Alfa Romeo Giulietta QV 2015 Review

Sure, Alfa is not alone in being bundled into a massive corporate entity (look at Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche for example) and it shares its new parentage with some formidable marques (Ferrari for one), but the inevitable loss of brand exclusivity is as apparent to Alfa aficionados as it is a product of today's shared-development auto environment.

To combat this lapse into threatened anonymity, Alfa Romeo works hard to connect with the past.

Take the top-shelf version of the latest Giulietta hatch for example. Titled Quadrifoglio Verde (four-leaf clover) in recognition of the company's past motorsport triumphs dating back to the early 1920s when the symbol was inextricably linked to the Alfa Romeo brand, it is also powered by a 1.7-litre engine that replicates the capacity of the beautiful 1750 GT Veloce coupe of the late 1960s.

If you wanted to load-up a modern-day Alfa with historical references, it would be difficult to go past dubbing it Giulietta Quadrifoglio Verde (QV) and powering it with a 1750cc engine.

And to be fair, the neat little front-drive hatchback – in QV guise at least – does a good job of cutting it with its numerous contemporaries from Europe, Japan and Korea.

The turbocharged, direct-injection four-cylinder powerplant is shared with the Alfa 4C sports car and punches out an impressive 177kW at 5750rpm while producing a decent amount of twist – 340Nm at 1900rpm – to deliver genuine hot-hatch performance. In the 1299kg, (kerb) dual-clutch (TCT) version, zero to 100km/h comes up in a clean, claimed 6.0sec.

All this puts it into direct competition with the likes of Volkswagen's 169kW/350Nm Golf GTI which is similarly credentialed but nominally a bit slower as it's less favoured in power/weight terms (123.9W/kg compared with the Alfa's 136.4). The Golf is also higher priced (by $6490) into the bargain.

Certainly the QV has been given the treatment when it comes to setting up for making good use of the power: In addition to a launch control system (TCT model only), the athletic Alfa features red Brembo brake callipers peeping out through the five-hole 18-inch wheels, a lowered sports suspension and a purposeful big-bore sports exhaust.

This contributes to an appropriately tight, responsive on-road character that is complemented by the now-familiar super-quick Alfa steering (just 2.2 turns from lock-to-lock). The 1.7-litre turbo four is not lacking for punch accelerating out of corners and sounds pretty throaty too, thanks largely to an intake sound generator that telegraphs an appropriate, if slightly artificial, volume of noise into the cabin.

But there are limitations getting all the power to the ground when the QV is being pushed and there's not the suspension fluidity found in the Golf – all of which makes for a busier drive experience. The tighter suspension and larger 225/40-series tyres contribute to extra road noise too.

And the TCT (twin-clutch transmission) lacks the refinement found in the Golf's DSG (direct-shift gearbox), with a general clunkiness and a little tardiness in the way it shifts up and down through the ratios. The clutch is also audible when the QV is being shuffled between forward and reverse gears.

In terms of driver-car interface, the Giulietta is well removed from the old days of impossible awkwardness. These days there's enough legroom for most drivers and the wheel can be pulled, pushed or moved up or down into a comfortable position.

The sports seats are nice and grippy too, although we bemoaned the lack of a reversing camera in this top-shelf Alfa and some of the trim elements – in an upgraded and generally classy environment – point to the Alfa still falling a bit short of the best of its peers. The trim atop the doors, for example, looks easily scuffable in much the same manner as Alfas from 20 years ago.

Alfa has thrown the works at the QV when it comes to standard equipment. It gets the obligatory flat-bottom steering wheel, its own instrument panel, leather and Alcantara seat trim, FCA's Uconnect infotainment system with 6.5-inch colour touch-screen, sat-nav, aluminium pedals, tinted glass and a nine-speaker BOSE audio system complete with subwoofer. Bi-xenon headlights and aero side skirts are part of the deal, too.

The QV, like other Giuliettas, qualifies for a five-star safety rating with six airbags, anti-whiplash front seats, tyre pressure monitoring and what Alfa describes as a "third load line" to help protect passengers from impact forces in an accident.

The Giulietta comes with a warning though. If you need a small hatch that will take at least four adult passengers, check out the back seat. Accentuated by an impossibly fiddly front-backrest recline knob, there's very little rear-seat legroom and even less foot room – to the extent that a departing, long-legged passenger will often spend uncomfortable moments trying to free a foot trapped between the seat and the door sill.

At 350 litres, the boot isn't too bad, however.

The Giulietta QV is a well-priced and good-looking competitor in the small hot hatch segment that makes up for its lack of suspension and driveline refinement with a rorty, responsive powerplant that shows the Alfa badge still means something.

2015 Alfa Romeo Giulietta QV pricing and specifications:
Price: $42,000 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 1.7-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 177kW/340Nm
Transmission: Six-speed dual-clutch
Fuel: 7.0L/100km (ADR Combined)