Giulia excited me, engaged with me and satisfied my passion—most of all, she reminded me where my true love lay.
Alfa Romeo Giulia, the beautifully crafted and sportily laden sedan is one of a dwindling kind that is now promising to make a comeback thanks to the newfound love for it among the younger tribes. The turn of the century was claimed by trucks, crossovers and SUVs but now, ‘SUV fatigue’ seems to be a real thing. Younger buyers are turning to sedans for their practicality, loveable and edgy design, aerodynamic shape, fuel economy, maneuverability and manageability. While Giulia has a fair chance to be upvoted, I wonder how many buyers from Gen Z and later will commit to fiery versions like the Giulia Quadrifoglio – my test car in focus. It could be too hot to handle for most and that’s exactly why it should climb a few rungs on the love ladder!
The design
Alfa Romeo has one of the most individualistic faces in the automotive world. As for the Giulia, the bird-beak pout, hefty sides and muscular rear underplays the power the sedan holds but the red callipers, the 21” dark painted spirit alloy wheels, the Vulcano Black paintwork and of course the double dual exhausts are unmistakable giveaways of the truth.
The drive
Quadrifoglio is Alfa Romeo’s code for performance cars and getting behind the wheel of two cars bearing the four-leaved clover badge back-to-back is nothing short of adrenaline overload. The second Q4 model was an Alfa Romeo Stelvio. It defined a new grade in SUV performance, yet underlined practicality and power besides the pleasure of Alfa Romeo aesthetics.
However, I will say this again – it still takes a sporty sedan like the Giulia to become one with you. Yes, even if it means you can feel the road and its little imperfections become one with you too – in ways sometimes your passengers might not wholly appreciate.
I would like to put it in my diary: “Feeling the way Giulia woke up to power or even while listening to her idling, there was an Italian familiarity about how she stayed close and her voice streamed in from six cylinders!” Well, turned out that my gut was right—the Giulia Quadrifoglio is driven by a 2.9L V6 biturbo aluminium engine shaped with technical inputs from none other than Ferrari. I raised a toast to myself with a few revs!
The performance
Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio has two badges to live up to! Nudge the car with resolve, and it fires away with a neural boost only 510 hp and 600 Nm of torque can provide—and you are past the 100 kmph mark in 3.9 seconds! The drive modes are three – D for dynamic, N for normal and A for Advanced efficiency – clever presentation of its ‘DNA!’
The parallel evolution of different fuel platforms edges us towards unreasonable expectations—like wanting a 500 hp car to deliver economy figures like a tame sedan! Nevertheless, Giulia did her best with 8.4 km per litre on my test!
Cabin tech and comforts
The cabin of Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio looks and feels classy Italian—sporty dash, track-perfect seats in black leather, handmade carbon fibre, especially over the seatbacks. The screen sizes point to what this car’s priorities are – two modest screens compared with the screen war going on but the display is mostly sport drive parameters useful on track. The media and radio touch screen seemed to be glitching occasionally but that seemed to be due to external factors.
It’s not all likes for Giulia!
I should warn you, all your love for Giulia might not get her a free and easy entry into your household. Having the rear crammed by a raised transmission tunnel and AC vent, thus virtually reducing a five-seater to a four-seater, is not going to help. And how much ever you try to pass it off as ‘feedback’ and ‘responsive handling’, your comfort-loving better half might want Dubai roads to continue feeling smooth and not like a runway touchdown.
The essential Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio
If we had a rating meter of cars, this one wouldn’t have been scored using design, comfort or power. Counting the number of times the driver uttered “Oh Giulia!” would be enough, as curves and ramps got them closer together. With a reasonable tolerance of its firm ride quality, Guilia Quadrifoglio could even pass off as a family sedan. The price starts at AED 419,000 but I hear that is an offer price. Anyway, a test drive is a good excuse to wake up that sleeping petrol-head in you!
