Why Giulietta Was The Beginning Of The End For Alfa Romeo (For Me) 

No better way to start the new year than a hangover and listening to someone talk smack about your real world car. Happy new year, James!

They may have their issues, but mechanically they are surprisingly reliable and when you can get a well equipped multiair 170 for the same money as an enjoyment sucking 1.2 tsi Mk7 golf or a nasty high mileage a class with its dacia engine and beam suspension, they are brilliant

I bought my first Alfa, a 1.4 2013 Giulietta about 6 months ago. I've been amazed about how good it is to drive in comparison to what the Japanese and Germans offer for the same money. So far reliability hasn't been an issue. Sorry JayEmm, from my point of view you're completely wrong. Owning an Alfa Giulietta has opened my eyes on how good they are. I feel alive!!!!!

I own a manual, 260HP remapped QV in the same color as the reviewed car. It has the older style leather seats with red stitching, which gives the interior a massive boost. I love the car and it has been almost flawless for the 2 years I own it. The only thing I replaced was the thermostat, but that's an Alfa thing 😂 It is being maintained by a specialist here in the Netherlands who is very good. Last time when my car was there for maintenance, the garage owner gave me the keys of a Giulia Quadrifoglio and said have some fun. So yeah, my experience has been quite different!

I think the major regret of this reviewer is that the one he's driving didn't let him down at all, and he was unable to stand by the road, thumbing a lift, and muttering to the camera.... "..Look..., look... at that ****ing thing, what did I tell you ..?".

My dad was always a Ford man. Until, that is, when in 1979 Alfa ran a campaign to boost sales of the Alfasud. They gave interested potential customers one for the weekend. No mileage limit. You could drive it to France and back if you wished. Alfa knew that the Alfasud drove so well that few would want to give it back. It worked on my dad and he bought a 'Sud Ti. Then another. Then - as they had stopped making the 'Sud - a 33. My stepmother after they split up bought a 33. Then another. Her new husband bought a 33 Station Wagon. Then another. I bought two 'Suds myself (I really, really regret selling the second, a red 1.5Ti). Later, my son, having travelled many miles in my 'Sud Ti and his mother's 'Sud SC, bought a Brera (a gorgeous Prodrive Brera S), then a Guilietta (which he still owns). The bottom line: all these sales would possibly not have happened were it not for that Alfa campaign back in '79. The servicing was good back then too and I can not recall a single bad experience. Quite the opposite. Once when on holiday in Cornwall (in my Ti) the brake master cylinder failed and started leaking fluid. (Incidentally the one and only time any of my Alfas have broken down.) I stopped at the local dealership, It was a Sunday and the servicing department was closed but an off duty mechanic working on his own car fitted a new master cylinder on the spot for a tenner. That was when Alfa Romeo cared. Alfa could perhaps learn a lot from the past.

I have a Giulietta QV manual. I've done 130k kms all over Australia including a lot of kms on dirt roads in the bush and outback. It's been impeccably reliable, much more so than the Mk5 Golf TDI it replaced.

Had a Giulietta JTDM 175 TCT for 6 years, it’s never let me down apart from a few minor things that could happen on any car. Just be prepared to take it to a specialist and pay to maintain it properly

Owned a 2012 loaded Giulietta 1.4 Multiair 170 since new after having 3 A3’s (inc a 1.8t). I absolutely love the car, admittedly only covered 44k. It’s been super reliable & a joy to drive. Just the one issue being the LHS tailgate loom which is a known weakness but easily repaired with the available kit. The original battery was replaced last year maybe due to lack of use, but otherwise I can’t fault my owner experience 😍

So to be clear, the radio not working, a suspension issue due to maintenance (probably worn bushes) and a blocked washer jet and the Giulietta is “chronically unreliable”? It’s a shame you have to churn out the usual tripe that most motoring journalists dish out. Also there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the Giulia interiors - they’re superb (from an owner).

I had a 2lt 164 for 7 years and that never let me down. He was replaced by a 3lt 166 which I have had now for close on 19 years and apart from the odd suspension issues it has never let me down. Had the 3.2 Brera for a few years,nice car,engine not a patch on the Busso and ultimately too heavy but again it never let me down. Currently the 166 which remains as part of the family has been superceded by a 2lt Stelvio which like it's predecessors has been flawless and fun in the last 3 years. During this period my wife has had 2 159's,the last a 1.7tb much better than the first. Due to needing more space these have been replaced by petrol Discovery Sport. And if you think Alfa dealers are bad they can't match the arrogance and condescending attitude of Land Rover dealers.

I think this is a testament to how a few bad experiences can ruin a car (and a complete brand) for a person. He has mentioned the "chronic unreliability" of the Giulietta in multiple past videos and the comments have torn him apart over it consistently, including this one lol.

You're initial comments are absolutely spot on James. Did the German thing. Now the proud owner of an Alfa 147 GTA. Last of the Bussos 👌

I wish someone talked about BMW's unreliability like that as well. Alfa Romeo is more reliable and more fun to drive.

I had a Giulietta Quad - absolutely loved to drive it. It did have issues though, the DAB radio being one of them. The other more annoying issue was that if you dropped the rear windows, you could not close them again without turning the engine off and on again!! I've since replaced it with the Stelvio Quad, which is an even better driving experience (as you would imagine). 2 x Alfas for me in my driving career, I love the brand and the passion.

