Nice offer for hardly anyone
The first fully electric Alfa Romeo is still a while away, so the old Giulia received another facelift earlier this year. Since then it has only been available in two flavours: fast and even faster. Really, even the ‘Sprint’ called entry-level Giulia now already has 280 hp under the hood. But whether the rest of that performance is as lavish as that number?
Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint, €65,000
No, the starting price of the Alfa Romeo Giulia is not tender in 2023 at €65,000, for one clear reason: the car is only available with four-wheel drive, an automatic transmission and a 280 hp 2-liter turbo four-cylinder – unless you opt for the 510 hp and twice as expensive Quadrifoglio goes. The Giulia with the 2-liter is not particularly economical, so as a customer you have to deal with an inevitable and large splash of bpm, accounting for more than 25 percent of the purchase price. The performance you get in return does not lie. The Giulia sprints to 100 km/h in 5.2 seconds and has a top speed of 240 km/h. The curb weight of 1,545 kg is not too bad for a modern four-wheel drive car; very nice for the better corner rider.
Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint
The Alfa Romeo Giulia is available in four different trim levels, the most affordable of which is called ‘Sprint’. In terms of appearance, the four do not differ greatly from each other, which ensures that you do not look silly with the ‘cheapest’. Although the two most expensive levels have a different rear bumper and 19-inch wheels, the Sprint also gets standard LED lighting all around (with the LED matrix headlights introduced with the facelift), graceful 18-inch wheels, painted brake calipers with the Alfa Romeo letters on it and two decent exhaust pipes. The only ‘free’ color is metallic ‘Rosso Alfa’. All other options for the Sprint are white or gray.
Sporty footwear, LED lighting, two large exhaust tailpipes: a Giulia without extra cost is also a vain spout.
Where the new LED matrix headlights have been standard on the outside of the Alfa Romeo Giulia since the facelift, you will always find the facelift instruments inside – even with the entry-level Sprint. That’s one of the digital variety with a 12.3-inch screen; a novelty for the Giulia since February. Together with the centrally placed screen, it offers a view of, among other things, a navigation function, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, while you can charge your phone in the Giulia Sprint with an induction charger.
Many functionalities
The interior of a Giulia without extra cost is subdued black. Aluminum or wood-look interior trims or a leather-covered dashboard are reserved for more luxurious trim levels. The seat upholstery of the Sprint is leatherette and fabric. Red, brown or black leather is available at extra cost and looks good on the Alfa, but only available in combination with heated sports seats for an additional payment of €2,500. The multifunction steering wheel with automatic paddles and the gear lever are always wrapped in leather.
Thanks to its decent powertrain and ditto CO2 emissions, the Alfa Romeo Giulia may have a fairly high starting price; looking at the number of trinkets that are standard on it, it is actually not that bad: a blind spot detector, adaptive cruise control, parking sensors all around, reversing camera, electrically folding and heated exterior mirrors, keyless-go, automatic high beam, electrically adjustable seats, mood lighting, aluminum pedals and climate-control are all always included.
Peering into the darkness, but then there are plenty of functionalities to be found in this interior.
Real extras
All in all, the entry-level model leaves little to be desired. The more expensive trim levels (the Ti, Veloce and Competitizione, €67,500, €72,000 and €76,000 respectively) have the more luxurious leather-trimmed seats and larger wheels as standard, as well as a limited-slip differential and subwoofer. With the Sprint you also have to miss ‘real extras’ such as a panoramic roof, but typical ‘premium’ features such as aluminum pedals and mood lighting are already there.
With its high starting price, the Alfa Romeo Giulia skillfully keeps the customer at bay (25 were delivered in the Netherlands from January to May, one of which was in May), but secretly offers quite a lot of car for the entry-level price of €65,000. A comparably equipped BMW 3 Series with four-wheel drive and more than 200 hp is more modern, but costs a lot more, while a Jaguar XE – which occupies a similar position in the market as the Giulia – is also more expensive.
Still: a 280 hp, conventionally driven sedan is completely uninteresting for lease drivers in 2023, while €65,000 is simply a lot of money for the majority of private individuals. The Alfa Romeo may offer good value for money, but in today’s Netherlands – despite its recent facelift – it has no commercial chance. The fully electric successor may be more interesting in that respect, but it will take some time.
€2,500 extra for heated sports seats with leather, but you can see that. Nice is not it?
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl