Compact class: Alfa wants to attack the VW Golf with the Giulietta

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Alfa wants to attack the VW Golf with the Giulietta

Compact class: Alfa wants to attack the VW Golf with the Giulietta-alfa

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The triangular, chrome-plated radiator grille of the Giulietta, which adorned the front in a similar shape as early as 1954, is reminiscent of days gone by.

Source: Alfa

Compact class: Alfa wants to attack the VW Golf with the Giulietta-alfa

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Emotionally drawn and equipped with refinements such as cornering lights and a variable chassis, the Giulietta is intended primarily for drivers of compact cars at prices from 19,900 euros …like the Audi A3 or the BMW 1 series.

Source: Alfa

Compact class: Alfa wants to attack the VW Golf with the Giulietta-compact

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The goal of the Alfa developers: The Giulietta should be aggressive like a BMW A, but good-natured like a VW Golf.

Source: Alfa

Compact class: Alfa wants to attack the VW Golf with the Giulietta-alfa

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With a length of 4.35 meters and a wheelbase of 2.63 meters, the Giulietta is significantly larger than a Golf, but offers just as much luggage space with 350 liters.

Source: Alfa

Compact class: Alfa wants to attack the VW Golf with the Giulietta-wants

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A large, two-part glass roof is available for the Giulietta at an additional cost.

Source: Alfa

Compact class: Alfa wants to attack the VW Golf with the Giulietta-compact

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No, unfortunately they are not standard either: the leather seats naturally cost an extra charge.

Source: Alfa

Compact class: Alfa wants to attack the VW Golf with the Giulietta-wants

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The selector switch for the driving mode is located directly in front of the gear stick. Here the driver can switch between the programs "Dynamic", "normal" and "All Weather" Select.

Source: Alfa

Compact class: Alfa wants to attack the VW Golf with the Giulietta-alfa

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The instruments are classically round, the center console looks familiar.

Source: Alfa

With the new Giulietta, Alfa Romeo is living up to its glorious name: Because the engineers have not repeated their latest mistakes. The car is comparatively light, it is agile and it looks good. The Italians are so convinced of their compact that they want to attack the Golf with it.

M.atteo Benedetto is almost bursting with pride: While Alfa Romeo usually focuses on design, this time the Italians sent a technician to the front to present the new Giulietta. He, the project manager of the new model, should explain how the successor to the dusty Alfa 147 will storm the compact class from this summer, and even how it will be with the VW Golf should record.

For for the first time in over ten years, when Alfa Romeo pioneered CommonRail technology in diesel engines, the engineers can again hope for more than a respectable success: where until now only passion counted and only joyful ones "Bella Macchina"-Calls sometimes drowned out the criticism of old technology and poor quality, engineer Benedetto has little to fear this time. Because the Giulietta not only looks extremely good, it also drives that way.

The new floor pan is primarily responsible for this. "We are the first to use this platform", says Benedetto with a view to the solid foundation of the Giulietta and rattles down the advantages. The wheelbase, which is 2.63 meters long, creates more space in all seats, and by the way, 350 liters of trunk space have been created, and the brand new chassis promises more agility and comfort at the same time.

The Giulietta is bigger and better equipped than its predecessor – but weight was also taken into account with hers. "We have learned from past mistakes", says Benedetto. If the middle class sedan 159 and above all the beautiful Coupe Brera had been slowed down by their own pounds, the Giulietta can easily hit the road. "At around 1.3 tons, it is hardly heavier than the 147."

It is also easy to address the car as female, contrary to German custom. They say "the" Giulietta, although it is "the" Carina is called when you talk about a previous Toyota, or even "the" Lotus Elise.

But Giulietta is female, and some fans from the old days even remember how they said Julchen back then. At the first rendezvous of the new era, Julchen prances lightly through the curves and is especially crisp if you have ordered the sports suspension as an extra. "An Alfa Romeo has always been agile and dynamic", says Phillipe Krief, who is in charge of chassis development. "The comfort and serenity with which the Giulietta works are new."

If the Italians were based on the predecessor in terms of agility and also used the aggressiveness of a BMW 1 Series as a model, the VW Golf was otherwise the inspiration. "We want to address significantly more customers with the Giulietta", says Benedetto, "that’s why we no longer designed the car as pointed, but much wider."

A small switch on the center console helps the engineers with this. It’s called DNA – no genetic engineering, but a choice between "Dynamic", "normal" and "All Weather". The Giulietta changes its character at the push of a button. If it drives upright and good-natured in normal mode, it is downright hot-blooded in sport mode: the engine revs up and delivers more torque, the anti-skid electronics ESP allow more restlessness in the car, and you need a little more power on the steering wheel. The only thing the engineers have forgotten is the sound tuning that is common with other Group models: the Giulietta sounds too good for a sporty appearance.

Not only the platform and chassis follow high ambitions The Italian engineers have also installed promising technology under the bonnet: "Multiair" they call the combination of variable valve technology and turbocharger, with which they increase the performance of the gasoline engines and at the same time significantly reduce consumption. The 1.4 liter gasoline engine has 170 hp and 250 Newton meters. Nevertheless, according to the EU standard, it only consumes 5.9 liters of premium gasoline – less than the base model with just 120 hp. However, the on-board computer shows two-digit values ​​if you give the Giulietta a spur. The car accelerates to 100 km / h in 7.8 seconds and nests in the left lane at up to 218 km / h.

With a base price of 19,900 euros for the 120 hp model, the Giulietta is also catapulted into a very self-confident price position. At 22,400 euros, the 170 PS version costs just 50 euros less than a comparable VW Golf. This shows that the Alfa marketers see their new model where those interested in Audi A3 and BMW 1 Series are looking for cars: in the upper house of the Golf class.

After all, the Giulietta has a name with a soul ahead of them, even if today’s model has nothing in common with the cars of the same name from the 1960s to 1980s other than the Alfa crest – which is perhaps a good thing. Benedetto can at least make a couple of ideal parallels: "For Alfa Romeo, the first Giulietta marked the step from a handcrafted sports car to industrial large-scale production and was therefore a particularly ambitious project from a technical point of view." More than 50 years later, the time has come again.

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