Alfa Romeo Giulia

Long time Alfa driver so I might be a bit biased but, my god, this looks stunning.

Don’t think I’ll be able to afford the ‘QV’ but hoping the lower models are more affordable.
503bhp 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged V6 developed by Ferrari, 0-62 in 3.9s 😯

just doesn’t look like it works in that colour.

White works 🙂

Lotsa glass, refreshing.

Looks like a 3 series in a party dress

Red works so much better than white 😉

Will keep my fingers crossed they do a Sportwagon variant. A 500bhp, rwd Italian estate in Proteo red would tick all the boxes I think.

ElShalimo – Member

Looks like a 3 series in a party dress
Was thinking more along the lines of if the Jag XF was designed by Italians.

Looks like an up-to-date 156. Love it.

The 3 series and C class look so tacky in comparison.

cynic-al – Member

Lotsa glass, refreshing.

+1

Beemer 3 series with an Alfa grill/lights is what jumps out at me. Maybe different in the flesh. And also not a bad thing anyway

Looks like an up-to-date 156

Agreed. The 159 was leaps ahead of the 156 in terms of looks (and reliability) but this does look like a 156 but just waaaaay better.

Like it a lot!
If pushed I would go for the red one, I see what others are saying about looking like a 3 series I can see hints of it around the front wings/Lights but you see this in a lot of cars now, take a look at the profile of a Megane Coupe and Astra GTc both very similar in outline.

3-series from the side, Audi from the rear and Jag headlights. Maybe a bit too ‘me too’, but they’re obviously looking to take sales from these buyers.

Sniff Petrol

Actually looks better in that picture. Stunning. I want.

I want to see that on the Top Gear track pasting an M3/M4 (or whatever they’re calling it these days) with fancy camera tricks and possibly Audioslave as the soundtrack

@StevieD – thanks for that, I used to own a red 156 and I’ve just bought a silver/grey 159!

Long term Alfisti here. I owned a 156 V6 Sport for a while until I couldn’t afford the fuel bills. I replaced that with a 2.0 litre 147, which was pleasingly rorty and I’ve just taken the plunge and bought a 159 – a turbodiesel this time.

The 156 is by far the better detailed car, properly lovely and well proportioned from any angle.

But that Giulia…Oh my God…

It has to be red, no question. And that noise…it’s like my old 156 V6, only better.

Just looks like BMW to me with a Mondeo rear end. The Start button on the steering wheel is just odd, and not in a good quirky Alfa way.

TBH I can’t see them selling many, especially as it isn’t due till September 2016, by which time rivals will have moved on further. All of which is a concern for Alfa’s longevity, as this car is supposed to be a major part of the big Alfa come back.

ooo, hello.

Snap 😉

TBH I can’t see them selling many, especially as it isn’t due till September 2016, by which time rivals will have moved on further.

Can’t agree there, the 2017 A4 looks Rumple Fugly. Like they’ve tacked a new style low front end onto the old car. The new BMWs all carry the same corporate look which is to say ‘bulbous lumps everwhere with big nostrils’, the new Mercs have big faces and weird swoopy, melty lines that don’t really work at the back.

I just hope they sell plenty of petrols so I can buy one cheaply in 3 or 4 years time. 😀

Will keep my fingers crossed they do a Sportwagon variant

Apparantly, that is the plan. Despite my prior thread of impatience, if that happens I’m hopeful now that’ll be my next car in 18 months time.

Nope, all I get is 3-series dressed in D&G dahhhhling..

So, no likiee.

Have all Afla designers been brought in from Germany ?

The need for a bluff front end is dictated by aero efficiency and pedestrian safety. Sloping bonnets and narrow bumpers are long gone, I think the likes of Alfa and Jaguar have the best interpretation of the rules possible from a stylistic point of view.

Have all Afla designers been brought in from Germany?

No bad thing if you want the oily and electrical bits to work properly. The old, Magnetti-Marelli wired Alfas were a tad ‘eccentric’ at times. Since 2000, they’ve used Bosch electrics which has improved reliability no end.

It really wasn’t all that long ago when a required test on a nearly new Alfa was to make sure the electric windows worked.

Since 2000, they’ve used Bosch electrics which has improved reliability no end.

It really wasn’t all that long ago when a required test on a nearly new Alfa was to make sure the electric windows worked.
I can’t open the passenger window from the driver’s side control panel (I can close it though) on my Bosch-wired 2005* 156SW 😉

*Admittedly, not nearly new

Sure, ok the underpinning engineers have strengthened the marque no end, what I really should have said was the crayon practitioners.. Have They been brought in from Korea or Japan. Most cars these days are a variant of Mazda designs of 5 years ago.
Whilst I like BMW’s foray into Brants swoops/shark (was he wasn’t it?) all I get these days is watered down Mazda moulds.
This Alfa is just another variant of that.

