2011 Alfa Romeo Giulietta reviews

Alfa Romeo Giulietta TB 170bhp Veloce 1.4 2011

Just when you thought there was nothing to say, because cars today conform so strongly to health, safety and globally sustaining imperatives - resulting in a bland, if reliable, set of variations on the same ingredients - along comes Alfa Romeo to remind you that red meat is still on the menu. The Giulietta sat outside my house and at first glance I was enamoured of this car. My practiced eye took in all the telling details. Here stood a car proportioned for today’s busy roads that was subtle enough not to turn heads of rabid boy-racers and yet replete with all those dynamic cues that to the informed suggests punch, pace and panther-like sinuousness with enough bite to set light to ice cream. Nothing here in appearance to alarm timorous vicars wives, and family orientated enough to cope with picnic parties at the riverside - and yet, look at the stance; that generous wheelbase, that capacity, as shown by the radiator slots, for Olympian levels of fully aspirated piston power. Even a jaded reprobate such as I, looked up from my breakfast, peered out through the kitchen window - and seeing this little beauty waiting coyly outside, vaulted over my cornflakes, tripped on the step and snatched at the drivers door, eager as a posse of beavers to - ’Let it roll, Baby!’ In plain English I wanted to go for a drive. Wow! That engine sounds good. Those were my first thoughts as I fired her up. Gently letting the clutch in I felt a sense of generations of engineers behind every confidence inspiring movement. This, I could tell, wasn’t simply going to be transport, but transportation into the realms of afficionado motoring dished up with the brio that only a firm like Alfa can command. The Giulietta is a five-door hatchback with quality trim and fixtures and fittings, comfortable and supportive seating and a sporting ambience to remind you that you’re in a car with a heritage and pedigree second to none. It’s a well-put together car that will surely stand up to the fun driving that it encourages. A wide choice of engines, from a 1.4 120bhp petrol, a 1.4 170 bhp petrol Multiair to a 235bhp 1.8 litre petrol serve the Giulietta well. There are 1.6 and 2.0 litre diesels too. Tested here is the £21,300 Veloce specification 1.4 170 bhp with that wonderful ’Multiair’ engine with its electro-hydraulically operated inlet valves. ’Everyday thrills’ is Alfa Romeo’s catchphrase - and in this instance one can only say ’How apt’. It took to the twisty and undulating Shropshire B roads ’in the manor born’. The Giulietta flows like water and grips like a bankers hand on his wallet. As the road from Craven Arms unfurled ahead, the needles swung over on the dash and the steering gave instant feedback. I knew I could trust everything about this car and for the first time since I rode a Fireblade along the same stretch, I topped a rise and experienced the buzz that comes with riding the crest of a wave. The new suspension system induces no harsh moments of suspense: it’s all you would expect giving perfect control when pressing on - but not at the expense of a comfortable ride. The 170bhp 1.4 Multiair test car is no slouch, as evidenced by a top speed of 135mph. In fact it’s fantastic when you select - with the flick of a switch - the ’Dynamic’ mode.(You can choose from Winter, Normal or Dynamic). The moderately lively performance in ’Normal’ mode is not how I chose to drive once out of town. Sharpening up engine mapping, steering and suspension it’s like driving a different car, as Beelzebub whispers encouragement in your ear. Such is the quality of attention to contemporary clean air issues that I persuaded myself that in indulging my delight in the performance, I was also performing a service to our planet, because this Alfa is not only economical, returning an overall consumption of nearly 49mpg., but also it exhausts freshly at 134G/KM. It’s a never ending source of amazement to me that Alfa Romeo can tick so many boxes and get it so right. If it’s safety you’re after there’s safety aplenty. If it’s in-car entertainment and navigation know how, you can rest assured here. And talking of rest-assured, that applies to the comfort of the interior too. There’s nothing about the car that doesn’t make you feel good. Alfa have a pedigree that is second to none and their products keep getting better and better - which I have to say gives me hope for the human race - for who said ’progress is dead’? Stopping for petrol, a bystander who knew a car from a carpet when he saw one said "That’s an Alfa aint it mate?" Before replying I looked twice at the car just to be sure. Yes, it did say Alfa Romeo on the badge. Filled with admiration for his perceptiveness I replied "You’re right", to which he responded "You’re lucky to have one of those mate!" I didn’t let on that I was king only for a day, saying rather smugly "I suppose I am." Did I see the little Giulietta winking back at me? When my acquaintance came sadly to an end and the driver drove away, the piping rortiness of the exhaust moved me almost to tears. ’Ah well’ I sighed. ’Maybe next time Juliet’. Returning indoors to console myself, I opened a tin of butter beans and reached for the Chianti. Ciao!