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If you follow my blog, you might be aware of how picky I am about my cars. I believe this is a heavy "heritage" of soviet people, where cars held a special place as "family members". People saved money, sometimes for their entire lives, to acquire a car. There is a joke from Mr. Ronald Reagan which illustrates this situation.
Of course I'm too young to remember how was it in Soviet Union, but my parents did. So, I grew up learning to care for valuable possessions. Hence, a car, for me, is more than just a means of transportation. It's my companion, and a form of self expression.
Through my usage of the car I put the pros and cons I noticed into my notebook. Also, everything I do to my car I thoroughly track in a special mobile application. In this post I'd like to share some usage statistics and findings I gathered during the two years of ownership of this car since March 7, 2024, the day "her lonely nights are over..."
Two years later, the mileage is 22312 mi. It is a major milestone in our relationship with Alfa. However, before February 2022 I had another Alfa Romeo Giulia in Ukraine, which didn't last more than a year, due to the war started by Russia. So, this report will be a conjunction of the 2 (or 3) years of experience of owning Alfa Romeo Giulia on both sides of the Atlantic ocean.
Although I'm into cars, and truly love Alfa Romeo Giulia, I keep the door open for criticism. I fully understand that it is not a flawless vehicle. Therefore I'd like to start by mentioning every disadvantage I've encountered in the car, during the first two years of ownership. And this is what we're going to start from.
Flaws
1. Non-sticky cornering lights switch
I used to European cars which have a standard, sticky cornering lights switch, which has "positions" (top, middle, down). I assume there is a spring inside. Alfa Romeo has a non-sticky one. When you turn it on, you actually push the button inside. Of course I got used to this behavior, but I'd like it to be as in all normal cars. This is not what Alfa should differentiate itself from the others with.
2. Parts catalog is not available for public
This is ridiculous to me. VAG, Ford, Hyundai/Kia are so much open. Having the original parts catalog available gives great customization options with a huge fan base. Alfa has a strong community of enthusiasts around the world, but for some reason limits their hands on appliances. I like browsing the online parts catalog for rare parts available in rare trims or on different markets. For example, did you know that the Giulia had an automatic rear sunshade?
3. Practicality
Back in 2021, when I purchased the Alfa Romeo Giulia as a replacement for 2016 Ford Focus and having a 2015 Volkswagen CC as a first/second car, the Giulia seemed to me very tight. It could barely fit a set of OEM 17" rims with tires on.
Another thing, is that I'm a very specific driver. I'm an 18-years experience ballroom dancer and sit in a car in a straight position, to keep my posture. Because of that my head touches the ceiling. However, to be honest, the Jaguar XE, which I considered for purchase back in 2021 had the same issue. Because of my sitting position I have to lower the driver's seat as much as possible, leading to less leg room available behind. This makes my relatives sometimes hate this car.
When my family extended and a baby was born, another issue with the small cabin appear. The car seat in the back needs the front passenger seat to be move forward. Taking into account that me and my wife are tall people (6" and 5'7"), this became a problem. Not one we can't live with, but it makes our daily commute less comfortable.
And the last thing is trunk. When you go to the grocery store and have a stroller in, you actually have almost no space left. However, we're still a single car family, bravely struggling with all these impediments. But I think you realize that Alfa Romeo Giulia is not a perfect family car. Well at least for such tall people as us. I've heard some rumors that the new Alfa Romeo Giulia is going to be similar body style to the Audi A5 Sportback or Volkswagen Arteon. If so - this is going to be a perfect choice for me as a future family car.
4. Enormous prices on some spare parts
It seems like this is the result of limited availability of the Giorgio platform. Exaggerated prices for some parts, especially from Quadrifoglio. For example, how could 2 side skirts cost $2,400? When the full body kit for the G30 is $1,800. Yes, it's Taiwanese, but who cares. From 30 cm distance you won't notice the difference. Often the spare parts prices are exaggerated just because it's for Alfa Romeo. If the same part is available for Jeep or Chrysler, that saves a ton of money.
5. Non-heated windshield
I had one on my 2015 Volkswagen CC, and it was awesome. Even living in Massachusetts it's not a critical for me, but I just want to have it in a premium car.
6. Air conditioning performance
The port of entry of this car was Jacksonville, Florida. I've no idea how this car is supposed to survive there in summer, because the air conditioning doesn't perform well. Even in Massachusetts, during the summer season, the air conditioning struggles to cool down the cabin when 4 passengers are on board. I'm comparing this to the other cars I rented recently: Nissan Altima, Hyundai Elantra. Even equipped with simple A/C systems, not climate control, those cars performed way better during the hot season.