2 Guilettas in the last 5 years. I also own a 4c. Totally reliable around 50k in the first one and 20k currently on the 2nd one. Yes it has its querks but looks better than anything in its price range and you can feel the history..... not just a boring mundane drive (insert any car you wish here ) if you want a car to get to A to B...then it's not for you. If you want to enjoy your drive then this is for you. I'm glad that most people dont buy them.... I like to be different and use Alfaworks (decent specialist) and you're laughing

My first car was an alfa 164 and the trend continues. As a repair man, I have come to love alfas for their issues if any. Great cars to drive and when you do understand their design nature , they are just sweet and reliable. What I have noticed is people just out of hatred always brand alfas as bad cars without even getting to know one.

Another thing, by far the most unreliable cars I’ve owned have been GERMAN. The worst being BMW, both Alfas I’ve owned have been much more reliable.

I agree on the comments for 147!!! I still own a 147 as an everyday car & I have just exceeded the 300.000 km with no failures!

Washer fluid pump gone on a ten year old car so it is trash? Okay.

By the contrary, the Giulietta (and by a far less extent the Mito) was the saving grace that Alfa wasted in doing way too many restyles instead of offering a new generation of Giulietta. When it was launched it was markedly different from the Golf 6, the Leon, Mégane, Audi, etc. It has a design that still even to this day is different and fresh, even on the launch model. Reliability wise it was up to par with the Golfs, the petrol Multi Air engines required only one specific component to be looked after, and all the quality control issues were resolved on the first restyle, namely the boot cables and the indoor cards. It was well built, safe, practical, easy to drive, confortable, rather OK in running costs, not too bad to insure and handled quite well even on the basic trims, better on the Veloce. The interiors weren't consensual, and the cubby spaces weren't the best. But generally, there was nothing particularly wrong with them. Maybe because the Giulietta was more of a conventional car instead of the typical quirky Alfa, it didn't grab the attention of Alfa people. I've been a Toyota guy all my life, still own a 1998 corolla and I'm on my second giulietta. The 170 Multi Air was outright my most reliable car Ive ever owned. Maybe even if a bit boring at times. The Giulietta is comically underrated.

Had loads of Alfas in the past, 2 Alfasuds which rotted away before my eyes back in the 80s, Three 147s which were great apart from the one with the Selespeed semi auto, terrible gearbox and to be avoided. My 2.4 Brera was just awesome until the timing belt broke (my fault) but cleverly the rockers were designed to break and save the engine so it was a simple fix in the end. Yes they do have their flaws but it's about driving enjoyment and with punchy engines and a dynamic chassis they are all great to drive and I found them to be no more unreliable than any of my friends cars. Life is too short to drive boring cars.

I am on my second Giulia and have loved them both. As I did with my Alfetta sedan, GTV6, two Milanos (75), my S4 spider, and my 164. I remember comparing the 164 to the 5 series BMW and the 164 was just tons better. The first Giulia had the Lusso interior, the current one has the base. I find the build quality to be excellent and I prefer the base interior as more to my personal aesthetic. Five years after the Giulia was first introduced in the US, and the lines are still nicer than anything German or Japanese or Korean or British. And the performance of the steering and base 2 liter gas engine and the 8 speed ZF autotrans are all just as pleasing. And my heater and ac work flawlessly, in fact, I haven't had a single complaint in either Giulia. Could this be the result of some perverse liking I have for Alfa...perhaps because my Alfetta sedan gave me 7 years of day to day driving and 12 track days every year, and never missed a beat? Well, that might be true...but then it felt like your rant against Alfa had its own perverse bias somewhere in your past. And what was the point of the rant? Just to fill RU-vid channel time with content? Alfa has always struggled, for every year it has existed. And most of their dealers have always been awful. The German dealers, on the other hand, are always welcoming as they reach their hands in your pocket and charge obscene prices for everything from their options to their oil changes. Well, thanks for a chance to give a rant of my own.

I had a Giulietta for 2 years and bear in mind that in my relatively short driving history I've had an EP Civic, a mk1 Mazda 3, a mk2 and mk3 Focus and a mk1 Octavia vRS, its the only car I would absolutely buy again. This despite it costing around £9,000 to keep on the road over 2 years between me and the warranty company. To all intents and purposes it was a f*cking nightmare of a car for me with the dealership making it worse. I was quoted £3370 by Newcastle Alfa on Scotswood Road for a replacement clutch and flywheel for a 2.0 JTDm-2 diesel. If I was to write a list of what went wrong with it this would be a 300 page novel but it did once nearly kill me when a caliper failed approaching a roundabout from a dual carriageway. Despite everything though, I loved that car. It made me fully understand what Clarkson meant when he said something to the effect of "it'll break constantly and frustrate you but you'll get that one day where everything works and you're on a nice bit of road and it's all worth it". What other car out there could basically bankrupt me and still make me want to buy another one and I am absolutely not an Alfa fan boy, far from it, my Alfa dealer was about as helpful as catching a tropical disease, but there's something about them that a lot of people don't get until you own one for a while. That's my 2 cents anyway. TL;DR it's the worst car I've ever owned, it tried to kill me and bankrupt me. I love it.

