STYLE IS THE NAME OF THE GAME WITH THE ALFA ROMEO GIULIETTA

When looking for a small family car a lot of folk will opt for a Ford Focus, VW Golf or a 1 series BMW however for those who think outside the box and want to be a little different to the norm there is a great little offering from Alfa Romeo called the Giulietta.

With a name that is hard for me to spell I will be using the paste function a lot for this article but thankfully the car is much easier to understand than its beautiful name. Launched in 2010 the Giulietta has been about now for half a decade and that has given Alfa Romeo the perfect opportunity to progress the model and keep it at the forefront with its rivals.

Replacing the ever popular Alfa Romeo 147 of old, the Giulietta came on the market with brave styling as expected from the Italian stable and indeed made quite a statement on what could be classed as a “boring looking” car segment.

There is a good range of engines available with petrol’s coming as a 1400cc with three output options; 120bhp, 150bhp MultiAir and the 170bhp MultiAir that was in the car we tested from Donnelly’s in Mallusk. There is also the 1750cc 240bhp petrol engine available in the Quadrifoglio Verde edition.

For those who do a few more miles and like a diesel there is also a decent range with a 1600cc 105bhp with the 2000cc coming with 150bhp or 175bhp which is highly respectable. The Alfa Romeo TCT automatic gearbox is available on the 1400cc 170bhp and 1750cc petrol engines and also on the 175bhp diesel engine and indeed our test car had the super smooth TCT gearbox.

All models are equipped with the ever popular Alfa “DNA” system, a system that we first got to grips with on the Alfa Romeo 4C we reviewed. This system allows you to drive the car in Dynamic, Natural or All-Weather mode.

Natural is quite self explanatory and gives the best all round experience and economy, the All-Weather mode lessens throttle response and adjusts the traction control to enable driving in poor weather easier and safer, whilst Dynamic gives the car greater throttle response and quicker steering and is very noticeable once activated.

On driving, the steering is a little vague but when chucked into a corner at speed the Giulietta’s stiff suspension came into its own and indeed absorbed the long fast corner in question with ease and I came out of it feeling confident with its handling.

The 1.4 MultiAir engine combined to the TCT box was great I thought, especially in dynamic mode and will see 0-62mph in a very healthy 7.6sec with a top speed of 135mph and a more than respectable combined average cycle of around 55mpg.

Equipment is a plenty with the Giulietta, we drove the Exclusive model which gets 17” alloy wheels, half leather chairs, visibility pack consisting of; aluminium effect electric folding wing mirrors, electrochromic rear view mirror and rain dusk and condensation sensors.

The Exclusive also gets sports suspension, privacy glass, flat bottomed sports steering wheel, side skirts and alloy pedals along with the Uconnect touch screen system with DAB Radio and BlueTooth technology and rear parking sensors. It is also equipped with cruise control and auto lights/wipers.

Inside the Giulietta was pleasant, not class leading but most certainly a nice place to be, comfortable seats that could do with a little more bolster support, whilst all instruments were within reach along with plenty of room for four adults to be comfortable.

Boot space is class leading however at a great 350 litres which allows for a young family and the clumsy foldable wheeled transport that comes with young kids to fit with relative ease.

As with all new cars there is the option to add more extra’s than a game of thrones set could ask for and Alfa Romeo most certainly have more than enough for you to make a Giulietta your own.

Donnelly’s along with Alfa Romeo UK are also offering some pretty amazing payment options on the Giulietta at present so drop in and chat with Drew McVeigh and his team in Mallusk for more information.

Words and Photos: Graham Curry