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Mike Sinclair29 May 2014
REVIEW

Alfa Romeo Giulietta QV 2014 Review

The Giulietta QV sits at the head of current Alfa Romeo hatch pack. Ahead of the pending arrival a revised new model, we're getting to know one better

Alfa Romeo Giulietta QV 1750 TBi
Extended-Term Test (Introduction)

The legend is you can't be a true automotive enthusiast without owning an Alfa Romeo. Like many adages, it's rubbish – but there's no mistaking the fact Alfa holds a special place in many car nuts' hearts.

The last few years have been far from vintage for the iconic Italian brand, however. The arrival of the mid-engined 4C is spark of life, but for the lion's share of the last decade, Alfa's model line-up has been limited to the unloved and unlovable MiTo and the subject of this extended test update, the Giulietta.

The good news is that is set to change. Indeed, May 2014 has been a good month for Alfisti and the company itself. Just a couple of weeks ago, the parent company of Alfa Romeo, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced it would spend around $8b on the renaissance of the brand.

Bespoke rear and all-wheel drive platforms await and will underpin the rebirth. The MiTo will fall by the wayside and an all-new family of cars from small to large will be launched between 2015 and 2018.

We can hardly wait.

In the meantime, we've decided to take a 'figurative' plunge and invite an Alfa Romeo into our motoring.com.au team. Say hello to our latest extended loan test car, the Giulietta QV (Quadrifoglio Verde) 1750 TBi.

It's interesting timing to take on the existing QV. Not only has Alfa been set in a new direction in the medium term, but within a few months a facelifted and updated Giulietta will arrive in Australia and with it a powered up version of the QV.

The updated car will get better infotainment and a new all-alloy engine sourced from the 4C. More importantly, it will be a stepping stone towards the new Alfa – a halfway house between the Fiat-derived bad old days and the brands new horizon.

We don't expect wholesale change – that's too expensive to consider, given the Giulietta's Fiat-based platform is eventually for the chop. But we're hoping the updated car will perhaps have an extra dose of Alfa-ness from which all of us can draw some inspiration.

With that caveat out of the way, we figured it was still worthwhile grabbing the exiting QV if only for an extended drive, rather than the full six-month long-term test period. If nothing else it will give us (and you) a baseline from which to judge whether progress is being made.

We've started at the top – the QV represents the highest performance Giulietta variant.

When the car was launched in 2010, QV was one of just a couple of models. In contrast now (at last count) Alfa Romeo Australia had widened the offer to seven across four trim grades. In a move that polarised opinion of the Alfa faithful (and in an effort to grow volume), the local operation even launched an 88kW 1.4-litre $25,000 'drive away no more to pay' base car last year.

Whether such a car is true to the sporting, performance spirit of Alfa Romeo was the 'discussion' point. Whichever side of the argument you sit, the repositioning (marketing speak for 'guts-ing' the price/spec) has been moderately successful. In the sense of attracting new blood to the brand at least.

The QV at least has sporting pretensions that you can equate to the Alfa DNA. Priced at $39,150 (following an approximate $2500 price cut), it sits at the very top of the Giulietta range. Similar in size to the top selling hatches Down Under, it's a conventional front-driver featuring the almost ubiquitous modified MacPherson strut front suspension and multi-link independent rear.

It is powered by a 173kW/340Nm turbocharged 1742cc four, matched to a conventional six-speed manual gearbox.

In terms of 'manners', it's arguably better categorised as a warm rather than a hot hatch. Alfa Romeo claims a 0-100km/h time of 7.2sec.

Fuel consumption is middle of the road for this type of car and is not helped by an absence of any idle stop-start trickery to help drop the urban consumption figure. The combined mileage for the QV is listed at 7.6L/100km.

Like its smaller stablemate, the MiTo, and the soon to arrive 4C, the Giulietta QV features Alfa Romeo's DNA drive-mode selector. This system fiddles throttle and engine mapping in pure manual cars such as the QV. In Alfa's TCT (twin-clutch) automated manual transmissions, DNA fiddles the shift logic too.

Standard equipment across the Giulietta range includes an electronic limited slip differential, a hill-holder, auto wipers and headlights.

The QV rolls on 18-inch wheels and 225/40 rubber, and gets a bespoke brake package with pukka 330mm front discs and red-painted calipers. An alarm, reverse parking sensors, dual-zone climate control, privacy glass, 10-speaker BOSE audio system, sports pedals and QV cabin dress details are also part of the standard kit.

For the moment at least, however, you'll make do without satnav and pretty primitive and inconsistent Bluetooth mobile phone connectivity. If there's one thing that's annoyed us up front about the Giulietta it's this – more often than not, upon returning to the car, my smart phone fails to reconnect. It's something we'll watch.

Initial drive impressions are just that. All the miles we've put under the QV's wheels have been in commuting mode but there'll be a couple of worthwhile opportunities to check its sporting abilities in the weeks to come.

For the time being, my watchlist includes some concerns on the laggy nature of the turbocharged petrol powerplant, which coupled with an extremely narrow clutch take-up point can catch out newbies.

More soon...

2014 Alfa Romeo Giulietta QV 1750 TBi pricing and specifications:
Price:
$39,150 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 1.7-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 173kW/340Nm
Transmission: Six-speed manual
Fuel: 7.6L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 177g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP

What we liked:
>> QV trim and decor
>> Strong braking action
>> DNA drive-mode selector

Not so much:
>> Turbo lag and narrow clutch take-up
>> Glitchy Bluetooth connectivity
>> No satnav

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