We had to wait nearly a year for someone to get behind the wheel of the highly anticipated Italian 3-Series fighter, but it has finally happened.
Alfa Romeo invited select automotive journalists to get their first taste of both the high-end Giulia QV as well as the 2.2-liter diesel that will, along with the 2.0-liter petrol, the ones that will have to convince buyers and resuscitate the brand.
Nevertheless, it’s the hot, 510 PS (503 HP) Quadrifoglio Verde with its Ferrari-engineered, twin-turbo V6 that petrolheads first want to learn what it’s like and whether it really has what it takes to battle the all-conquering M3.
First driving impressions by Quattroruote and OmniAuto are delivered in Italian and, though in the second you can choose from a number of subtitles, the English ones are, well, not quite good. Italian speakers will have no issue, of course…
A video by English language speakers should fix that, right? Actually, it doesn’t. All we can hear are engine and exhaust sound, rear tires screeching and… music.
Thankfully, Chris Chilton, CAR’s “contributing editor, ace driver, wit supplier, mischief maker” (his own words, not ours) has already posted a quick review at their own website, with the full story reserved for the magazine.
To cut a long story short, the first rear-wheel drive Alfa for a couple of decades is pretty convincing, if not without some drawbacks. There’s more to it than smoking its rear tires, which it will do easily when asked to. Lacking road impressions don’t allow for a “does it beat the BMW M3” verdict, since driving was limited to the Balocco test track.
Enough said; time to watch the following videos of the make-or-break Giulia in action with someone else besides Alfa’s testers on the driver’s seat.