Five things we love about the 2021 Alfa Romeo Giulia

The 2021 Alfa Romeo Giulia sedan has arrived in South Africa along with its SUV sibling, featuring an updated design and cabin technology, a more powerful base mill (for the sedan), and some chassis alterations. First introduced in 2015, Alfa Romeo has made several changes over the years to improve the Alfa Giulia.

Below are five things we love about the Alfa Romeo Giulia

1. The more powerful powertrain

Both the Giulia and Stelvio are available in two flavours, similar as before. The entry-level Giulia Veloce is powered by an updated 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, churning out 206kW at 2550rpm and 400Nm of torque at 2250rpm (previously 147kW and 330Nm), spinning the rear wheels through an 8-speed ZF automatic transmission. The automaker says it can sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.7 sec.

A step above is the more powerful Giulia Quadrifoglio, carrying a Ferrari-fettled 2.9-litre Biturbo V6 cranking 375kW at 6500rpm and 600Nm from 2000 revs with a 0-100 kph time of 3.9 sec. This acceleration time puts it in the league of the fastest sports sedans around.

The same engine options are also available for the Stelvio, with the addition of an all-wheel-drive system. It enables the more powerful Stelvio Quadrifoglio to hit 100 km/h from standstill in 3.8 sec, a tick better than its sedan counterpart.

Furthermore, the new Giulia boasts a new four-and-a-half link rear suspension set-up, created to be stiff but longitudinally supple while cornering.

2. Most desirable features come as standard

The best thing about the new Alfa Romeo Giulia is its long list of standard features, including

adaptive dampers, selectable drive modes, 19-inch alloy wheels, a panoramic sunroof, xenon headlights with LED daytime running lights, a new 7-inch digital TFT display in the instrument cluster, and a larger 8.8-inch infotainment screen supporting Apple CarPlay/Android Auto.

Furthermore, buyers would appreciate the leather sport seats, dual-zone climate control, park distance control, a reverse-view camera, tyre-pressure sensors, USB ports for front and rear occupants, a wireless charging pad, auto lights and -wipers, and a heated steering wheel.

3. Beefed up safety systems

The automaker has also made the new Giulia safer than before thanks to the semi-autonomous safety systems, including the active cruise control, lane-keeping assist, blind-spot warning, and autonomous emergency braking.

4. Five-year guarantee and competitive pricing

The 2021 Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio come with a five-year/100,000km full warranty and maintenance plan. The price of the Veloce starts at R989,900 while the Giulia Quadrifoglio costs R1,599,900. On the other hand, the base Stelvio Super goes for R1,159,900, whereas the Stelvio Quadrifoglio costs R1,749,900.

Comparing the features and price of Giulia with its biggest rival, the BMW 330i M Sport, we find the Alfa Romeo offering is reasonably priced.

5. Literally zero down sides

The Giulia and Stelvio both come with distinctively chic appearances and outstanding handling. We really would have loved the turbodiesel option for the Stelvio because diesel power is still a desirable option here in South Africa.

As far as the negatives of both these vehicles are concerned, we couldn’t find many. The interiors are ergonomically designed and look highly advanced.

We cannot tell right now how the new 2021 Giulia will perform in the market. We believe with the Stellantis SUV buyers might change their perceptions of the Italian sedan and the SUV.

Please note the imagery supplied in this blog was taken off www.cars.co.za