FRANKFURT MOTOR SHOW: Alfa upgrades Giulietta

Alfa Romeo’s handsome Giulietta hatchback has come in for a midlife makeover two and a half years after it went on sale in Australia in January 2011.

Confirmed for local release by around May next year, the MY14 Giulietta will make its global debut at the Frankfurt motor show next Tuesday (September 10), before hitting European showrooms in October.

Cosmetically, the revised Giulietta is distinguished via a new front grille, chromed foglight surrounds, a new range of 16-, 17- and 18-inch alloy wheels and three new paint colours: Moonlight Pearl, Anodizzato Blue and Bronze.

Inside, the small Italian five-door gains a new Uconnect infotainment system with five- or 6.5-inch touch-screen, featuring satellite-navigation, Bluetooth connectivity with audio streaming and text-to-speech SMS.

There are also new wrap-around seats with fresh trim, new steering wheels, new treatments for the dashboard, door panels and door handles, and new storage and luggage compartments.

The biggest mechanical change is the fitment of a new 2.0-litre JTDM four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine that produces 112kW/380Nm, however, this engine has not been confirmed for release in Australia.

Debuting in the MY14 Giulietta, Fiat’s new 2.0 JTDM diesel is equipped with second-generation MultiJet and third-generation common-rail injection systems, resulting in what Alfa claims is class-leading torque -- 380Nm at 1750rpm, which is up from 350Nm.

Priced from $24,550 plus on-road costs, the existing Giuletta line-up includes 1.4-litre turbo-petrol and 2.0-litre turbo-diesel models, plus the range-topping 1.75-litre turbo-petrol QV hot hatch.

Alfa says it has sold more than 212,000 Giuliettas since the model was first launched in Italy in mid-2010.

The Giulietta is Alfa’s top-selling model in Australia, where sales are up a massive 124 per cent to 772 so far this year, following a model repositioning including $25,000 drive-away pricing for the entry-level 88kW manual variant from May.

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