Alfa Romeo Australia has jump in headlong into meaty luxury sedan market with the high anticipated Giulia, which starts at $58,895 (excluding on-road costs).
The Italian marque’s starting offensive against premium rivals such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi will eventually expand to include the Stelvio SUV, but for now the Giulia steals the show with its 5 variants, including the 375kW Quadrifoglio Verde.
That base price may be more expensive than that of the 3 Series, A4, and C-Class, but FCA Australia seems confident that the those rivals offer less expensive variants with lower specification and equipment to reach a broader price spectrum.
Like-for-like, with the entry-level Giulia’s 147kW 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine and higher levels of standard equipment, it does represent better value against a comparable variant from those three German makes, so it says.
Although, the Lexus IS and the Infiniti Q50 are also venerable compact luxury saloons that, like the new Alfa, have higher starting prices for better specified entry model which will do come close to bothering the Italian from a purely price-driven perspective.
The Giulia Super is the step-up at $64,195, with even more kit and the option of a 2.2-litre turbodiesel engine option for a little extra: $6,895. This is likely to be the model that most customers will choose, being a balance between luxury, performance, and having further optional extras.
Above that, though, there’s the sportier Giulia Veloce at $71,895, which uses a more powerful 202kW version of the same turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol mill and will naturally feature a sportier suspension tune and other driving parameters.
Finally, at $143,900, there’s the range-topping QV to combat the AMG’s and BMW M cars out there. It houses 2.9-litre twin-turbocharged V6 engine co-developed with Ferrari for that (aforementioned) 375kW and 600Nm of twist. Launching the car to 100km/h takes 3.9-seconds and, if allowed to be maxed out, can achieve 307km/h. It’s currently holds the title of quickest stock production sedan around the Nurburgring.
In addition to boasting a 50/50 weight distribution, all Giulias use an 8-speed ZF automatic transmission to send drive to the rear wheels (the Q4 all-wheel drive option hasn’t been locally announced), which it does via a lightweight carbon fibre drive shaft to ensure better engine response.
They will all also feature Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), forward collision warning, pedestrian detection, and lane departure warning active safety systems as standard.
For more on Alfa Romeo vehicles, including pricing and specifications, check out our Showroom.
