[Germanauto]

Well I finally got around to driving the Giulia today. Overall very unimpressed.

Positives: styling, chassis/fast steering rack. No modern EPS steering will match the weight/tightness/feedback of our beloved E90s and E46s, but this car's steering was extremely quick.

Negatives: everything else. Even with extended leather pkg the interior is lackluster. Once you start touching and pushing on things the true lack of quality shows. Stuff shakes, wobbles, and makes cheap noises. Even a 2006 BMW 325i has a nicer cabin. The infotainment system is as sad as it gets. Then you have the dealership experience...every Alfa/Maserati dealer feels like an old Chrylser showroom that's been dressed up.

Overall this car is a very difficult purchase to justify and sales reflect that. Once you are used to the quality and attention to detail of a German automobile it's hard to settle for this level of mediocrity. It's sad because BMW used to straddle that sport-luxury line so well but has drifted so far off to the latter.

If the G20 had steering closer to that of the Giulia I'd be sold. Instead, I'm thinking of just holding onto my current DD for an extra year and saving up to get directly into an M2 or Boxster. None of these modern luxury sport sedans really cut it!