This is a long term review of my 2016 Veloce. I purchased the car as I have wanted a hot hatch for a while and preferred Italian design over the golf GTI.
I like the exterior design of the giulietta, certainly quite distinctive from other hatches of this genre in my opinion. The interior technology is a bit lacking in comparison to other makes. It doesn’t have a reverse camera and needs it, with large front buckets and rear c pillars obscuring the drivers view.
It is an odd omission given Jeep, fiats etc also have the Uconnect system (which works very well) with the camera. It doesn’t have, electric seats, a digital radio, or Apple/Android carplay. There are plenty of hard plastics. The BOSE stereo works well, as does the GPS. The alcantara seats are very comfortable. The. Bi- Xenon work well also.
The TCT transmission mostly works well , with quick changes under heavy acceleration. It does however hold onto gears for too long at times, eg when driving up an incline.
That said, I look forward to every drive in this car. I cant say the same for my other drive a Skoda Octavia VRS (which does everything well). Driving an alfa is difficult to define although once you are bitten by the bug, its hard to shake off! The 1750 turbo which is also found in the 4C, sounds awesome under load, and it is fun to drive with direct steering, and good feedback through the wheel. The economy is also better than I expected for a performance car.
Any “alfa” issues during 2 years of ownership? Nope. Nothing. Not a rattle, nothing falling off. I recently completed a 1000km round trip to Broken Hill, NSW, on lets say some very average roads at times. If I believed everything I have read about Alfa romeos, I would have barely made it beyond city limits, before a major mechanical failure, or the interior fittings started coming adrift in the cabin.
For future models more tech in the car would be great. I do appreciate the hot hatch genre is hotly contested, even more so in the last couple of years.
Heart based decision to purchase an alfa? Probably, although i dont see that as a bad thing. I definitely have the alfa bug and would seriously consider another ALFA in the future, either a Giulia Veloce or another Giuletta when it is updated.