Regular Curbivores will remember that in February 2018 I bought an Alfa Romeo Giulietta, a car that was probably the closest I’ll ever get to a brand new car. I’ve covered 41890 miles since I collected the car, with 110 miles and 11 months on the clock. So, how have the last two years gone?
First, a quick recap. I was looking for a new car and recognised that it needed to an emotional as well, or perhaps instead of, being a rational purchase. Disregard the Alfa badge and you can make a rational case for the Giulietta, just as you can for many cars. This car became available in one of those “Where do I sign before you realise what you’ve offered me?” moments you occasionally get in car buying, and was undeniably an emotionally led choice with a dose (maybe quite small dose and always “as well”) of rationality around it. But for me, as a lifelong Curbivore and Alfa fan, the emotional pull easily wins out. I’d finally succeeded, sort of, in my campaign to get my Dad to buy an Alfa Romeo Giulietta, back in the late 1970s. He didn’t succumb, but bought the first of three Chrysler Alpines instead.
But first impressions and reactions count, and a rich red Alfa certainly gets those in a way no car I’ve ever owned has done, including the MX-5. Alfa’s official colour name is Rosso Alfa and while other manufacturers charge you extra for cars that are not white, Alfa charges more cars that are not Rosso Alfa. You hear a call of “Nice Alfa!” as you park up, you start chatting to people in car parks about Alfas, you meet people at work (there are close to 3000 of us, with six Giuliettas at the latest count, four of them red) you wouldn’t normally encounter, like finance guys. Somehow, you sense that doesn’t happen with a Corolla or a Qashqai.
But what’s it like to drive and own, day to day? Driving is, to me, fully competitive with the likely competition, helped by having a scorpion on the steering wheel. My car is the 1.6 litre 120bhp diesel, so a modest powertrain by some standards but more than fully capable in day to day life, and of being satisfying if you open it up.
This is enhanced by moving the DNA (Dynamic, Normal, All-Weather) selector to D, and see the chequered flag graphic come up. The throttle response is very noticeably sharper, the brakes are sharper too and the Q2 differential keeps things pretty tidy. There’s always plenty of grip and traction with the 236ibft of torque, if not a lot of steering feel.
The ride is absolutely fine. No car rides Britain’s crumbling roads terribly well, this side of a Jaguar XJ or a Citroen C6, but the Giulietta feels well planted, level and, really short, deep bumps aside, as good as you could reasonably expect from a compact car with a fairly sporting set up. It’s not Citroen soft, but it doesn’t roll like a Citroen either.
It cruises well – at an indicated 80 mph or so (much faster in the UK in traffic is not worth the hassle) it is effectively as quiet as you could reasonably expect, and wind noise is commendably low. Open the throttle, and the engine gives a pretty decent Alfa snarl from inside, though outside it’s no doubt more diesel-y.
There are some features that could only be Italian, like the driving position. The steering wheel is arguably a little bigger and little higher than ideal, though it does adjust for rake and reach. The pedals are all pretty much in a line across and at the same distance from the driver (compared with so many cars having the throttle pedal pushed well forward), so heel and toe changes are easy if you want to try. A bit more room for the driver’s left foot (RHD) would be nice, but you soon get used to it.
And then there’s the touches only Alfa could do. The gauges are labelled in Italian, so the coolant temperature gauge says Acqua, if the engine was a petrol one the fuel gauge would say Benzina but, as the Italian for diesel is diesel, it says Diesel. The calibration on the speedometer is slightly unusual, as 0-20 covers twice the arc length as 20-40 and higher, although the rev counter is impeccably clear. The wipers go faster when you go past 120km/h (around 70 mph), and the rear wiper (when on) sweeps on each alternate sweep of the windscreen wipers. Incidentally, the rear wiper is vital, for the rear window collects dust like no other car I’ve owned. The lights all go out when you turn the car off, and you cannot drive on parking lights only, or turn off and leave the lights on without deliberately setting the parking lights.
There’s a set of three buttons just to the right of instruments, the purpose of which at first puzzles. They control, through a menu system, the instrument light dimming, headlamp adjustment for load and a speed warning, which pops a dashboard warning up if you exceed your chosen speed. You can’t really see these buttons, and therefore end up doing it by feel, if you actually use them.