I had a Giulietta 1750 QV Manual, 159 Ti 1750 Manual and a 159 2.2 JTS Selespeed. Overall they personally never let me down and they are stunning looking cars. However the aircon was very average on all of them, it simply couldn't handle our Australian summers. And the DRLs on the Giulietta died. I have heard a few horror stories from people who bought them new. Great cars to buy second hand once the heavy depreciation is done. I wouldn't recommend one to a person who is not an enthusiast. But honestly, I could say the same thing about used VWs, or any European car for that matter.

We use a 2010 cloverleaf as a daily… since 2016- great fun and no issues just normal wear and tear. Perhaps better to stick to your BMWs as Alfas aren’t for you, clearly.

I've had quite a few cars over the years - fun cars, fast cars, comfortable cars... my Alfa Giulietta (2.0L Diesel / 170bhp) is a cracking little all-rounder. In 80k miles, it hasn't once let me down. Honestly, I love it!

JayEmm....I should tell you some of my BMW horror stories.... M 3 Subframe Crack (not covered under warranty) M 5 Rod Bearing Failure (new engine please, not covered under warranty) Let's talk about TODAY'S ALFAS DAWG ! GIULA AND STELVIO BLOWING AWAY THE GERMANS !!! FORZA ALFA BABY !!! THE KING IS BACK !!!

can't listen to a guy talking about style, reliable and quality wearing a shirt like that. it's like taking financial advice from Boris Becker!

The spec you choose for this car changes them. Veloce models with the upgrades 18inch wheels and leather interior are beautiful

HNY James - Let’s have some happy reviews and positivity in 2022 !

I have a 2010 Giulietta 2.0. With the full fabric seats I agree the interior can look abit dated but I’ve got the Half leather seats with darkened interior and think it looks amazing! Probably feels cheap but can assure you it’s not as bad as you might think. Any parts I’ve removed have a nice weight to them and clip back into lovely. Much better than other brands were once removed, stuff never seems to fit quite right.

I bought my first alfa giulietta cloverleaf in 2014 (60 plate), and it’s fair to say I had a few problems (rear lights, clutch, starter motor, door handle). Still absolutely loved it and everyday it put a smile on my face. Enough to buy a QV LE in Matt grey 3 years ago. Best motoring decision I’ve ever made. Done 35k miles without a hitch. It’s like going out with the best looking girl in your year. And even better she’s low maintenance.

You’ve had my comments on the Giulietta before so you know my preference for the model. I bought my 150 bhp Multiair petrol Super new with a €5000 discount in November 2019, right at the end of the production run. I live in Brittany and my experience of the dealership is very good. They are Alfa, Fiat and Jeep so have no pretensions of being a specialist Alfa setup. I am 78 years old and have done 30,000 km and with regular annual servicing I can see no reason why I won’t be owning the car for at least 10 years before I buy an electric car (Kia ?) if I’m still fit enough to drive.

I agree the Giulietta is a pretty average car, but then again are any of it's rivals in low to mid range trim any better? My experiences in the motor trade having bought and sold quite a few is they are surprisingly reliable. The Mito on the other hand is bloody awful. Incidentally I would say we have more problems with VAG cars than any others we deal with.

I test drove a Giulietta from a main dealer and even though it was only a couple of years old, bits were broken or falling off. Needless to say, I didn't buy it. Instead, I purchased a second gen 1 series BMW. Drove brilliantly, but build quality over four years was TERRIBLE & DISGUSTING!!!!! The figures show it is LESS reliable than the Alfa. Yes Alfa dealers are awful but BMW dealers will have the last penny from your bank account. Everything they do is to get your money and is scarily close to criminal.

Having had a few Alfas over the years I can honestly say the 164 and 155 were the last of the true Alfas (imo). I couldn't afford the Gulia this time round so bought a Peugeot 3008 (which is just brilliant). I have alway accepted little querks with the Italian stuff and they ha'e never failed to get me home, they are soulful cars and you have to be passionate about them or forget it because you'll never understand and just be angry all the time. Much the same with many French cars, just more dealers about and loads to choose from, just iffy in areas with alot of Friday afternoon cars in fact Mondays and Thursdays aren't too good either. Off topic I'm really surprised you haven't reviewed a Peugeot 3008 or in fact the 308, 308gti..

Dad had 3 Alfa Sud’s , the 33 cloverleaf and then he switched to Renault. I asked him why he had so many Alfa’s : ‘they were so cheap and fast’. Dad’s 81 and still driving his Renault Clio. He left Alfa when our local Alfa Romeo mechanic passed away. Otherwise fantastic cars.

I am an Alfa tragic ever since my late fathers Villa d'Este in the 1950's and I always owned Alfas ever since starting with my Giulietta Sprint in about 1958. I have gone through all the ups and downs of the Marque ever since, the brilliant 105 Series, the rusting Alfettas and so on. In 2017 I bought my present Giulietta Veloce, which believe it or not has never let me down. The 1.7 engine is brilliant and reliable, no door handles have broken so far and all the rear lights keep on working so I am very happy with my little pocket rocket and it will probably outlast me at 76

My last car was an Alfa 145 Quadrifoglio . I eventually had to scrap it because I couldn't get bits for it any more . I'd been so impressed with it I replaced it with a Mito 1.4. turbo . It's brilliant . Fast enough , good enough fuel consumptiom , reliable as the day is long . Also my local Alfa dealer is outstanding . So , JayEmm , no , I don't agree

In October 2021 I collected my beautiful new Giulia Veloce from Alfa Romeo main dealers in Slough. James Appleyard, my salesman, was just brilliant. As were the whole staff I dealt with at that particular dealership, to be fair. I was spending my own money and was looking at a number of different cars, new and used, but the Guilia turned my head and James made the whole process enjoyable and easy. Just one person’s experience, I know, but a genuine one. Thanks for the videos James, always great to watch.

