Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce: A seductive saloon that feels just right

The latest variation on the Giulia theme is the Veloce. Not too cheap and slow, not too furious and expensive, but ‘just right’, it is the Goldilocks of the range

(Pictures by Alfa Romeo)

I was about to say there’s a bloke on YouTube who has had so many problems with his Alfa Romeo Giulia that he takes 10 minutes to get through them. Actually there are about a dozen videos on YouTube of cheesed-off owners with a long list of woes about their lovely new cars.

Unless there is some sort of anti-Alfa conspiracy going on, that’s very unusual. They’re mostly by Americans, which either means that the Giulias Alfa sends to the United States are sabotaged or that Yanks tend to be more demanding consumers and keener to be on YouTube.

Either way the vids corroborated the general picture for the reliability surveys, which routinely plonk Alfa down at the bottom end of the charts.

Buckle up... and check those floppy seat belts while you’re at it (Alfa Romeo)

As they have done for many years, a mixture of mechanical and electrical failures plus indifferent dealer service shred whatever reputation the brand has left.

The main problems with the Giulia, according to the American videos, seem to be the brakes, the engine management system, and the seatbelts going all floppy.

Even on my specially prepared press test car the driver’s seat belt was indeed rather slack, so it wouldn’t wind back when released – more inertia than reel, it has to be said.

So this latest Giulia has its issues, it seems. ’Twas ever thus: the only wonder is how issues with reliability have persisted through so many decades and the brand managing to somehow survive.

Well, the answer to that conundrum isn’t hard to find. Gaze upon the beauty of the Giulia, listen to the delicious noises it makes, admire the lush cabin and, above all, drink in those handsome lines, and you soon realise that people buy Alfas because they get smitten. They fall in love. That’s always dangerous.

Then you drive it, and the relationship deepens.

No touchscreen on a car this expensive seems like a serious omission (Alfa Romeo)

The latest variation on the Giulia theme is the Veloce. It sits – in cost and performance – between the standard Giulia saloons, which are perky enough, and the near supercar potential of the Giulia Quadrifoglio.

So it is the “Goldilocks” of the range – not too cheap and slow, not too furious and expensive, but “just right”. The Alfa Romeo Goldilocks, then.

It is, too. Here we have a proper Alfa. Proper because it is rear-wheel drive. Proper because it isn’t a re-bodied Fiat (its sister brand). Proper because it has a perfect 50/50 weight distribution front to rear.

Proper because the steering is light but retains plenty of feel. Proper because it handles superbly, and you never feel that it is going to allow you get it out of control.

The spec

Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce​
Price: £43,240 (as tested)
Engine: 2-litre; 4-cylinder petrol; 8-speed auto
Power output (kw@rpm): 133@3,500
Top speed (mph): 149
0 to 60 (secs): 5.7
Fuel economy (mpg): 46.3​
CO2 emissions (g/km): 141

The technology is a little old-fashioned, however. There’s no touch screen, for example, and the big dial on the centre console that controls the satnav, entertainment and in-car computer readouts feels like a cast-off from Mercedes-Benz.

It’s also expensive when set against its rivals, such as the Jaguar XE, a car that rivals the Alfa for sheer desirability. The equivalent Audi A4 and BMW 3 Series will, you can be sure, hold their value rather better than the Alfa.

A Skoda Octavia VRs or a Kia Stinger will cost less to run. A Lexus IS won’t go wrong. Any of them is less liable to leave you stranded. And so on.

Drink in those handsome lines, and fall in love (Alfa Romeo)

I’d probably still opt for the Alfa, because absolute reliability is overrated anyway, and this Giulia has that seductive, indefinable quality that just makes you want to acquire it. Other makes have fewer faults, but then nearly every modern car is basically reliable these days, and that includes Alfa Romeo.

As I say, the conundrum of Alfa Romeo is nothing new. Back in 1946 Orazio Satta Piliga, Alfa’s then head of design, said this: “We are in the realm of sensations, passions, things that have more to do with the heart than the head.” They should put it on YouTube.

Search for used cars