The only significant demerit about the interior is the lack of oddment storage. There is a large glovebox, and reasonable door bins, and little else. Effectively, there is nowhere to stash CDs, but Bluetooth and the USB port resolves that simply enough. The voice control on the audio is a bit of novelty, to be honest, as button pressing is easy enough. The hands free and voice control for a mobile phone works well.
My car has effectively an entry level specification, so lacks some of the features some are used to. No GPS, no auto-lights or wipers, no reversing camera or parking aid, conventional heating and air-conditioning control and fabric covered, manually adjusted seats. To be frank, I am quite happy not having these – these tasks are neither not onerous, infrequent, or, in the case of GPS, a good portable unit with a lifetime update licence is arguably better than a smaller screen on a smartphone, with considerable data usage and the risk of loss of 4G signal or being locked into a manufacturer’s licence update scheme.
This may be a modern, contemporary hatchback, but it is clear that it has the Alfa spirit, history and charisma. You sense that when you settle in – Alfa Romeo is there before you in badge or script form in four places visible ahead to the driver, and is embossed tastefully on the headrests and door sill plates.
There have been three scheduled services, which I have had completed by our local, and nationally respected, Alfa Romeo specialist. Just a few miles from home, on the way to work, interesting loan cars and a forecourt to die for, as well as more competitive pricing than the mail dealer the car came from, where the workshop handles a range including Nissan and Jeep. Nothing untoward has come out of these services, and the car is on its original tyres and brake pads still.
There have been interventions have not been the car’s fault. In a moment of sunshine induced brain fade, I managed to fill it with petrol rather than diesel. The RAC towed me and drained the tank, and put me right.
A car park scrape on the rear bumper valence was repaired on the driveway by the local mobile franchisee, and it seems a nice job. An earlier repair job on a damaged rear bumper turned into a bit of saga as the reversing sensors were clearly confused during the repair (not by the damage) and it took several trips back to get that fixed. The basic repair took far too long as well.
Fuel economy has been very satisfying – the car has averaged around 52mpg (Imperial) over the last two years. This is fully comparable with my previous car, a 1.4 litre Fiesta TDCi, but it cruises more quickly, is quieter, more comfortable and more spacious. Vehicle tax in the UK is actually zero. This is based on emissions (in a complicated and ever changing way) so I still have to pay a tax each year, albeit the actual sum is zero.
And now the part you’ve been waiting for. Failures, breakdowns, bits dropping off and episodes of escaping steam and smoke.
Annoyingly, the flip cover on the console 12V power outlet got broken off its hinge by a clumsy removal of the GPS power plug. The tyre pressure monitoring system gave a false alarm once (on the way to a job interview….). The start-stop occasionally expresses displeasure at the parking lights having been used.
Beyond those?
None. Nessuna. Zilch. Zero. Null. None at all. Proprio nessuna.
So, can an Alfa be a daily car, without compromising from the expectations set out by its contemporaries? Yes, it can, and you don’t need to compromise. It has a full range of abilities, is as practical and capable as any other, and has proven perfectly able to cope with modern life, and even better, me. I’m not sure a 1979 Giulietta would have coped as well though.
It’s been over a fair amount of the UK, into central London to pay the central area congestion charge and to France, to get a speeding ticket.
Have I enjoyed it? Am I enjoying it? Do I intend to carry on enjoying it?
Let’s just say that I understand Golf drivers don’t wave at each other.
If you said “chips away” out of context, I’d think it was a chip (French fries to us Yanks) takeout.
Fab. Nice write-up.
I fail to understand why your Dad would buy three Chrysler Alpines. I had an early Ryton-built Alpine from new, until it was time to scrap it. It would never have occurred to me to replace it with another. Still have a few parts in the attic though…..
Glad your Alfa is looking after you – I’ve never succumbed to the Alfa temptation but of course I’ve been tempted.( The 159 is so gorgeous looking !)
Your car seems to lack a footrest, which is a strange omission for an Alfa, but looks nice otherwise, and 236 lb/ft is more than enough in a car that size.
There is no room for a left foot footrest.
Before I bought the car, i spoke to the specialist for his advice. His comments were about a common failure on early cars of the wiring loom at the rear hatch, now fixed, and the footrest/cramped footwell.
I’m not sure what a LHD footwell is like, but it’s not likely tot be a lot better. The rest may well be the wheelarch.