I own a 2013 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sportiva QV, same colour as the one you were driving. I bought it from a specialist at the end of 2021 in Germany, the car had 90.000km on the clock, it now has 120.000km. My first car. It cost me 6.000€ to buy including a one year waranty on any drive train faults from wear or user error including user maintenance. At that time 2.000€ more would've gotten me a 2015 VW Golf base model with a 5 Speed manual transmission with 280.000km. A friend of mine bought an Opel Corsa four seater that same year, cost 7.000€, doesn't even have a sixth gear, the interior plastics are slightly warping and creaking, really cheap, hard Opel cloth seats, no room in the back and little trunk space. It had 80.000km on the clock. It's about as fun to drive as a block of cheese. All faults since I bought it: -One headlamp washer went out, just wouldn't retract anymore. Cost: 70€,did the job myself -Rear hatch wiring is starting to frail, known error on a lot of hatchbacks after 10 years, 100€ in parts and 2h of your time if you do it slowly. -My German made Continental Radio sometimes doesn't like low volume levels when it's freezing out, most likely old soldering joints, fixable by turning it up, disappears after 30s. Was the interior up to snuff when it was new considering the unbelievable price tag? No. No it wasn't. Is it still a way better place to be than a BMW 1 series, Golf or especially Vauxhall from that time? Absolutely. I am a bit disappointed with Alfa for this, I disagree with Jay's opinion when it comes to the Giulias interior, I love it,except for the gear lever surround in the center console. Why. But: When I compare it to similarly priced cars that were on sale at that time and especially now that the Alfa has come down soo much in value, there's not a ton of better options on the used market. When it comes to reliability surveys: Considering price and age, my car has been extremely reliable and never left me anywhere or had to stay at the garage for any length of time, but I digress, that might be the exception. Yet somehow in these surveys, BMW, Audi and, most perplexingly, Mercedes Benz usually come out quite favourably. Brands that haven't made pretty much anything reliable after the 100.000km mark since 1992. They just coast on their reputation from the 1960s through 80s. It seems to me that especially when it comes to German automotive journalists, there's a SEVERE doubpe standard. Thirty years ago this was unbelievably blatant: The ZDFs Car review calling identical test results admirable for an "Audi 100", the identical results of the cheaper Toyota Supra mk3 "Troubling, borderline dangerous". Alfa do more than enough things wrong, but the things they DO get exactly right, pretty much no one else can. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience Jay and I agree with almost everything you say, but somehow, in the end, I step on that throttle, and all of that just.. Vanishes into thin air...

Can't agree more..... If your name is above the door, you are responsible!! Has to be said....!! Dealers are the point of the brand that people have contact with.

the Giulietta was the beginning of a rebirth, it's a beautiful and fun car and a great improvement from the previous 147, 159 and MiTo. plus the Giulietta Is incredibly realiable, there are models on sale in good shape with more than 300k km

I LOVED my pre-facelift 147 Selespeed. It had such a beautiful and high-quality interior. Gorgeous on the outside also, and fun to drive once you'd mastered the weird clutchless gearbox.

I have an Alfa GT, 2010. I absolutely adore this car and it's style and design. My Wife drives Tesla 3, but I rather drive in my Alfa with it's unique design than the Teslas or any other cars actually. The only cars I could think of or be tempted to replace my GT with would only be Alfa 4C, Lotus and Alpine.

I bought a 2015 Giulietta QV in a manual this year second hand and I've been loving it! Fingers crossed I don't get the issues you mentioned hahaha

My dad worked in the motor trade for more than 40 years and the brand he complained about repairing the most was Alfa Romeo, closely followed by Citroen, Fiat and Peugeot. I’ve been tempted by Alfa’s in the past, based purely on looks; the GT, 159, and 164 3.0 24v as a teen, but dreaded the reliability, so got attached to Mazdas as they have similarly attractive styling and driving fun, but with added reliability and great after sales service from their dealers. Actually James, you need more Mazdas on your videos; how about an FD RX-7 or Mazda 6MPS… loving your work 👍🏾

My ten cents on the mito and guillietta as a classic Alfa owner . .my MiTo cloverleaf was ok . interior was decentish and I ended up in the back of a police car for speeding..it never went wrong on the 12 months I had it. .... Guiletta . Toured Italy in a diesel, I thought it was really good , very Italian and 55mpg . Everything worked on the 1500 miles I did .

