My one-week fling with Giulia

As a just-turned 30 millennial, my love of cars was largely derived from spending way too many hours playing Gran Turismo on the original Sony PlayStation -- and watching racing on the telly.

Consequently, quarter-mile times, RWD/AWD, intercoolers, turbos, gold wheels, big wings and how fast I could drive around fictitious racing circuits, was the criteria I used to define a good car from a bad one.

Given this and with no presence in the Polyphony game, Alfa Romeo was certainly not a brand I had any recognition or understanding of.

I mean, it wasn’t Ferrari!

All changed in the late 1990s when an Alfa Romeo dealership magically sprouted just down the road from me in eastern Melbourne. At the time, it was highlighting the arrival of the European Car of the Year winning Alfa Romeo 156.

My beloved Nonno was in-market for a new car to take over from his monster 1974 Ford LTD and we dropped in to take a look. And although he quickly established that the 156 was a little too small, I kept nagging (or was it dragging?) him off the couch to go back again and again to take another look.

Triangular grille, offset number plate, hidden rear door handles, logo-embossed headrests, ribbed leather seats, wooden steering wheels, and horseshoe alloys – I could go on and on. The 156 really opened my eyes to beautiful design and style, not just cars but all sorts of products.

Then on, apart from my obsession with Subaru Impreza WRXs and WRX STis, it was the 156 -- and the GTA version especially -- that defined my ‘car youth’ and made me fall in love with the mystery and enigma that is Alfa Romeo.

After a few years of ‘could have been great’, but nonetheless pretty cars like the Brera and 159, you can imagine my excitement when I heard that Alfa Romeo was to be reborn. The plans to invest billions of euros into a brand new RWD platform and brand new engines, and ditch the numeric numbers to give it the new cars proper, historic and emotive names, was music to my ears.

I knew one day I would have to drive one. What I didn’t know at the time was that, in typical Alfa Romeo fashion, the rebirth would take what seemed like a billion years to fund, engineer, design, be revealed and make its way to Australia.

Then finally, I was thrown the keys (or in this case a stubby fob) to the reborn Giulia to drive and live with for a week.

And not just any Giulia, the Veloce.

Perhaps for more than any brand, design is what defines Alfa Romeo.

And while the jury is out about whether the Alfa Romeo Guilia Veloce is as effortlessly pretty as its 156 and 159 predecessors, there is zero doubt in my mind that this car has real presence.

Around town and when parked, the Giulia drew more than the occasional neck crank, elongated stare and random wave. The good impression on onlookers was no doubt aided by the simply stunning Misano Blue paint (exclusive to the Veloce and a ‘crystalline’ blue reminiscent of the Blue Grotto in Capri) and the 19-inch trademark horseshoe wheels -- a work of art in themselves.

My favourite angle of the Giulia Veloce is definitely the rear three-quarter. From this vantage point, the muscular real-wheel drive proportions are flaunted for everyone to appreciate. It’s the sort of design that lifts your spirits at a glance after a hard day at work and makes you proud and confident behind the wheel.

In my opinion, wrapping these beautiful lines in monochrome colours typical to most Melbourne cars would be criminal.

They say first impressions count and at first Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce left me a little, well, subdued…

But in a good way… It was smooth, comfortable and effortless to manoeuvre. In fact, despite it was the exact opposite of everything I had read and heard about the brand over the past 20 years, everything worked seamlessly.

Dare I say it, the Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce felt Germanic in the same way a Volkswagen Golf or BMW 3 Series impose a sense of calm, solidness and quality. Was this really an Italian car made in a brand-new factory situated roughly half way between Rome and Naples?

Apart from its good looks, there was very little sense of the theatrics I had expected from a car capable of completing the 0-100 sprint in 5.6sec. In fact, after 15 minutes of driving the Giulia, it felt like we’d been doing the morning commute together for 15 years, such was the ease and comfort.

From tram tracks to potholes, nothing seemed to unsettle the Giulia Veloce.