Dad was loyal to a dealer….number 1 was a 1978 1.4LS with the reverse slant front
Number 2 was a 1981 1.6GL post facelift, with tinted glass, power steering, and a Talbot badge, in a different blue.
Number 3 was a 1984/5 (not sure now) 1.6LS, with a five speed box, in the same colour as number 2. It was the one the dealer had in stock…..
They all clattered, but were comfy.
After these, he had 3 VW Jettas in a row…..but never an Alfa.
I hated the facelift….Like changing the eyes on the Mona Lisa !
Good story, Roger. This is a car I would absolutely love to have over here in the U.S., and I’m sure I and maybe two other people would buy it!
Nice car, nice report, although as the past owner of two 1970’s Alfa’s I still struggle with the idea of a diesel Alfa. Nothing against modern diesels, it’s just that in 1975 it would have been unthinkable. I’m also curious about the French speeding ticket: so as a UK citizen, you get the ticket in English? Or is that just another example of “English as the universal language”?
I guess the French are savvy enough to issue a ticket in English to the British to avoid the obvious. There is a also a reciprocal agreement that the fine is enforceable through the UK courts if it isn’t paid within the stipulated 28 days.
I can also confirm that the hire car companies will identify you to the French authorities if you get caught by a camera. Get caught by a gendarme and it’s an on the spot, pay now fine, and not cheap.
Great article! What a super car, good looking and the fuel mileage is A+.
I have had a number of tickets in Europe on vacations…..I was actually wanted in Italy for a while but I think we got all that paid off finally. I did get two tickets in Austria a couple of summers ago, which had no English on them at all. One was a parking ticket left on the windshield, and the other was a moving violation that appeared in the mail not long after we got home. I emailed the police email address shown and explained that if they had anyone there who spoke English and could explain the process to me, I would be forever grateful. Someone did reply the next day, and we actually became email penpals of sorts for a while.
Last spring, we spent two weeks in Spain and drove all over the country. I got the form letter from Hertz after we got home, explaining the Madrid police had requested the renter info for a number of violations. But, the tickets have not shown up so far. I think I know what I did; they had traffic lights in roundabouts, which I had never seen lights in a traffic circle before. I realized it only after a couple of days there. I probably ran three lights every time I went through a roundabout.
This is quite encouraging. Roger, I hate to admit it, but when you got your Alfa I was concerned about whether you would soon regret it. It sounds like nothing could be further from the case.
This is a very attractive Alfa; may you have many more miles of joyous motoring with it!
Against all odds, Alfa keeps hanging on and it’s for the better I say, it’d be a far more boring world without the likes of their cars on the roads. I’m glad they’ve back over here as well and hope it continues, I think we have room for at least one more model in the line-up and a smallish hatchback might just fit the bill. Thank goodness there are some who are willing to step up and spend their money on one in defiance of all the naysayers who more often than not have never driven one let alone owned one and I believe often haven’t even been IN one, good on you Roger and I’m glad that yours has been treating you rather well!
Nice car, Roger. I’ve never seen a Giulietta hatch before… I think we only get the sedan on this side of the pond, and I haven’t seen many of those.
I am confused about your references to the parking lights. We can certainly drive with them over here, although some cars force daytime running lights on you, and you can’t drive with just the yellows on. Both my Japanese cars are like that, but thankfully my Mustang can be driven with just the yellows. It’s handy for low light levels where the headlights are just not needed, but you want to be seen.
Hopefully there was no damage to your car when you put gas in it instead of diesel. I always thought the nozzles were of different sizes to prevent this.
It’s interesting that in a county where the metric system is used, that the speedometer has the big (default) numbers in MPH, and the little numbers in KPH. I would’ve thought it would be the other way around.
And a ticket for only 76km/hr in a 70km/hr zone? Seriously?!?!? That’s messed up. Here in Maryland, it’s referred to informally as “the gentlemen’s ten”, whereby you can go 74-75 in a 65mph zone, and the cops will leave you alone. Go much north of that, and you risk getting tagged. Even our speed cameras are set for 12mph over, so you won’t get mailed a ticket until you, for example, are going 42 in a 30 zone. 6kph over? That’s harsh…and translating to only <4mph! Wow.
Oh, and Mustang drivers wave at each other. 😉
Sounds a lot like the headlight switch on a ProMaster: no parking light position. Just all off or all on. IIRC turning it on without the key on gives parking lights only.
