Alfa Romeo have a built a solid reputation over the years for aesthetically pleasing cars, delivering distinctive, characterful vehicles across all of its classes. Perceptions of the durability of some of the cars however had suffered in the past, with question marks over their reliability being raised in comparison with some German and Japanese manufacturers.
More recently, the wind appears to be changing. Alfa Romeo have shown a steady improvement in the reliability of its vehicles year to year, and the Giulietta is a perfect example of this. The Giulietta is available with a wide range of turbocharged engines, with even the low-powered end of the spectrum offering decent performance. We at New Business were driving the 1.6 engine, 105bhp business edition, which performed well given its place in the engine power spectrum.
Steering and acceleration response on the Giulietta can be tailored to suit, divided into three settings including Dynamic, Natural and All Weather. Whilst the other two are pretty self-explanatory, we found that the Dynamic mode increased the sensitivity and made driving in town a little less smooth. All Weather and Natural both made for a good responsive ride, benefiting from handling that held the road very well on cornering.
Fuel consumption on the business edition of the Giulietta compared well against the competition. Alfa Romeo boast up to 74.3 mpg, and CO2 emissions from 99 g/km, making it a solid economic choice, with one eye on the carbon footprint.
The characterful exterior of the car is complemented by a modest but stylish interior. The dashboard and its tools and accessories at no point feel cluttered. Featuring a 6.5" touch screen dubbed ‘Uconnect' that seamlessly integrates its GPS navigation system with a DAB radio, Bluetooth connectivity and an S.D card reader, it was a system that seems to get the details right.
A week of using this system has actually made a couple of our other new vehicles' in-built systems feel a little dated. Connecting your mobile devices was an easy and responsive process, with the notable absence of the delay that many hands free systems can be plagued with. Our only issue was with the interior layout that surrounded the position of the arm rest when driving and its proximity to the gear stick. Whilst the arm rest was down, we felt it left your fingertips just slightly out of reach of the gear stick for complete comfort.
The Giulietta 1.6 litre JTDm-2 business edition is a jack of all trades, with a unique and eye catching look. Delivering an enjoyable ride that ticks the economic boxes, with performance that makes it easier to overlook a few of its flaws.