That subdued and comfortable feeling remained… Until I switched the Giulia from Neutral to Dynamic mode via the centrally mounted DNA drive-mode selector.

The result? Like adding Sriarcha to your favourite hot food – switching the Giulia into Dynamic was makes it better, hotter with a slight kick. Instantly the steering became slightly heavier, throttle response sharpened and the ride became a tad firmer -- but never harsh.

Most of all, in Dynamic mode, it is the steering that enlivens the experience even more.. Driving outside of Melbourne metro and around the flowing roads of Warrandyte and Kangaroo Ground, the Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce really came alive. That’s when I knew that Alfa had developed something truly special.

The 2.0-litre turbo four that powers the Alfa Romeo Giulia is effortlessly potent, with next to no lag and plenty of get up and go. The steering column mounted shift paddles are a particular highlight, especially when downshifting – beautiful to touch, engaging to use and useful in letting you pretend you’re Daniel Ricciardo.

Not once did I feel the heft or size of a car significantly larger than I’m accustomed to – the Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce delivered that feeling of wrapping around its driver. A car that handles this well really is easier to drive and live with.

For my 1.70cm x 70kg frame, the Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce’s driving position is nothing short of spot on. Over-the-shoulder visibility is excellent and the blind spot monitoring was a welcome helping hand.

The ribbed leather seats also deserve a special mention – they provided sensational comfort – while the sunroof was a nice touch and made up for the air-con which frankly struggled a little on the first hot day Melbourne had seen for six months.

I also love the traditional presentation of the instruments and the steering wheel was also a delight to grip -- up there with those found in Golf GTIs and BMW Ms.

Importantly, the interior does not chase trends and is not overdesigned.

The Giulia has copped some criticism for its tech integration, which has been addressed in the 2020 model yet to arrive in Australia. But can I offer a different viewpoint? The Giulia featuring an integrated screen, as opposed to the tablet splashed on to the dash look that is in vogue right now, gives the interior the appearance of being timeless – which I think is important for those that intend to keep a new car for 5-10 years.

And although not cutting edge by any means, the Infotainment system is easy to use and thankfully there are physical buttons for cooling and heating. No need to go searching for these controls in some menu is a blessing with Melbourne’s unpredictable, four-seasons-in one-day approach to climate.

During and after my magic week with the Giulia, I constantly had to ask myself the same question over and over again: why has this car found so few buyers?

Year to date in 2019, the Alfa Romeo Giulia has found only 255 owners (down over 50% YOY) according to VFACTS. That is in stark contrast to the segment leader, Mercedes-Benz C-Class that is sitting pretty on 5775 (up over 37%).

And while the Mercedes is a good-to-great car in its own right, that kind of disparity beggars belief -- at least to this Alfisti. It’s also miles behind the Audi A4 and BMW 3 Series, and the segment won’t get any easier to crack with the arrival of the latest carsales Car of the Year generation of the latter.

Is the Giulia Veloce too sporty?

Is the Alfa Romeo ‘face’ and grille too polarizing?

Does the badge simply not carry enough street cred?

Do prestige buyers even know this car exists?

Are there not enough dealers? Do you have to be a car nut to want to buy it?

Or is it impossible to shake the Alfa Romeo reputation for suspect reliability?

My gut feelings is that it’s a combination of all factors -- which is a shame. It won’t be helped either that the brand will seemingly once again be starved of investment and a full range of models. At least it looks like some of this investment will be gifted to Maserati -- which helps me sleep better at night.

All I know is that I was genuinely sad to hand back the keys to the Giulia Veloce. It had that je ne sais quoi that it makes a car so memorable and so desirable.

If I had $80,000 to spend, I would be visiting my local Alfa Romeo dealership tomorrow to order a Giulia Veloce – and it would be in Misano Blue. Unless of course I’d won the lottery and could afford to move up to the Quadrifoglio instead…

Forza Alfa Romeo…