’17 Alfa Romeo Giulia

Alfa Romeo launches its all-new '17 Giulia in the North American market, built on the Giorgio rear- and all-wheel-drive platform and powered by two performance engines, a 505-hp V-6 and a 280-hp turbo 4-cyl. Although Alfa began its return the U.S. market in 2014 with the 4C, the Giulia represents the FCA-owned Italian brand's most ambitious effort here in two decades (see related story: Twin analog gauges frame a center-mounted 7-in. (17.8-cm) information screen, while infotainment is managed via either a 6.5-in. (16.5-cm) or 8.8-in. (22.3-cm) center screen, controlled by a simple rotary knob and a few key buttons and a volume knob.

Materials, fit and finish are excellent, but like many Euro-designed models, rear seat room is tight and trunk space limited. A 40-20-40 split-folding rear seatback standard in Giulia and Giulia Ti is unavailable in the Quadrifoglio.

Involved Driver

Driving the new Alfa Romeo is a glorious experience, regardless of engine choice. The 4-cyl. suffers from some clatter at cold start-up and idle, but is an eager performer out on the road. The boosted engine reacts quickly and runs rapidly to redline, ripping off 100-millisecond-after-100-millisecond shift on its way to illegal velocity.

Giulia’s 2.0L turbo 4-cyl. punches out 280 hp.

That’s by design to maintain a lighter and more agile driving character, says Christian Pollazzoan, brake and vehicle dynamic systems engineer. “The steering doesn’t need a high load to be sporty,” Pollazzoan says. “It is lighter and more precise, and more comfortable to drive.”

Drivetrain setup also affects handling, Pollazzoan says, with torque vectoring capable of shifting 100% of available power – up to 738 lb.-ft. (1,000 Nm) – across the rear axle in the Quadrifoglio. The RWD Giulia uses an open or limited-slip differential, while AWD models employ a transfer case that drives the rear wheels 2% faster than the fronts to deliberately induce oversteer for a sportier driving feel, he says.

The V-6-powered Quadrifoglio is the hard-charging option, with more than enough power and excess handling ability to make any trip feel special. We drove the uplevel model on both road and track and found it exceptional, with robust acceleration at all but the lower part of the rpm band, assured braking and an ability to carve tight high-speed corners without losing composure or grip.

The Giulia also provides safety and driver-assistance measures including an artificial rumble-strip sound to warn of lane departure and adaptive cruise control capable of bringing the car to a full stop. Fuel-saving engine auto stop/start is standard.

Unique to the Giulia, Pollazzoan points out, is the car’s forward collision warning and automatic-braking system. The camera- and radar-based system is guaranteed to bring the car to a stop at least 3.3 ft. (1 m) from an obstacle at any speed up to 31 mph (50 km/h).
“Nobody in the market can do that,” he says.

[email protected] @bobgritzinger

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