2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia: owner review

I am an Alfisti, but I am not stupid, blind or Italian. This is my fifth Alfa Romeo.

I must declare here that I get really annoyed with the crap written by some magazine reviews, online reviews, and the oft-held views of car people that Alfas still rust, are unreliable, expensive to fix, and so on.

My first Alfa was a 1984 Giulietta. It had really minor rust issues around window frames and where a radio mast had been poorly fitted. The magnificent 164, 156, and GT were all fantastic vehicles. Reliable, rust-free, and not expensive to maintain.

I waited and waited for the Giulia, with Alfa finally going back to real propulsion, ie, rear-wheel drive. The European and US reviews I read were promising, but the Australian reviews less so. Poor finish, cheap material used inside, etc.

I was therefore astonished by my test drive through the Adelaide Hills in the base model. It is a beautifully handling car with near 50/50 weight distribution, lighter than its competitors, and certainly goes hard enough for a person of my driving skills and age. Great seats and ergonomics. I found many of the criticisms I had read about laughable.

I've now owned her for five-and-a-half years and I'm still in love every time I walk up to her.

Reliability? Has not let me down once, ie, not starting. Downsides? The sunroof died about 18 months ago. There was a long delay in getting parts from Italy due to Covid. A time-consuming repair fully covered by warranty.

I hate the run-flat tyres, and they are very expensive. I have got as little as 25,000km out of two rears.

Finally I have a new set of Goodyears recommend by an old established tyre joint in Adelaide, and these are really wearing well. It seems wheel alignment is critical, and has not always been carried out correctly.

A few minor issues have been taken care of by the excellent Adelaide dealer under the first-class five-year service plan.

Finally, I think the Giulia is one of the most beautiful sports sedans in the world.

Owner: Jack Jennings

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