2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia Review: Bella Donna Sportivo
Despite arguably wearing the sports-sedan mantel better than the BMW 3 Series in the premium compact class, the Alfa Romeo Giulia has always been a bit player in the USA. Fewer than 900 Giulias were sold in the third quarter of 2023 - a mere tenth of the number of 3 Series sedans BMW shifted in the same time. It's a shame because the Giulia is a hoot to drive, offers excellent performance from its 280-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder engine, and comes with an impressive list of standard features. Compared to the 3 Series and other rivals that include the Audi A4 and Mercedes-Benz C-Class, it's not quite as premium inside though, and rather tight in the back seats. Alfa has been making useful improvements; sadly, this is unlikely to be enough to boost the sales of a criminally underrated car.
New for 2024
The 2024 Giulia range loses its Lusso and Estrema trims. A limited-edition Competizione trim debuts as the most expensive regular Giulia, complete with leather on the dashboard and a premium audio system. The car gets new adaptive LED-matrix headlights of the same tri-lobe design as the Tonale and Stelvio, the taillights get a smoked finish, and the V-Scudetto grille gets a different insert. Features and specifications are updated, starting with a standard new 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster, accompanied by improvements to the Alfa Connect services and over-the-air update capabilities. The limited Tributo Italiano special-series package is available to all Alfa Romeos this year, including the Giulia, bringing a two-tone livery (any of the three colors of the Italian flag plus a black roof) and unique interior trim. The 2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia's price starts at $43k.
The rest of the action is reserved for the performance Quadrifoglio trim, which we review separately.
2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia Price: Which One to Buy
With a $43,075 starting price for a new Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint, access to the Giulia club is a touch cheaper this year. This is followed by the Ti at $45,115, the Veloce at $48,715, and the new Competizione at $52,115. These prices are for the trims in rear-wheel drive; to add four-wheel drive to any of them will cost you an additional $2,000. Pricing is MSRP and excludes the $1,595 destination charge.
If ever there were a superb base model, the Giulia Sprint would be it, with its powerful 280-hp engine shared with the rest of the trims, and standard features such as leather upholstery, four heated seats, LED-matrix headlights, and adaptive cruise control, all standard. But it misses out on the Ti's beautiful 18-inch alloys and two-pane sunroof, and these features will cost you over $3k to add to the Sprint. Counting in the Ti's favor is the availability of extra-cost packages not offered on the Sprint, so you can personalize your Giulia further, but that starts diluting the value proposition. Besides, the Ti has a fatal flaw - it comes without the glorious aluminum paddle shifters that all the other trims have. We'd take a Sprint with 18-inch wheels and be done with it.
Sprint | Ti | Veloce |
---|---|---|
Sweet Spot | Mid-Range | Sportiest Choice |
$ 43340 | $ 45840 | $ 45840 |
2.0L turbo-four (280 hp/306 lb-ft), 8-speed auto, RWD (AWD option) | Equipped with the Sprint’s features, plus: | Equipped with the Ti’s features, plus: |
17-in. alloys, adaptive LED headlights | Dual-pane sunroof | Limited-slip differential |
Leather upholstery, four heated seats | Bright V-Scudetto grille | Adjustable front-seat thigh support |
8.8-in. touchscreen, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto eight-speaker audio | 18-in. alloys | 19-in. alloys, red brake calipers |
Adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring | Cargo tie-down loops in trunk | Sports front fascia and rear diffuser |
Access to additional packages | Aluminum interior trim |
Interior and Features
The cabin is stylish and of decent quality, but the architecture and in-car tech are starting to show their age.
Once seated, there's no doubt that you're inside an Alfa. As you power up, an image of a Guilia at night with its tri-lobe DRLs illuminated greets you from the newly standard three-mode 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster. At the base of the shifter is an emblem bearing the colors of the Italian flag. Everything is suitably upscale, with soft-touch surfaces on the dashboard and many high-quality materials in evidence, but not quite to the premium level of its German rivals, and with a little less interior space than them, too. You get leather on the seats and a modern layout with a hooded infotainment display, but the tech in here is starting to get a bit old and isn't always easy to use. The B-pillar gets in the way when you look over your shoulder, but parking is painless enough thanks to the standard front and rear parking sensors, even though a surround-view camera isn't available at all - an odd omission.
Space
You don't expect a ton of space in the cabin of any of the contenders in this class, and on paper, the Giulia's figures are fairly similar to those of the 3 Series and C-Class. The second row is, therefore, quite small, and there really isn't much room to spare for average-sized adults, not helped by having marginally the shortest wheelbase of the three cars. The seats are comfortable and widely adjustable, and the armrests are ideally placed, but some people might find the front seats' under-thigh support a bit excessive.