I had the Guilietta QV it was a nice car and very competent. It had full leather interior which made it feel very special. Never had any problems with it although I took it to an Alfa specialist rather than a dealer. Only thing I didn’t like about it was the ludicrous torque steer on full throttle where I almost ran off the road overtaking another car. Otherwise I was reasonably happy with the car. Give it an 8/10

I’ve had very good experiences with the Mito and Giulietta. My first car was a 2010 Mito, turismo sport trim, which was a couple of levels up from standard so it had alloy wheels, cruise control & the DNA system. The engine was the 1.4 NA with around 100bhp, which obviously isn’t rapid but when most of your friends had 1.0 or 1.2’s with around 70bhp it felt pretty nippy at the time. I was fairly lucky reliability wise, the only things that failed were both window regulators, which apparently are normally only £20 but because the Mito had frameless windows it was £90 for the part plus labour plus VAT, so fairly pricy for a simple thing, but nothing that ever stopped you driving. I replaced the Mito after 3 years with a Giulietta, sportiva trim with the red leather interior. Not to everyone’s taste I know but it made the car feel a lot more special inside. It had the 1.6 diesel 105bhp engine to which I fitted a racechip tune that took power up to around 135bhp, I felt it really improved performance. One of the best things about Giulietta at that time was the depreciation, I got the car at 4 years old with 48k miles for £8000, down from £23k. At the same time my mate bought a golf that was a year older with double the miles and less spec for the same money, so I found the Giulietta great value second hand. The only issue I had with the car in 4 years was the wiring looms in the tailgate, which my auto spark was able to fix wire by wire as they broke for about £10 a touch, I found it better for me than spending a lot all at once getting entirely new looms in. I now have a Kia Proceed 2019, but have since bought back my Mito after seeing it online!

Meh, we've had 3 Alfas (147/mito/giulietta) all bought on over 100k miles and all have been faultless. Far more reliable than the German stuff I used to get anyway.

I’ve had 2 Alfa’s so far, I sold my GT blackline recently and I’ve still got my 75 (number 27 reviewed it). Surprising everything works apart from the fuel gauge on the 75 and with my GT I had no issues with it apart from changing my rear shock absorbers (known weak point even though that hasn’t been changed before my ownership) had it for 2 years and covered 13k miles. Well worth owning one if you haven’t, very comfy and good to drive.

Own a 2015 Manual Alfa Giulietta QV. Absolutely no problems with build quality and reliability. And relatively quick when it wants to be. Disappointing Alfa gets these sort of wraps.

Bullshit im a big fan of your youtube channel. But the Giulietta is a great car yes it is a FWD C-Segment. But Alfa Romeo still makes really special cars BMW is now a front wheeldrive KIA the Giulietta is a great design stil after 10 years and the 1.4 Turbo is one of the best 4 cilinder turbo engines you can het up to around 300 BHP and they dont go bang!

Sorry James, I couldn’t spend any more time on your obsession with the Giulietta’s interior. Was it something in your childhood? I recently sold a QV I had for ten years and absolutely loved the car, including the interior. I’m currently on a 2,500km road trip in my Stelvio Veloce and it is brilliant. If you don’t like Alfas don’t torture yourself driving one. They don’t look to be your fit. Oh, the only thing that went wrong with my Giulietta was a pin in the hinge for the petrol cap. Otherwise noting. Maybe I’m just lucky. Tell your mum you do have to look after them. Service etc.

I’ve got a mito and have been driver for over a year with not a single reliability issue. My friends mock Alfa Romeo and their reliability, but I’ve not had a single issue compared to them and their Japanese and German cars !

Amazing how most people who complain about Alfas have never owning. My 2016 Giulietta has never missed a beat and stills looks beautiful against other cars in its class.

Fantastic video. Keep up the good work.

The Lusso isn't the lowest spec model that would be the Turismo which doesn't have front fogs, proper AC or radio controls on the steering wheel. I own a Giulietta and would have it over any of the mainstream rubbish any day. Have a 2018 Polo and Golf in the household and both are boring as hell to drive.

I’ve got an 2011 120TB and it really is perfect! Comming from a One year old mini one as a car nr. three i must say the Giulietta is much better. Espcially as the mini one had terminal engine brakedown within a year🙈😱🤯 Had a BMW 225 xe as a loaner for three months while the Mini was repaired under warranty. It was utter crap! Did not work as intended at any time! So for me the Giulietta Wins all!

You're really complaining about a £15 washer pump? That's miniscule for a used car

I have a 2007 159 jtdm, I've been out 3 times this year to recover three friends who'd broken down, 2 BMW and one Mercedes.

My first car was a 145 Cloverleaf, it was my daily for 4 years, I then switched to a 2013 Giulietta QV (the 135hp, manual one) . It's now been a year and a half since I bought it and had no real problems with it. Only thing I did was the usual oil/filter change, battery replacement (it had the original) and cambelt service for peace of mind. For the time I think the 1750 TBi engine was very competent, and still is with 240hp and tunable to 260-280. I do agree with some of the things mentioned Jay. I think the interior design is brilliant way better looking than the equivalent Mk.6 Golf, Focus or even A3 and BM 1series of the time. Design also works to integrate/disguise some of the Fiat parts bin switches. The QV spec adds a brushed metal panel which along with different seats which lift the interior quality. On the whole, I think most things you touch are mostly acceptable. But it's not up to scratch with Germans overall material quality. I had a look at a newer Veloce model, and the interior facelift it had in 2014 and 2016 integrating a screen were quite unsuccessful as it felt more cheap with a screen tacked onto the dash and the toggle switches replaced by normal buttons. I 100% agree with the dealer rant. The sole Alfa distributor here in Argentina is absolutely terrible. Despite being an Alfa fan, I must admit I see the Giulietta as a cool alternative to a Golf or other C-hatch. It drives and looks great, but compared to the 145 (which I still have) it lacks a bit of passion and spark. But I guess that's just the Giulietta being 18 years newer. Watching this video felt like unnecessary beef for the poor Giulietta, specially when driving the base model. Would love to see a proper review of a, preferably manual, QV focusing on it as "a driver's car". Hope Alfa brings a more upmarket replacement, in line with modern 1 Series, A3 and A class. But apparently the only thing in store is the Tonale SUV to replace the Giulietta.

