Alfa Romeo Giulietta

What is it?

The Giulietta is Alfa Romeo’s replacement for the 10-year-old 147, a brand new design that aims to show how this 100-year-old manufacturer can challenge class leaders like VW Golf and Ford Focus for refinement and practicality, while bringing Alfa’s “special values” of agility and responsiveness to a wider audience.

It gets first use of the Fiat’s new Compact platform, an all-new structure to be used for many future Fiat, Alfa/Lancia and Chrysler models. Both the chassis and its all-new suspension (MacPherson struts in front; multilink behind) make copious use of lightweight materials and mass-saving design.

The fact that a new Alfa gets first use of all this hardware — which includes advanced electric power steering that “suggests” corrections when the car gets out of shape - gives it an advantage the marque has rarely enjoyed since 1984 when its association with Fiat began.

What's it like?

Alfa makes a big thing of the Giulietta’s lightness and good power to weight ratio. The truth isn’t quite so clear-cut. The car does have a lighter body-in-white than its predecessor but it is 150mm longer, 80mm wider and, model for model, and only about 20 kilograms lighter than before. That’s a creditable achievement, but it still makes the car about 100kg heavier than its most obvious rival, the VW Golf 1.4 TSi.

The Giulietta comes to the UK this June in three trim levels and with a choice of four engines (1.4 litre/104bhp and 2.0 litre/168bhp turbodiesels; 1.4 litre/118bhp and 1.4 litre Multiair/168bhp petrol turbos).

All have Stop&Start, six-speed stick-shift gearboxes, a “DNA” switch on their consoles offering two different regimes (plus a Snow setting) that vary steering effort, accelerator response, electronic stability intervention and settings for the Q2 electronic differential. Veloce models get firmer spring/damper rates plus standard 17-inch alloys wheels with 225/45 tyres instead of the standard 16-inch alloys on 205/55s.

For performance enthusiasts there will be a skirted, specially-badged Cloverleaf model offering a sportier-still suspension, a 1798cc “1750” turbo petrol engine with 232bhp on overboost, bigger brakes and the option of 18-inch alloys wearing 225/40 tyres.

Our test car was arguably the most advanced Giulietta of all, the 1.4 litre Multiair petrol turbo with the seemingly impossible combination of strong power and torque (168bhp at 5500rpm and 184lb ft at 2500 rpm), lively performance (135mph and 7.8 sec, 0-62 mph) and extremely frugal Euro 5 emissions standards (a CO2 output of just 134 gm/km and combined fuel consumption of 48 mpg).

The engine is exceptionally smooth and quiet at low revs, but its sound swells into much more of a pleasant, Alfa-style rasp when you start to use the power. It’s silky right up to 6500, though there’s a slight kick at 6300 (when an upshift light appears between the dials) to remind you that it won’t rev forever. Most impressive is the way this car keeps pulling at about 80mph; hard to believe you get close to 500 miles from your 60 litre fuel tank.

The Giulietta is a great car to drive, balanced and accurate, but reasonably supple with it. The steering is sweetly weighted and loads gently as cornering speeds rise, but is so high geared (2.2 turns lock to lock) that you never need to alter your hands from ten-to-two, not even for hairpins. The car has class-leading grip, plus neatness and poise in corners and will throttle-steer neatly when driven hard. Body roll is present in modest quantities, but the side support of the comfortable seats negates it completely.

Should I buy one?

Yes-ish. Alfa Romeo ownership once carried a good deal of baggage. Reliability and customer service were not always strong suits. But the company has been overhauling its dealerships and procedures, and new generation owners say it’s working.

All Giulietta models, including the Cloverleaf, will be in showrooms by the summer. Alfa won’t yet quote prices except that they’ll start around £17,000 (for the 120hp Turismo petrol) and will represent good value against the opposition. Our estimate for the test car is £21-£22k. A decently-kitted Cloverleaf should cost around £25-£26k - to which you should happily add around £1000 when a twin-clutch, six-speed paddle-shift gearbox comes on song in a year’s time.

Meanwhile, Alfa seems to be moving back to its best. The Mito showed that it can do styling and marketing. The Giulietta is a much more thorough, ground-up effort at making a car owners will love to drive. And it shows.