2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia - A True Game-Changer in Luxury Sport Sedans

The Alfa Romeo Giulia is a brand new model in the Alfa Romeo lineup and an incredibly important car for the company. The 8C marked their return to the U.S. market, but it was a rare and extremely expensive automobile. The diminutive and sporty 4C was their next car to make it to the U.S. and while it's far more mainstream, it's still a dedicated 2-seat sports car whose lack of practicality limited its appeal. The Giulia on the other hand is a true mid-sized sport sedan with all the usefulness one would expect from that class. Alfa has been tiptoeing its way back into the U.S. market, but now, with the Giulia, it's safe to say that the brand has truly arrived.

The Giulia starts at just under $38,000 and should compete with other entry level luxury sedans and sport sedans such as the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, the BMW 3-Series and the Audi A4. The High performance Quadrifoglio version of the Giulia likewise does battle with the BMW M3 and the Mercedes AMG C63 and is priced accordingly, starting around $72,000. The Giulia has several advantages over its rivals however. The first advantage they have is the car's styling. It's far more emotional and raw that anything seen from the Germans. The second advantage Alfa Romeo has, is access to Ferrari and their knowledge of how to build great performance cars. Since the two companies are under the same corporate umbrella, there was no-doubt some trickle-down from the prancing horse.

The Giulia comes in three basic flavors. The base Giulia, the upscale Giulia Ti and the high performance Giulia Quadrifoglio. At the heart of the Giulia and Giulia Ti is a high-pressure 2.0L 4-cylinder turbocharged engine making 280 horsepower and 306 lb-feet of torque. Power is sent to the rear wheels via an 8-speed automatic transmission. Should buyers specify, the Giulia and the Giulia Ti can be equipped with all-wheel drive, a $2,000 option. Either way, the Giulia can hit 60 mph in comfortably under six seconds, making it a very fast car.

Unmistakably Italian styling; all-new sports sedan chassis; powerful engine lineup; premium feel; available all-wheel drive.
The Quadrifoglio variant of course, blows this away. Alfa Romeo claims that the Giulia Quadrifoglio is the most powerful production car they've ever built offering a staggering 505 horsepower from a 2.9L V6 thanks to twin turbochargers. All that power is sent to the rear wheels to make 60 mph come in only 3.9 seconds.

Regardless of which Giulia buyers choose, equipment and options are similar to competitors in this price range, which is to say very nice, with plenty of available options to make the cars even nicer. Base Giulia models come with 17-inch wheels, bi-xenon headlamps, LED daytime running lamps, a 6.5-inch screen for in in car entertainment and the backup camera, rear parking sensors, keyless entry and keyless go, leather seating, dual-zone climate control, USB and Bluetooth integration, steering wheel mounted audio controls, rear seat ventilation and an integrated garage door opener.

The Giulia Ti isn't much more expensive than the base Giulia, but it gets bigger 18-inch wheels, a bigger 8.8-inch color screen, heated front seats and a heated steering wheel, along with a nicer interior featuring dark grey oak interior accents.

2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Prices

TRIM

Starting MSRP

2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia All Wheel Drive

$39,995

2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Rear Wheel Drive

$37,995

2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti All Wheel Drive

$41,995

2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti Rear Wheel Drive

$39,995

2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio Rear Wheel Drive

$72,000

The Quadrifoglio has 19-inch aluminum wheels and unique exterior aero bits along with lots of tricks to make go faster and handle better. Among these tricks are an active torque vectoring rear differential, and active suspension which lets drivers determine the driving mode with the touch of a button. Combined, these two features give the Giulia truly sports car like handling, making it the kind of no compromise vehicle that people could've only dreamed of a few years ago.

Option packages on the Giulia include a driver assistance package, a sport appearance package and a navigation package which also adds SiriusXM satellite radio. Standalone options include a wide variety of wheels and a big dual-pane sunroof.