Happy New Year , Mate, shout out from outside Philly!!

Alfa’s one of those brands all petrolheads want to love. I bought a new Alfa GT back in 2006. I had it for 2 and half years. It was in the garage on average every month for something or another. Not always big things, but nonetheless inconvenient. The worst mechanically was it used to eat front suspension bushes and the car would then start rattling/knocking. The problem is the bush comes as one part together with the wishbone, so the whole lot has to be replaced. I had it done three times on the driver’s side and twice on the nearside in 30,000 miles. The driver’s one was replaced shortly after it had already been replaced at one point. The garage commented: “We often replace parts two or three times soon after one another”. So that’s poor quality and/or poor quality control then? The garage got oil on the seats every time it was in too as an added bonus. It was such a shame, as the car inside and out was gorgeous (I had the tan/black leather interior, Radicofani Rosso exterior paint and the five hole telephone dial wheels that are classic Alfa). The major mechanics were fine too, no engine issues, the manual gearbox was a joy, so mechanical feeling, but the car was just a pain, literally in the case of the overly narrow seat bases. So frustrating. So nearly great. What replaced it? An E92 BMW 325i, which I had for over 3 years and only 1 failure; a bulb on the daytime running light. The Alfa is still on the road by the way, about 120,000 miles up or so, but it’s MOT history tells it’s own story.

Ive owned seven Alfas from the GTVS to 156's to Brera,s and they have been the best cars i've owned and been more reliable than the three Bmws i've had .In fact I had the Gtv for 11 years and all that had was an alternator and window regulator .

Happy new year Jay. I agree with you 100%. I have couple of word to say about Alfa situation. I own 156 for 10 years now. I've done 300 000 km in it. I love brand, and i met a lot of Alfisti over the years that are my friends now. Really honest car loving people. Some of them became mechanics because of bad main dealer-service. Dealers can't figure out the problem so you try it yourself. They figure out a lot of problems with a lot of Alfas. With 156, 159 and now Giulietta. Giulietta is the cheapest Alfa you can own now (except for Mito witch is Opel Corsa btw). Car is simple, parts are cheap and easy to replace. No major problems with rust either. But as i am in love with the brand for me Giulietta is not Alfa. It should just be Fiat. It have terrible interior. Mix parts with 156,147, 500l etc... Its so bad that i hate it. And that's the problem. I think Alfa should bring Alfisti to work for them, trust me they will work with love.

My first and last Alfa, upgrading from a Focus and a Baleno before that it was actually really nice. Circa 2010 when I was a student in the UK

Love my G this person talks out of the top of his head,never had a problem save a puncture and an essential timing belt water pump change

Happy New Year James ! Great video , Ever Alfa owner I've ever known says the exact same thing , great car but every time you get the dashboard lit up like a Xmas tree

Well, regarding the Giulietta, I had the complete opposite experience - had a well equipped 1750TBI. Lets start with the real downside of the Giulietta (940) platform: It does NOT handle particularly well, especially for a sporty hatch. The Giulietta only has McPherson struts, the predecessor 147 had a double whishbone layout up front. It also really lacks a (mechanical) locking differential - the 147 at least had the optional Q2. You can't even retrofit a locking diff, unlike in the 147, because there is nothing available for the C635 transmission in the Giulietta. So it struggles with traction, and cornering leaves room for improvement... At high speeds (140-155mp/h - 230-250km/h) it also felt uncomfortably light around the rear axle. (Our 1750 even had lowering springs but without any effect on driving dynamics.) On the interior thing: since it was a 1750TBi Maserati Dealers Edition (unused, from a Maserati Dealership in Spain) the interior was as nice as it could be for any early 2010s compact car. Although the steering wheel indeed could have been a bit nicer. However, since these 100 or so Maserati-Editions were all built with the same specifications, there were some "odd" peculiarities: So it had massive, heated and electrically adjustable, fancy leather seats, HID/Xenon lamps and the rare (chunky) satnav - but it lacked cruise control and PDC. On basically the top of the line trim model! Reliability issues (over the course of ~5 years and 30k km)? - Cracked cable in the hinge of the hatch, so the left inner taillight stopped working. Well known fault, soldered it myself. Cost: 2h of freetime on a saturday. - AC was leaking, got a refill. Cost: 100 bucks I know, the car was hardly used, but that's all there was in 5 years of ownership, as a 3rd car. So in terms of looks and usability the Giulietta was pretty nice - it just didn't drive like an Alfa is supposed to. But with the RWD Giulia (952) Alfa Romeo has finally found its way back. Especially the Q is just epic! (Hardly a surprise when you consider who designed this thing from the ground up.)