Even though I fixed the issue with the air flow on the driver side, the overall performance remains mediocre. However, there's nothing reported in MultiEcuScan regarding A/C issues. The dealer also says that this is normal performance of the system.
7. Limited air vents control
Ok, if we touched the air conditioning issues, let's continue. To be honest, this is not an issue only with Alfa Romeo cars. Nowadays the climate control panels have a single button, to control the airflow, circling through the modes. It happened that I was used to having in my 2015 Volkswagen CC it set to windshield and front only. But the single button on the climate control simply doesn't allow you to set this mode. You have to go to the Infotainment system and set it there. Why most of the manufacturers forget that this mode even exist, especially when you can configure it in the infotainment?
8. Speed limiter control
Yes you can enable it in the Infotainment. But when you usually want to do it? Right, when you're driving. Which means you need to be distracted from driving to enable it in the Infotainment. I had it in two cars before that had this function available on the steering wheel: the 2016 Ford Focus and the 2023 KIA Forte. The turn on logic is simple. When you click the adaptive cruise control button 1 time, you enable it. But if you hold the same button for 2 seconds - you enable speed limiter. Simply clever! Alfa you've been asked for innovations? Why not add this simple fix with future software updates?
9. Dummy buttons on the steering wheel and climate control
Every VAG-lover hates these dummy buttons. I purchased a premium car, I want them to be filled with something. I understand that one is reserved for the Stelvio, but I want it to be filled on the Giulia as well. Hill climb assist is not available (or makes no sense on the Giulia)? Ok, give us a simple Favorite (Star) button, which can be customized in the Infotainment. This is how it's made on KIA. For example, I used to switch between radio and Android Auto music sources using this button.
Same thing on the climate control. Add a simple customizable button, for example which allows me to turn the Infotainment screen off/on. I want to be able to have the infotainment screen to be turned off during the night driving with a single click, like I did on my 2016 Ford Focus. The engineering teams in Ford and KIA think about their customer experience. Why Alfa can't do the same?
10. Battery problems (car starts showing it's age)
In the beginning of December suddenly my battery died completely. The car had stayed for 2 days on the parking lot when the temperature dropped to 8-10 F (-12-13 C). After opening the trunk, the voltage was 4.5 V. I've read a lot of stories regarding to the notorious relays under the hood and well known battery issues, but I assumed this was fixed for the 2023 MY. It seems not. After a jump start with the help of Alfa Romeo Road Assistance, the car runs perfectly as it never happened before. But I understand it's the first sign that the car is starting to show its age. However I just don't see anything that I can replace this car with now.
Advantages
As you can see the list of flaws I found in this car is pretty long. However this is only my experience. My findings can be subjective. Although I can live with all of that. Let's see the list of pros - maybe it will be even longer?
1. Rareness
Ask your friends, what do they drive? Hyundai? Toyota? Honda? Audi? Boring! But when the same question comes to you, you smile and are ready to answer, since you drive... Alfa Romeo. You're glad to stand out. When you and your "non-into-cars" friends are talking on the parking lot standing nearby the Alfa, you notice she slightly catches their attention. They want to look at it, sit in, and talk about it.
2. Design
Well, of course this is not the prettiest car in the world, but still a head turner.
Ask yourself how many times you've seen thumbs up from the others during a drive? It is a kind of uniqueness. You know that within the next 50 miles, you're the only one on the road in an Alfa Romeo Giulia, and, if occasionally, you meet someone else in a Giulia too, that is a 100% coincidence.
3. Handling
This is my first RWD car. I've heard a lot of stories how the RWD is different from FWD. When the soft power not pulls you, but pushes from a behind. How an RWD car tends to power slide rather than understeer. And now I can confirm it. The way the Giulia corners, accelerates and handles is impressive. I don't even think of installing lowering springs or sport shocks, like I did to my 2015 Volkswagen CC, to make the steering sharper. Sometimes my eye drops on BMWs as a potential next car, and before Alfa Romeo I thought a BMW should be AWD, but now I understand that RWD is the way to go.
4. Acceleration
Please don't laugh. But, yes, I'm that guy who wants a powerful car to drive it super slowly. The Giulia is my first car whose horsepower comes close to ~300 hp. For me it's like re-discovering cars. It accelerates enough fast for me and the gas pedal is quite responsive. After installing the paddle shifters it became even more fun to drive. However, it is worth to noting the noticeable lag in shifting with paddle shifters even in dynamic mode.