Yes, exactly that. Off, or on. Turn the car off with the switch on and lights go out. For parking lights, turn of the lights, turn off the car and turn the lights back on.
There are running lights as well (compulsory to have now in Europe, I think, though you can usually turn them off…..????), and I think there’s a VW like left or right parking light only trick with the indicator stalk.
Oh, the luxury, Retrostang! Here in Victoria, Australia, they generously knock 2km/h off the alleged speed, so it’d be 74 in a 70 zone. That’s 4km/h, or 2.48 mph over the limit – 1 point, and about $200, thankyou. it’s awful.
I didn’t realise the French were now playing this game.
Road signs and therefore speed limits in the UK are still posted in miles. Unlike Canada and Australia which went metric a long time ago.
One of the complaints about speed cameras is that a human cop will indeed cut people some slack as they can’t go after every single car that’s 3.7 mph over the limit. A camera can.
Even in the States, one of the biggest complaints about red light cameras is people getting tickets for making right turns without stopping, something cops had completely ignored previously because nobody ever got in an accident over it. And of course, you still have people stopping short and causing rear-end collisions, but that’s a different argument.
So if a locality is setting the cameras for 12 over, it’s because they probably asked their cops what they would do. Even then, they might not bother you for 42 in a 30 unless you’re near a school during the day. But they usually only set up cameras in school zones to begin with.
Also, on Long Island at least, the maximum speed limit remains 55, but no one ever gets a ticket under 75 on the LIE or the parkways and I’ve even seen people blow by parked cops at 80.
My cousin a Kiwi living in the UK is an Afisti between he and his wife they have two a V6 convertible and his commuter is a chipped diesel hatch he claims it pokes out around 160hp up from the original 130 with a similar lift in torque its not slow and is reliable and gets excellent fuel economy the convertible is sorned like his fleet of Harleys until the sun comes out, NZ has fairly rough roads I know this from driving trucks but youd never notice in my C5 Citroen diesel, lean, no the auto suspension takes care of that the faster you go the better it works unfortunately our speed limit is too low for the car.
Hi Roger, I really enjoyed your story and hope you will have good times with your nice Alfa until… you get another Alfa (if there will be any in the future).
What actually amazed me is that this is basically the same story of two friends of mine having same car, same color and same good experience (with a 1.4 liter petrol anyway) coming from Ford and Suzuki respectively and not looking back at all.
This hatch could be out of date for many but I found it always a pleasure to drive (when I had the opportunity in the past).
Just a little correction, if you allow me: Diesel is not Italian for Diesel, ‘gasolio’ is the proper word but it probably does sound bad. Never mind.
Happy Easter to everyone!
I wud never buy today’s Alfa, but it was a pleasure to read of your enthusiasm. Its what a car shud do for an enthusiast.
I am very glad you are enjoying your Chrysler by Peugeot, Mr Carr.
Must admit that I can’t ever really warm to the front, but the rest is very sweet, rear especially, and UK sunshine keeps that paint deeply red (bright colours quickly lose their new allure here).
Is the engine actually an Alfa unit, or someone like VM? We got the older five-pot ones here in the 159’s, and they sound superb.
A question, in the event you wanted to contest that photo fine, would you have to go to a French court?
The engine is from the FCA Multiair family, and also appears in various Fiats, Lancias and Jeeps, such as the Renegade and Compass, and also some Suzukis, probably just in Europe.
And to contest the speeding fine, which was justified, I’d have had to go through a French process.
My, you have added miles with purpose and authority.
Like Dman, the idea of a diesel Alfa makes my head hurt a bit, but it sounds like a very enjoyable car. And with those two automotive faces smiling at you, life could be much worse.
The miles have slowed recently – the lead picture was taken on 30 March. Current mileage is 42040…..good and clean though….
Roger:
A good article, but you didn’t give your mechanic (sitting on the engine cover) the credit he deserves for insuring that you have had a good experience.
Scorpion on the steering wheel?
That would be a Fiat Abarth.
The Alfa logo has a snake.
Nice that the RAC was able to drain the gasoline and refill with diesel. I don’t think 🤔 AAA would be that knowledgeable in the procedure. It would be left to the dealer to remedy such a situation in the USA.
Demonstrates how much more experience Europe has with diesels compared to the US.