2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio REVIEW | Cutting-Edge New Age Performance With A Twinge Of Italian Tradition
Alfa Romeo has hit the reset button on its range with the medium Giulia sedan. After an extended period of lukewarm cars that often fell short of the brand’s passionate heritage the new Alfa Romeo is back and aiming itself directly at German competitors.
In the case of the Giulia that means (at long last) a new rear-wheel drive chassis and more exciting still a proper performance option, with the Giulia Quadrifoglio sporting very real credentials against icons like the BMW M3 and Mercedes-AMG C 63 S.
Vehicle Style: High-performance prestige medium sedan
Price: $143,900 (plus on-roads)
Engine/trans: 375kW/600Nm 2.9 litre 6cyl turbo petrol | 8sp automatic
Fuel Economy Claimed: 8.2 l/100km | Tested: 13.2 l/100km
OVERVIEW
It’s been a long time since Alfa Romeo had a medium sedan in its range, the last one - the 159, penned by Giugiaro - graced Australian new car showrooms in 2012, but that car wasn’t quite a ‘real’ Alfa, relying heavily on the Fiat Group’s alliance with General Motors at that time and lacking a degree of Alfa-ness that purists demanded.
The Giulia is a very different car. From its all-new rear wheel drive ‘Giorgio’ platform, through to the twin-turbo V6 developed exclusively for the Giulia Quadrifoglio by Ferrari. Pedigrees don’t come much more prestigious than that.
Overseas models can be ordered with a good old-fashioned manual transmission or all wheel drive, but for Australia the Giulia range is simpler, with rear wheel drive and an eight-speed auto the only drivetrain combo.