5. Automatic gearbox
Believe me or not, but in 2021 that was my first car with automatic transmission. Seriously, all the cars I had before, were manual. I truly love manual transmission, but my wife wanted to try automatic. And I gave up, because in 2021 there were simply no manual Guilias in Ukraine. Later I found out that the Giulia is equipped with what is maybe the most bullet-proof transmission on the market, installed on a lot of BMWs, Audis and Maseratis, etc. However, I still want my next car (personal car) to be manual. I just want one more way to "talk" to the car during the daily drive. And, to be honest, my calm driving style is way smoother and better during the daily commute. Even the perfect transmission can't shift so smoothly as I do it myself. However, I'm not afraid of automatic transmissions reliability anymore.
6. Noise cancelling / rattling sounds
In 2016 when I purchased the base Ford Focus, I was surprised that such a cheap car ($13,000) could have so few rattling sounds in comparison to my 2015 Volkswagen CC purchased at 3 times expensive. I blamed Volkswagen for this so much. Of course I fixed most of them, and I know that even more expensive cars from BMW, Audi, Mercedes, have a lot. But drive the Giulia. You'll find so few. I found myself only two: the windows control panel on the driver's door and the sunroof. Both of them were easy fixes.
7. This car is alive
As you can understand, I'm used to german cars, which mostly feel "cold" in temperament toward their owners. The Giulia is different. It feels "alive". However, sometimes this "alive" may bring you electronic surprises. Nevertheless, you always wait for your next ride. Depending on your mood this car can easily change it: calm you down or make you have fun. This is definitely a car which I'm going to remember for many years. It's fun, every time you meet previous Alfa owners, they always share their good memories about their 75, GTV, 159, etc.
8. Sound system quality
One more subjective thing in the list. For a long time the base sound system (not DynAudio) in my 2015 Volkswagen CC with the RCD310 head unit was a reference point for me. Don't laugh. Alfa Romeo Giulia equipped with the Harman Kardon sound system was the first car where I had to admit that the sound system is better than the one in my CC. However, it is not flawless. My main concern is that the Giulia head unit doesn't support anything, but the SBC codec when connected through Android Auto / Bluetooth. So, if you want good sound quality, you should use the USB port instead.
9. Good money/value ratio
The depreciation is a pain point for the Giulia. But at the time of purchase it's a benefit. You get a well-equipped car at a reasonable price. How can the A5 dashboard NOT be in leather at this price? Why doesn't the C-class have heated rear seats? I keep asking these questions visiting dealerships from time to time for a potential future replacement.
Statistics
For years, I have tracked the statistics of every car I use. And a special place is dedicated to the fuel consumption. However, as I mentioned before, I'm a calm driver, I can't even say I drive, I "chill". I haven't done any performance modifications to my 2.0 engine. I don't care about 0-60 mph acceleration time. Therefore my numbers may not be relevant to everyone.
One last thing, before we jump to the numbers. I always (yes, always!) refuel at one brand's gas station with one type of the fuel (Premium). I always refuel from a full tank to a full tank, because it is the only way you can calculate the actual fuel consumption, not approximate. At every refuel, I note the mileage, fuel price, and amount of fuel used. Back in Ukraine I even saved all the paper receipts; probably I'll get back to this practice in the US later.
Because of my driving style, I've never topped up the oil level between oil services, and never experienced oil loss. I do the oil service every 5000 miles or every 6 months. Finally, let's have a look at the actual numbers for the period 03/07/2024 - 03/07/2026 (2 years).
Fuel consumption:
Fuel costs:
Mileage:
I can't say the annual mileage is big, since I mostly work from home and live within the greater Boston area. The car sometimes can stay on the parking lot for 1-2 days. I rarely use public transportation. I own this car. It was financed initially for 6 months, but I realized fast that this just burns the money on bank interest and insurance premiums, which must include comprehensive collision coverage.
Conclusions
Now, let's see the final score on pros/cons of this car: 10 vs 9. Does it mean Alfa Romeo Giulia is bad? Absolutely not! Nobody's perfect and the Giulia is definitely not. But know what? I don't care! I simply love every single day I drive this car. I recommend it to everyone I know - give Alfa Romeo a try. If you don't want a sedan, try the Stelvio instead. Most of the issues I faced are non-critical, not reliability-related, not even real issues. I even think that the Giulia is one of the most reliable cars available on the market nowadays. Some say that this car is outdated and should have been replaced. But at a different point of view, within its 10 years of production, Alfa Romeo has fixed most of the critical things and now it's a truly reliable car for daily driving. Truly a Brilliant on the road...
Thanks to everyone for reading. Stay safe and love your cars!
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