although the software is still a little fiddly and unintuitive to navigate from page to page.

Verdict

This is Giulia Alfa Romeo, which was supposed to appear back in 2017.

Especially when compared to its German rivals, the new Giulia is not only more attractive to the eye, but also in the back pocket.

The expansion of standard equipment and safety features is a huge boon for would-be Alfa buyers, while there are no compromises on the Giulia's driving enjoyment and peppy engine.

Its weakest aspect may be its average three-year warranty, but if you're looking for a new premium midsize sedan that stands out from the crowd without any major concessions, the Giulia should be on your watch list.