Alfa Romeo Giulietta

[Nickydee]

Thinking of buying one of these as a daily mainly for the wife to replace a Honda Civic Type R.

Came across this review on Autotrader

"I thought a follow up to my initial review when the car was new would be of interest??

It is still comfortable, practical, unusual and when not pushed economical - meaning an average over 13k miles of 42mpg.

When the car is 'enjoyed' individual journeys consumption will be in the high 30s.

The DNA feature means you can cruise about or have performance that I still find surprising after 2 litre Honda Civics and a Lotus M100 Elan in the garage.

Most important of all, to others perhaps, is the fact that the car has been 100% reliable and the dealer, Blade, most helpful on the one visit for an oil change they did their best to dissuade me from as unneccesary."

Just wondering if the writer was a member of LEC.

[daveiow]

Two quotes come to mind-

" You cannot be a petrol head until you have owned an Alfa" Jeremy Clarkson

" there are two good days in an Alfa- the day you buy it and the day you sell it" Anon

Personally I never regretted my Alfasud 1.5 ti

daveiow

[Nickydee]

Dave

Ive had a GTV and a 156 in the past so guess I'm a glutton for punishment. I admit they are a bit fragile and do break but are always great value for money nearly new . The model I'm looking at 18 months old is 2/3rds of the price of a Golf with the same spec. VW build quality and reliability isn't what it once was, and I find the latest Golf GTI/GTD although highly rated by the press a bit boring to drive. Alfas on the other hand are the only daily's I have ever got emotionally attached to.

[JonT]

Dave

Ive had a GTV and a 156 in the past so guess I'm a glutton for punishment. I admit they are a bit fragile and do break but are always great value for money nearly new . The model I'm looking at 18 months old is 2/3rds of the price of a Golf with the same spec. VW build quality and reliability isn't what it once was, and I find the latest Golf GTI/GTD although highly rated by the press a bit boring to drive. Alfas on the other hand are the only daily's I have ever got emotionally attached to.

If you like the Golf, consider an Octavia too - bit more practical and much cheaper. Having said that, our 3 year old Octy VRS has been a bag of s**t for the last few months and the Elan has been more reliable, but many friends with Octys are very happy and ours could be a one off - we're currently waiting to hear what Skoda UK are prepared to do.

[DavidEJM]

Well, I had Alfas for about 10 years' only swapping for a merc a couple of years ago. I had a 155, a 3.0 GTV and a 3.2 GT. The only problem I had was with bushes going on the front suspension and my merc has done the same (crap roads and speed bumps to blame). Regular servicing and the proximity of a good independent specialist meant they were no more a problem than anything else out there. My understanding is that current build quality is significantly improved. I'd say, if you like them- buy one and enjoy it.

[Fubar1764]

I had a 75. Loved her! The electrical was iffy, but what a wonderful drive!

[hatters]

I have had 4 alfas the 164 was the best of the bunch ,I love 'em and the new giulietta has loads of character
go on BUY IT you will love it

[cliff]

I'm on my 5th Alfa and have just bought number 6 - a 916 Spider as a project for my son.

My GT is a fantastic car, good looking , comfortable, economical (sometimes ) and great to drive. Like any car they need regular maintenance but with a lot of good specialists around this is not so expensive.

This site is very good for all things Alfa.

http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/

Go for it, you know you want to.

[whippit]

Alfa's always do front wishbone bushes, had to replace front bones on my wifes spider after 15k , just out of warranty to,
when i was at alfa main dealer waiting for my car after a service, three other owners waiting 159 wagon , GT and brera, all in for investigation on clunking from the front,

Main dealer service can be expensive though, i have the pleasure of handing over £90 per hour for labour,

my wife wouldn't have any other make,

[Gary1958]

I've had the Giulietta Cloverleaf (235 bhp)as the "Family" car for almost two years now. These are my thoughts:-

Positive:

A 5 seater car with a good size boot that is enhanced by the split rear seats
In the Dynamic setting the car is fast and the "pre-fill" on the brakes is outstanding in its workings.
Traction is good but once the Pirelli's are down to 3mm poor
Looks good in white with the almost black 18" wheels
Has never not started or broken down.
Its not a BMW

Negatives.
Front seats are poor and when pressing on provide no lateral grip(I use a CG lock to counter this)
First gear selection is very difficult even after a dealer fix. Top of the gear knob broken off in frustration.
Steering is over light but improves in Dynamic
MPG is low 20's to around 33 on long journeys
Dealers and their servicing are sh#t
Interior trim is poor quality

I have yet to decide whether to keep it after the warranty runs out

[hatters]

surprised about the low MPG I would have thought it would have been higher than that !!

[cliff]

So, did you get one?