Alfa Romeo enjoys cult status among motorists - if you haven't driven an Alfa, you're not a petrolhead either. The Alfa Romeo Giulietta comes to the test with ingredients that have a highly polarizing effect on such an emotional car: diesel engine and dual clutch transmission. An Alfa without a clutch pedal - for this combination the Italian manufacturer from Turin had to take a beating in the past and so attempts are being made to use the technical progress of automated gear changes without a torque converter to make a new start in this discipline with the help of two clutches.
But let's first look at the external features before we delve deeply into the technology, because it's not difficult to fall for the Giulietta. Compared to its predecessors, the modern Giulietta is no longer a notchback sedan, but a classic compact car, but it does not lose any of its appeal. As is typical for Alfa, the front is dominated by the triangular radiator grille. The rounder, elongated headlights are on the edge. In between, the hood slopes downwards beautifully. The side view, on the other hand, is less spectacular and is dominated primarily by the 18-inch models in the classic Alfa design. At the rear, the spoiler lip between the snail-shaped LED taillights and the exhaust system on both sides are particularly noticeable and give the Giulietta a powerful appearance. Strange: while I always thought the Giulietta was “just pretty” at first, my affection for it continued to grow over the course of the two weeks of testing. Now almost every time I come into contact with a Giulietta in traffic, I let out a quiet “ahh”.
In the interior, it presents exactly what I appreciate about Alfa Romeo: sporty flair and Italian chic. You immediately have the feeling of sitting in a classy Italian sports car. In addition, fortunately, the usual ingredients are not used, but surfaces in an aluminum look are built, which, however, have a dark-bluish hue. Together with the bright contrasts and red accents, the result is a wonderful picture in the interior. The shape of the dashboard is also extremely pleasing and stands out from the competition. The beautiful toggle switches for window heating etc. and the seamlessly integrated radio also match the ambience of dealing with a classic racing car. The steering wheel with the huge hard plastic shell does not fit into the picture at all. Unfortunately, the Italian allows for weaknesses in terms of workmanship and ergonomics. The screen of the less modern navigation system, with abnormally poor voice guidance, rattles and rattles frequently and the seats offer neither lateral support nor a comfortable seating position.
The Giulietta, on the other hand, finds a good position on the road. Thanks to the sports suspension with a somewhat tighter spring and damper set-up, the beautiful lady circles around in a joyful dance over winding roads. She uses her beautiful bottom to delight the driver and put a smile on his face - provided the 225 tires on the front axle are at the right temperature, otherwise the Giulietta is mainly understeering. The chassis still offers a good level of comfort, but sways noticeably, especially on long bumps. In return, the diesel engine responds very directly to gas commands. A tiny delay can be felt while the air is being compressed, but ultimately the 2-liter diesel is so directly connected to the gas that you can actually demand power precisely at the apex of the curve - exactly when you need it. The diesel benefits from the fact that it can use a wide speed range and is surprisingly easy to turn.
If you want to sharpen something up, you can use the “DNA” driving dynamics switch to switch to dynamic mode, thereby influencing the accelerator pedal and chassis characteristics. In addition, more boost pressure is built up in the lower speed range and the ESP control threshold is set higher. Using overboost, 30 Nm more torque is available for a short time, i.e. a maximum of 350 Nm, and ensures plenty of propulsion. As much as you might demonize diesel engines in sporty vehicles, the JTDM diesel fits the Giulietta wonderfully, especially since it doesn't draw attention to itself with an unsporty rattle but rather with a growling tone of voice. For this sporty orientation of the diesel engine, you also have to accept drinking habits that are more in line with a gasoline engine. The Giulietta cannot realistically be moved under 7 liters test consumption oriented more towards 10 liters.
The completely newly developed TCT transmission (Twin Clutch Technology) also contributes to driving fun. Similar to the Wolfsburg competition in this vehicle class, two dry clutches work for optimal power transmission. Since the clutches do not run in an oil bath, the load capacity is correspondingly limited and designed precisely for the maximum torque of the Giulietta of 350 Nm. The advantages of this, however, are the lower weight and the freedom from maintenance. The gear changes when shifting up with the TCT are very smooth and pleasantly quick. Once you get used to the shift paddles, which are a bit too short, you can have a lot of fun with the Giulietta on winding roads. When downshifting, however, the TCT is not quite as effective as the competition. The speed is adjusted relatively slowly and then engaged slowly. However, since this is only software parameters and a matter of coordination, I just hope that FIAT will invest more hours of work here and that something will still be done there.
Conclusion
The Alfa Romeo Giulietta shows itself exactly as you would expect from a typical one Alfa Romeo expected. Why? She manages again and again to arouse enthusiasm in you. Be it with the beautiful interior design or the even more beautiful outer shell. The diesel engine, in combination with the TCT transmission, is a lot of driving fun. And yet: there are always those stressful moments when you would like to get out and sit in another car, because when it comes to electronics, the Giulietta shows itself in accordance with all prejudices against Italian cars: the display and operation of the navigation system is one Horror. Anyone who speaks the Italian language should definitely switch the navigation system to Italian and thus avoid the broken German language reproduction. The audio system has a convincing sound, but plays almost all MP3s via USB stick with distorted sound (the problem is an input level that is too high - here is a troubleshooting guide), after one of three USB sticks has been recognized by the system without any errors. In addition, there is a seating position and lateral support that do not do justice to a decidedly sporty car. And yet it was always a moment of anticipation when I knew that I would get on the Giulietta right away and enjoy the road with her again. It's tough with its strong character, but offers a lot of driving fun - a little bit of suffering isn't too much to ask, is it? But only people who have been in such a relationship will understand that anyway - whether with a car or a person.