Hi a really interesting presentation. Just out of curiosity, how did you get on with the driving position? Specifically the complete lack of anywhere to rest your left foot. Not only that but having tried one all three pedals seem to be at different heights and the seat upholstery on the first examples is terribly hard and uncomfortable

Happy New Year James. I had lots of Alfas and a couple of 147 that i liked. The Giullietta is a Fiat Bravo with a different suspension and other differences and even though i don't think that is bad but i want it more, sad is i know some people that have Fiat Bravos ans they had been work horses, so it goes behind me how Alfa managed to make a car less reliable by changing the badge. I still think the 147 was a better car. By the way i was lucky of having the Alfas in Portugal where the brand dealer i used was nice and make you feel a bit more special.

I own a 2016 Giulietta 1.4 MA 170 Sprint since august ‘19. Problems? None!

RU-vid guy: This car is unreliable Me at my QV with 124247 milage and 0 issues: Shure

Have a Giulietta 1.4 petrol 120 HP with factory built LPG. Fantastic fuel economy, brilliant driving experience. A few minor issues promptly dealth with by our local AR dealer here in Verona Italy. This car is hugely popular here and with reason. 110.000 km on the clock, no strange nose, runs just fine.

I’ve had a few Alfas in the past and have a GTV V6 in the garage currently. The new models leave me quite cold, the last new Alfa I had was a Mito and after 18 months decided that it wasn’t for me, mainly because it felt quite cheap even though it was one of the higher spec vehicles. The dealer experience that you talk about is absolutely bang on, I ended up buying my Mito from a dealer 250 miles away, my local dealer was absolutely appalling, and the dealer I bought from dropped the Alfa Romeo brand about six months after I bought the car as they really struggled to deal with the company, The salesman told me that they were impossible to get reliable information from. On the basis of that you can see why the dealers are so shoddy.

I had a 2.0 jtdm 170 as a daily driver, quite liked it too - lasted 3 months until the gearbox destroyed itself, taking the clutch and flywheel out with it. Back to using the S2000 as a sole car now!

Started driving a year ago in my Dads 2013 Alfa Romeo Giulietta 1.6 diesel, has over 120000 miles never given a days bother. Its nice to drive and something different compared to a focus or a golf. Great cars in my opinion.

I had a 2.2 Brera S. I loved it. But it was no more than a few months away from a £500+ bill. And this was a relatively low mileage, owners club cared for car. And the dealer I used for one problem was also typical Alfa. There was a severe knocking under acceleration. The RAC said it was a worn bush on the wishbone. I took it in to the dealer saying it had a knock and that I’d been told it was the wishbone bush. They replaced the whole wishbone. On collection it still juddered. I went back, complained and they said I had o my asked for the wishbone to be replaced, not for the know to be sorted. They even kept the wishbone as if they were expecting my complaint. A test drive with a mechanic highlighted it was the cv joint that has failed. I never went back to the main dealer and found a great local(ish) specialist. I ran it for a bit longer before selling it. The last straw was knowing a big bill was not far off, and a faulty battery connection making the car immovable and costing £300 to sort out after investigation. Great car, appalling dealers. The trick is to have a big rainy day fund and a good trusted specialist.

i had a guiletta, i loved it. Yes , there were reliabilty issues (mine was a 2010) but i loved it. My abarth now is fun. But i still miss my alfa

Hey For some reason RU-vid unsubscribed you from myself! Re subscribed Keep it up

My dad had a Giulietta as a rental for a business trip. On his way on the Autobahn one of the wing mirrors decided it wanted to be free :D

Having escaped London at the age of 28 I purchased a Giulietta QV as my first car and I got to say I love it! The power delivery is amazing and I have a lot of fun with it on the West Sussex country lanes. It has been the perfect first car.

I whole heartly agree with you. Been looking for a used Giulietta for months, and all I've seen's got problems, again some could say those are maintainese issues, but I've not seen other cars of the same age/mileage having such a level of problems/overall interior wear (and issues like door handles and wiring loom are just stupid - you can say they're small problems, and car's mechanically reliable, but I also agree that these 'small' problems aren't any less annoying). In addition, the whole RHD conversion they did means the AC panel knocks on my knees and nowhere to rest my left foot. Then last week decided to look into Abarth 595 (which I know you're not a fan of) as they're very cheap to buy used with low miles. Booked a test drive, then got called directly by Abarth UK in Slough, who were very friendly and scheduled it for me - the good bit stopped there. Their dealer confirmed the dates later on, then I went today and gave them a call as I was running a bit late, only to find out they don't actually have any Abarth at all! So same experience with your friends, and I agree that's the responsibility of the brand, as the same crappy company runs other franchises, but none to this level of incompetence that prevents you from even buying it first... I feel that's just how Fiat and its subsidiaries (can't comment on Stellantis yet) do things, not just Alfa Romeo (as I know their owners are very proud of their cars - good to know they've never got problems, but it doesn't mean those problems don't exist), clocks are ticking for them if they don't change... Thanks, your video is just what I needed after my Sunday wasted by the Abarth dealer! PS: I’ve wrote an email to complain to Abarth, and the non-automated reply asked for my VIN number and mileage… what else could I say? Rot in Hell?

