2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Review

Alfa’s Giulia debuted back in June 2015 and the car has been available for sale as the 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia since February 2016. The car is Alfa’s first longitudinally-front mounted engined car with rear wheel drive since the Alfa 75 which was discontinued back in 1992. This return to their roots should allow Alfa to finally compete with cars from BMW and Mercedes, two of the best-selling executive brands out there. With the Giulia, Alfa should finally become the true executive car manufacturer they always wanted to be.

PLATFORM AND RUNNING GEAR

The car is based on an entirely new chassis which has been developed from scratch specifically for this model. The Giorgio rear wheel drive platform will eventually underpin a crossover as well but until then the Giulia is the only one using it. This offers a 50:50 weight distribution which allows the car to have a nearly perfectly neutral character. Also, an interesting feature is the carbon-fiber driveshaft which is available across the range as standard. Also, the shock towers, front fenders, doors and certain suspension components are all made out of aluminum. The end result is a car that weighs between 3,030 and little over 3,300 pounds for the QV which makes it one of the most lightweight cars in its class.

DESIGN

There is no question about the fact the 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia looks amazing. In fact, we would dare to say that the Giulia is one of the only executive cars to look different. It looks like a true Italian car with a long and low hood and a stubby back which creates a really nice blend. Alfa’s trademark grille has been installed on the front and flanked by two large air intakes on the sides. The QV adds a large carbon fiber splitter and slightly wider wheel arches. The back on the QV sports a large diffuser, a quad-exhaust system as well as a small carbon fiber wing.

INTERIOR AND TECHNOLOGY

Both the standard model of the car and the QV share the same basic shell of the dashboard. However, the two are quite a bit more different when it comes to the options offered. The base model uses materials like leather, plastics, some aluminum and also Alcantara while the QV adds to the mix carbon fiber. Also, the QV features a different steering wheel with a push-button start mounted directly on it. The QV also gets sportier seats while the Racing Package will further add carbon-fiber shelled front seats wrapped in Alcantara as well as a better dynamic driving selector which adds two extra modes.

2017 ALFA ROMEO GIULIA ENGINE

So far Alfa announced three different engines for the 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia but more are going to come down the road. A 2 liter turbocharged petrol engine is available. In Europe, this is available with 200 or 280 horsepower and 240 lb-ft of torque and 300 lb-ft of torque respectively. The US market only gets the latter. An eight-speed automatic is the only offering and rear wheel drive is currently the only option. A 2.2-liter diesel is also offered as an option. This can be had in different outputs ranging from 136 to 210 horsepower and between 280 and 330 lb-ft of torque. Unlike the petrol engine, this can also be had with a manual in certain markets.

The top end QV version of the Giulia is only available with a 2.9 liter twin-turbocharged V6. This is a Ferrari developed engine which can provide 503 horsepower and 440 lb-ft of torque. So far it seems that it will be available with both a 6-speed manual or with an 8 speed automatic. Alfa hasn’t said a word about the US market availability of the automatic but lets us hope the car will be available with it as the US market usually prefers automatic gearboxes. This particular engine can get the car to 60 MPH in just 3.9 seconds and up to a top speed of 191 MPH which is considerably faster than competitors like the M3 or the ATS-V.