Autocar - First for car news and reviews

These are the first spy pictures of the new Alfa Romeo Giulia, snapped during winter testing. The Alfa Romeo Giulia is Alfa’s Focus-rivalling replacement for the 147 hatch.

Despite the heavy disguise, the Alfa Mito-influenced grille and headlights are clearly evident, while at the rear the lights use a mixture of Mito and 159 design cues.

The most distinctive departure from the design of the current 147 is the Alfa Romeo Giulia’s doorhandles, the rear pair of which are no longer co...Read the full article

It's not visible here, but I hope the front end treatment is a little more successful than the Mito.

Under the disguise, the rest of the car appears to be pretty cohesive, if not a little similar to Bravo on which it is based.

I could well be wrong but to me it looks like there are actually hidden rear handles if you look carefully enough. And i'm sure i've read that this car is going to be called Milano and the 159 replacement is going to be the Giulia!

spyro101:

And i'm sure i've read that this car is going to be called Milano and the 159 replacement is going to be the Giulia!

Yeah I'd read that too - I'm sure THIS is the Milano! And the new 159 will be the Guilia I think.

OMG! What a bad article! This is the Milano, not the Giulia. And rear doorhandles are fake, the real ones will be hidden like in the 147. Just look at the picture to see it.

Another article penned by the girl at the front desk. I agree, this car appears to retain the concealed rear door handles of the 147 5dr. See this pic on another site for a closer view and a better angle... http://www.clubalfa149.it/en/2009/02/07/alfa-romeo-149-foto-spia-di-un-lettore/ ...you can clearly see that the handles are taped onto the door panel and you can make out where the testers have been accessing the concealed rear door handle, under the black tape, in the doorframe.

According to the Chrysler Recovery Plan, submitted recently to the US Congress, the 147 successor is the Milano and the 159 replacement is the Giulia.

 

 I have to say that it isn't the new Giulia , but MIlano. Giulia will be the 159 replacement , while this is the 147 replacement , and it's going to be called Milano.

Wow!! this is a stunning car even after a proper disguise. I think it would be better looking than the mito as Engineers have the necessary space on the platform to experiment with the looks. As far as the name goes, i ve heard and read everywhere that its the other way around and this should be Milano. But this is Autocar I guess and they cant be wrong. Can they? )))

Ambs123: of course we can't be wrong . ;-)

Apologies for the confusion, all. You are all quite correct. Article now duly describes the car as the Alfa Milano.

Although, knowing Alfa, that may change before tha car actually gets to production - the Mito was originally going to be called the Giulia too...

 

This car can be as beautiful as it likes (and some of the current Alfas most certainly are) but until the awful residuals improve and the woeful UK dealer network is given a kick up the backside, I'll be sticking to Japanese or German.