I own a 2011 1.4 Multi Air Giulietta with 177 000km on, no issues at all, as long as its serviced when it should, very fun car to drive 👌🏼

Having just watched the video, I completely agree with the dealership issue!! My god. I've had some rants down the phone to them. That said, I have noticed a marked improvement over the last 2 years. My last experience was very good - Mangoletsi. The lack of main dealer network coverage nationwide is still a key problem though....

Your work is one of if not the best 👍

such a shame... I've owned the 156 and 159 and I really don't see myself buying any of the newer models. I think I would go for a jag instead.

It's a little bit unfair for Alfa Romeo. I have actually a Giulietta Veloce (and before many other Alfa Romeos such as a MiTo Quadrifoglio, 156 2.5 V6, etc...), and I can say they are reliable. If you compare the Giulietta with the VW Golf, I am not sure that a Volkswagen will be more reliable (I have own several Volkswagen Golf GTI). The design of the Giulietta is timeless, and the driving experience is good.

I’m only 2 months into ownership of my first Alfa (Stelvio 280 Veloce) so probably shouldn’t speak too soon, but so far my experience has been pretty positive. The dealer seemed very good, not particularly better than any other manufacturer I’ve bought new cars from, but certainly no worse. I’ve had no less than 4 follow up calls from Alfa and the dealer to check I’m still satisfied with the car (including a call from Alfa in Italy, which was a surprise). In terms of driving dynamics, for an SUV it’s brilliant, having come from a 2017 Audi S3 I find this car more interesting to drive. I guess only time will tell how reliable it will be. Did struggle to get a test drive of one though! Alfa seemed to have very few available to loan out and the one I did get to test was a previous model year one.

Loved my 147 too. Despite the weird radio and rear window wiper being apparently possessed the handling was amazing

Happy new year James. I completely agree with the feeling that Alfa Romeo gave up long long ago. I'ts a brand I've loved for my whole life, since I was taken by a friend of my dad, for even less than one Km, in a Giulia 1300 saloon, being only 7 or 8 years old, and was FASCINATED with its sound, its eagerness to gain speed and revs, and for how low were the seats placed. But one year ago now I got rid of a beautiful GTV 2.0 TB V6 which I had for too many years sleeping in the garage, having never enjoyed it as much as its predecessor, a Delta HF ie Turbo 140 hp. Since the very beginning It suffered brake issues, and I suspect the reason was that a V6 Turbo was too much front weight for the rigidity of the wheel carrier of a Fiat Tipo, which I think was the original equipment; huge vibrations were always present with not that strong braking, no matter what brake pads you fitted or even after a change of discs (I think the problem was solved only after the late V6-24V versions). Shame. What I don't understand though is the lack of success of the Giorgio platform (Giulia&Stelvio). I'm sad for it, I don't think the new french owners are going to be indulgent with the brand. Sad sad end.

I've had Alfas for 40 years from the Sud, Spider, 33qv, 147, GTV, Brera, 4c and Mito qv. They are special cars, they have the soul of a country in them. I've never had any mechanical issues with any of them. The 4c is quite simply brilliant.

To be fair, my sister's and my brother's BMWs have been terribly unreliable, and the dealers just didn't want to know, either.

Just sold a 155bhp Mito. Can say I quite enjoyed it, looked smart, went well and it certainly felt more upmarket than the MK7 fiesta I had before that. Sadly it had the dreaded M32 gearbox, and it’s whining characteristics, it rattled like nothing else I’ve owned and for a 1.4 turbo it was quite thirsty. It was a 58 plate and it had rusty front arches and needed the subframe replacing due to it resembling something from the titanic 🤣

I have the 175 TCT QV in Silverstone silver, love it and it is a hoot to drive in dynamic mode, and I’ve had loads of iconic cars, but Alfa just has the edge for me 🎉

The cars themselves are good and far more reliable than many marques. When was the last time you saw an Alfa broken down at the side of the road? The Mito and the Giulietta are the most numerous on the road and are pretty bomb proof if you keep up the servicing. Interiors also are OK-ish. The dealerships in recent years have been dreadful, mainly due to Alfa no longer supporting them as they used to. Many dropped the franchise or closed altogether. I agree, I can't see Alfa surviving much longer.

Thing with you is that you talk with the air of an expert (pseudo first Top Gear Clarkson random emphasising of sentence endings) and yet make sweeping statements without substantiating them. Looking back at road tests from respected magazines, I cannot find an opinion that this was the beginning of the end for Alfa. Thing is with yt any old herbert can set up and purport to be an “expert” .No this is not an Alfa 75 V6 with a gloriously wailing engine. However we will never really see the likes of that again with emissions and noise legislstion and push towards electrification. I don’t own one of these but have driven one on a long drive: was the 170 1.4 Multiair engine with the hydraulic valve actuation. The engine didn’t sound great but pulled harder than any 1.4 had a right to and the handling was good too: direct steering, responsive and little roll. It’s far better than the 147 and 149 (barring the 2.0 twin spark and 3.2 of former). They gave up like most car companies years ago when accountants took over from engineers: cost saving modular floorpans and engines etc. If you want to see a firm that has lost its way look at Mercedes: over inflated range, weird styling, reliability issues, the overengineering a long distant memory) Go read Car Guys v Bean Counters by ex Chrysler head Bob Lutz.