Cargo
The Giulia's trunk space of 13.4 cu-ft beats the C-Class' weak 12.6 cu-ft, but that doesn't say much, as both fall well short of the 3 Series' trunk volume. The 40/20/40-split rear seats fold flat to expand the luggage area, but Alfa doesn't say by how much.
Cabin storage is good, with a glovebox and decently sized cupholders ahead of the shifter lever up front. Various other options include uncovered and lidded center-console storage, rear-seat cupholders in the fold-down center armrest, four door pockets (the ones in the rear are small), an overhead console, front seatback nets, and a storage bin on the driver's side of the instrument panel.
Alfa Romeo Giulia | BMW 3 Series Sedan | Mercedes-Benz C-Class Sedan | |
---|---|---|---|
Seating | 5 Seater | 5 Seater | 5 Seater |
Headroom | 38.6 in. front 37.6 in. rear | 38.7 in. front 37.6 in. rear | 37.2 in. front 37.5 in. rear |
Legroom | 42.4 in. front 35.1 in. rear | 42 in. front 35.2 in. rear | 41.7 in. front 36 in. rear |
Trunk Space | 13.4 ft³ | 16.9 ft³ | 12.6 ft³ |
Materials and Colors
The cabin of every Giulia has leather on the seats, and the Sprint gives you a choice of two interior colors. The default is black, but you can get red leather and front sports seats for $2,000. The Ti offers these same options, adding a $750 Saddle Brown leather option, but only with the standard seats. In the Veloce, the sports seats are standard, and they come in the same black or red color choices as the Sprint, with no other options available. The Competizione exclusively has black sports seats. All trims get a leather-trimmed and heated steering wheel and a black cloth headliner. Only the Competizione gets a leather-trimmed dashboard and upper doors as standard, but you can get this on the Ti and Veloce as part of the $2,225 Premium Interior and Sound package that also includes the 14-speaker Harman Kardon audio system.
Features and Infotainment
As we've mentioned, the feature count is impressive, even on the base Sprint trim. It comes with genuine leather upholstery, power front seats (eight-way driver, six-way passenger), heating for the (manually tilting/telescoping) steering wheel and both the front and rear seats, dual-zone climate control, aluminum paddle shifters, and a wireless charging pad. Some of the features higher up the trim tree include sports front seats, a leather-trimmed dashboard, and a dual-pane sunroof. Packages are only offered from the Ti and up, and some of the options bundled in them include items such as power seat bolsters and that leather-trimmed dash on the lower trims that don't come standard with it.
The infotainment system is starting to age and isn't always easy to use. It offers you the choice between touchscreen input and a manual controller, but you're sometimes forced to use a combination of both, having to tap the screen after navigating to the correct option with the controller. It's all a little disjointed. The screen measures 8.8 inches and system features include Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, navigation, a wireless charging pad, Bluetooth, and an eight-speaker audio system. A 14-speaker Harman Kardon audio system is standard on the Competizione and optional on the Ti and Veloce.
Sprint | Ti | Veloce | |
---|---|---|---|
Leather upholstery | S | S | S |
Heated front & rear seats | S | S | S |
Aluminum shift paddles | S | N/A | S |
Dual-pane sunroof | O | S | S |
8.8" touchscreen with navigation | S | S | S |
Performance
The engine is powerful, and the eight-speed ZF automatic quick and smooth, making for a very well-resolved powertrain.
The Alfa Romeo Giulia's engine is a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder worth 280 hp and 306 lb-ft - and it's used in all the trims. Two drivetrain configurations are available - rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive - in conjunction with an eight-speed automatic transmission. The healthy power output makes for scintillating performance, endowing the Alfa Romeo Giulia with a 0-60 time of just 5.1 seconds with AWD. Alfa doesn't quote a 0-60 time for the RWD version, but real-life testing suggests it's about the same. Top speed is 149 mph.
The ride can be a little firm on the bigger wheel sizes, but Alfa has achieved very good ride quality, considering how superbly accomplished the Giulia is at going quickly. The engine sounds dull at low revs but clears its throat and starts to sing as the revs rise, providing surprisingly strong and lag-free punch. It works well with the superbly weighted controls, and the steering sends a constant stream of messages from the front wheels to your hands. Even its on-center feel is great, and throwing the Giulia into a curve again demonstrates the brilliance of the Giorgio platform with its near-50/50 weight distribution. The only black mark on the Giulia's report card is the wooden brake feel, but you do get used to it. Overall, the car is such a joy to pilot that we understand why owners so easily forgive its small foibles.