Shame.

I just hope they sell plenty of petrols so I can buy one cheaply in 3 or 4 years time.

They won’t as this is band is primary rep car territory, so it’ll be mostly diesels sold (if any are, as I can’t see Alfa being on many companies approved car lists).

Aside question, who even buys saloons now? It’s all about hatchbacks, SUV’s and Crossovers.

The first photo looks like an Autocar design rendering, not a finished new Alfa. It looks OK, as good as anything else out there, but it doesn’t look as individual or interesting as Alfa saloons of old.

dragon – Member

They won’t as this is band is primary rep car territory, so it’ll be mostly diesels sold (if any are, as I can’t see Alfa being on many companies approved car lists).

Depends how good the private lease deals are. I see a lot of 135i, Fiesta ST, Focus ST & Golf R about. All of which (barring a handful of Focus ST diesels) are petrol and have had pretty decent deals available.

Was thinking more along the lines of if the Jag XF was designed by Italians.

Wasn’t it?

Wasn’t it?

No idea…

A quick Google tells me it was the exceedingly Italian sounding Ian Callum 😉

Whether he’s just the man who takes the credit and has an Italian design company behind him or not, I’ve no idea.

I can’t open the passenger window from the driver’s side control panel (I can close it though) on my Bosch-wired 2005* 156SW

Snap 🙂 Though to be fair mine feels more like a mechanical than electrical problem – i.e. something snapped and jamming the switch.

Looks good. Hope it drives better than the current car though as that is so far behind even the budget alternatives it’s not funny.

It looks liek a 3 series with a body kit on it TBH …
It will have a lovely engine and superb handling …

And really off set pedals, electrics that like to surprise you and terrible build quality.

I had a 156 for a while ….

I’ve been waiting to see this for quite a while, and am a little under-whelmed with the looks TBH. Too much BMW / Jag for my liking.

Love the spec on paper, RWD, 50:50 weight distribution and a V6, but i was just hoping for those features mated to a 159 (best looking saloon / sport-wagon ever?)

Either way, I hope it does well, otherwise I fear the honcho’s at FIAT may consider chopping the AR brand.

Ultimatly the Giulia’s sucess will come down to Alfa’s ability to produce a 2.0l diesel that does a genuine 65MPG and <£30/VED, IMO.

Im convinced the 159 would have sold better if the 1.9 diesel could have done more than 45mpg combined(when the German saloons would do 55mpg without trying)

Ultimately the Giulia’s success will come down to Alfa’s ability to produce a 2.0l diesel that does a genuine 65MPG and <£30/VED, IMO.

This hits the nail on the head, the Giulia Cloverleaf will appeal to a tiny proportion of a crowded sector, but the hope is that the trickledown glamour will sell a lot of diesel saloons.

Note that Jaguar has replaced the competent, but unimaginative X-Type with a RWD platform.

Before Alfas, I owned a couple of VWs. I had no end of shocking issues with build quality and dealerships alike, the VWs went expensively wrong every few months. I’ve also ran a Toyota Yaris too, which was hardly a paragon of bulletproof reliability either.

I can’t help thinking that this would have made for a prettier Giulia

Agreed. The 159 was leaps ahead of the 156 in terms of looks (and reliability) but this does look like a 156 but just waaaaay better.

the 156 was far better – I just felt the front could have been a little ‘stronger’.

And why did they get rid of the rear door handles of the 156 – it was because of the change of design shop.

Alfa should have kept hold of Walter de’Silva, not let him go to VAG 🙁

I can’t open the passenger window from the driver’s side control panel (I can close it though) on my Bosch-wired 2005* 156SW

Snap Though to be fair mine feels more like a mechanical than electrical problem – i.e. something snapped and jamming the switch.

Electrics on my 2004 GT aren’t great either – had an ‘episode’ that took out the cruise control (no matter – never gets used) and one of the window motors.

Now the windows switch between which one drops the furthest when you open the doors, and the passenger one occasionally decides to only go down in discrete increments.

My S and V reg 156s were better electrically, although the V reg was a lot better than the S reg for other areas of reliability.

Ultimately the Giulia’s success will come down to Alfa’s ability to produce a 2.0l diesel that does a genuine 65MPG and <£30/VED, IMO.

Agreed, that was kind of the point I was trying to make (badly) before. Unfortunately I can’t see Alfa managing to do it and within a competitive price.

I can’t help thinking that this would have made for a prettier Giulia

Wow, what’s that? What a difference. Dripping in Alfa heritage and style; distinctive; “light” looking. I’d certainly pay for one of those.

I can’t help agreeing with the general negative tone of the thread though. I always want to love a new Alfa, but not since the 156 Sportwagon have I been anything but disappointed. At least it isn’t boss-eyed like the most recent lot I guess.