Fuel Efficiency
The Alfa Romeo Giulia's mpg figures are decent but not at the level of the competition. On the EPA's city/highway/combined cycles, the RWD models return 24/33/27 mpg, but the BMW 330i and Merc C300 are out ahead with 29 and 30 mpg combined, respectively. The gas mileage of the AWD Giulia is only slightly worse than the RWD model's, at 23/31/26 mpg.
With a 15.3-gallon fuel capacity, a range of between 398 and 413 miles is possible on a full tank.
2.0L Turbo Inline-4 Gas 8-Speed Automatic RWD | 2.0L Turbo Inline-4 Gas 8-Speed Automatic AWD | |
---|---|---|
Power | 280 hp | 280 hp |
Top speed | 149 mph | 149 mph |
MPG | 24 / 33 / 27 mpg | 23 / 31 / 26 mpg |
0-60 | Est. 5.1 sec. | 5.1 sec. |
Safety
Crash scores are good and standard driver assists fairly comprehensive; the missing features can be added at a reasonable cost.
There is no NHTSA safety review of the Alfa Romeo Giulia, but the IIHS has tested the 2023 model, giving it Good scores for all the major testing criteria. The headlights have been upgraded from HID to LED-matrix technology in the meantime, which should improve visibility and safety even further.
The standard suite of safety features is comprehensive, including adaptive cruise control with stop, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, front-collision alert, hill-start assist, automatic LED-matrix headlights with automatic high beams, front and rear parking sensors, rain-sensing wipers, and an automatic dimming feature for both its interior and exterior rearview mirrors. All trims but the Sprint can additionally be specified with the $700 Driver Assist Plus package, which also adds blind-spot intervention, driver-alertness monitoring, lane-keep assist, intelligent speed assist, a highway-assist system, traffic-jam assist, and traffic-sign recognition.
Base | Ti | Veloce | |
---|---|---|---|
Adaptive cruise control | S | S | S |
Blind-spot monitoring & cross-traffic alert | S | S | S |
LED-matrix adaptive headlights | S | S | S |
Lane-keep assist | O | O | O |
Highway-driving assist | O | O | O |
Reliability
There doesn't appear to be enough Alfa Romeo Giulias around to assess reliability, so no 2024 JD Power ratings are available. The last time it was rated, the 2021 model received an average score of 77 out of 100 for Quality & Reliability. It seems to be a far cry from the stereotypically unreliable Alfas of old, with not a single recall so far listed for the 2022-2024 model years. The 2021 model was recalled twice only - for a leaky fuel line and an ABS problem.
The above-average warranty of the 2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia also boosts the buyer's confidence. Both the limited and powertrain warranties are valid for four years/50,000 miles, and Alfa throws in free complimentary maintenance for the first year or 10,000 miles.
Warranty
Basic | Drivetrain | Corrosion | Roadside Assistance | Maintenance |
---|---|---|---|---|
4 Years / 50,000 Miles | 4 Years / 50,000 Miles | 5 Years / Unlimited Miles | 4 Years / Unlimited Miles | 1 Years / 10,000 Miles |
Design
The Giulia delivers a knock-out punch not only with the superb driving experience it offers but also with its beguiling looks. The beautifully organic curves rise and fall seductively, and this year's new tri-lobe LED-matrix headlights bring it in line with other Alfa models. The distinctive V-Scudetto grille reaches way down into the bumper, forcing the license plate to one side, a typical Alfa feature. The Sprint runs on 17-inch wheels, with 18-inch turbine-style wheels optional - and standard on the Ti, which can, in turn, upgrade to a variety of 19s. The Veloce and Competizione don gorgeous telephone-dial 19-inchers with red brake calipers and more aggressive fascias. A dual-pane sunroof is standard on the top three trims and optional on the Sprint.
Verdict: Is The 2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia A Good Car?
The Giulia is the best driver's car in the segment and, while beauty is in the eye of the beholder, it's also by far the prettiest car in the segment, even seven years after launch. With it being such a joy to drive and look at, it should be easy to forgive its faults, among which are confined rear quarters, an aging infotainment system, and a lack of a properly premium luxury vibe in the cabin. But just look at the excellent equipment level even in the base Sprint and you might reconsider your priorities. The Giulia might not be the best car in its class, but there are a thousand reasons to love it.