Test drove a Giulia

Entropy89 · 05-20-2022, 10:09 AM

I cross shopped a Giulia Veloce before I decided on the G20. The Giulia drove fantastically, beyond what I was expecting and made me almost regret my F30 (almost). The engine, while powerful, felt a little sluggish, especially in "normal" mode. The interior was nice but I didnt particularly like the infotainment screen. The brake by wire system also wasn't great in my opinion. Oh and the backup camera was beyond terrible (small detail I know, but for an MSRP of $56,000 I expected a decent camera).

Then I drove a G20 330i xdrive and it felt very different when compared to the F30, in a good way. The dealer happened to have an M340i xdrive available to test drive and after about 3 minutes of driving I convinced myself that the M340i was the right one for me.

The Giulia is a gorgeous car and handles fantastically but it doesn't quite compare to a G20 (either of them) in other regards. I will say the dealership experience at Alfa Romeo was much better than the experience I had at BMW.

Emily172013 · 05-20-2022, 01:40 PM

In defense of the Giulia I have a friend that is on his third one year lease of Giulia's. He puts over 30k a year on each of them and he said the only issue he's ever had with one is a headlight replacement.
He just bought his second Quadrifoglio, keeping the first one. No problems at all. Yes, he has three of them now.
I have driven them all and while my M340i is a better overall car (well, maybe a toss up with the Quadrifoglio... it is more fun), Alfa's are great cars and don't deserve all the bad press parrotted about them.

Timurhan · 06-07-2022, 02:20 PM

I had a Giulia Veloce (278 bhp) for over two years. A great, fast car. It slightly betters 330i. However, it is true that there is a rather uncomfortable delay in turbo coming alive. This often briefly worried me at roundabouts and junctions when the delay felt like ages...

elambo · 06-08-2022, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timurhan

I had a Giulia Veloce (278 bhp) for over two years. A great, fast car. It slightly betters 330i. However, it is true that there is a rather uncomfortable delay in turbo coming alive. This often briefly worried me at roundabouts and junctions when the delay felt like ages...

Was it the turbo lag, or the accelerator pedal lag? It's well-known that the Giulias had slow acceleration mapping to the extent that it was practically mandatory to install a 3rd party controller with a more aggressive curve. The instant I did so, the car was transformed. Acceleration was instant and tracked wonderfully with the gas pedal. No more quarter second delay.

vedant · 04-22-2024, 01:11 AM

Sorry for resurrecting this but thought I’d share…

Drove my friend’s 19(?) giulia ti sport (the one with column-mounted flappy paddles) today and it was quite nice. But I definitely prefer my 330i to it, which is equipped with the adaptive dampers, e-diff, and michelin pilot sport 4s summer tires from the rather uncommon dynamic handling package. People say the steering feel is amazing on the giulia but I feel the 330i in sport mode with the variable sports steering felt just as good if not better. However I also didn’t really notice the complaint that many had with a weird torque curve or spongey brakes - the car felt fine to me.

The one thing I did appreciate in the AR was the aggressiveness in shifts in dynamic mode, something our cars are more subtle in. In sport mode I would like that aggression.

In my opinion if you’re not considering the m sport car, the giulia is better. And it’s a WAY better buy certified used than it is new. But m sport especially with the LCI upgrades has the edge over the giulia. And if you are getting the giulia, be sure you have a local dealership that’s doing all right or at least well-partnered with some other stellantis brand. My local AR-maserati dealer closed down for good.

05-20-2022, 10:09 AM	#67
Entropy89 Private First Class 198 Rep 116 Posts Drives: G20 M340ix Join Date: Nov 2019 Location: NYC iTrader: (0) Garage List 2022 BMW M340i xDrive [0.00]	I cross shopped a Giulia Veloce before I decided on the G20. The Giulia drove fantastically, beyond what I was expecting and made me almost regret my F30 (almost). The engine, while powerful, felt a little sluggish, especially in "normal" mode. The interior was nice but I didnt particularly like the infotainment screen. The brake by wire system also wasn't great in my opinion. Oh and the backup camera was beyond terrible (small detail I know, but for an MSRP of $56,000 I expected a decent camera). Then I drove a G20 330i xdrive and it felt very different when compared to the F30, in a good way. The dealer happened to have an M340i xdrive available to test drive and after about 3 minutes of driving I convinced myself that the M340i was the right one for me. The Giulia is a gorgeous car and handles fantastically but it doesn't quite compare to a G20 (either of them) in other regards. I will say the dealership experience at Alfa Romeo was much better than the experience I had at BMW. __________________ 2022 G20 M340ix - Current. 2018 F30 330ix - no more. 2005 E46 325xi - I want this car back.
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05-20-2022, 01:40 PM	#68
Emily172013 Private First Class 62 Rep 106 Posts Drives: BMW M340i BMW 330ci Join Date: Dec 2020 Location: St. Louis iTrader: (0)	In defense of the Giulia I have a friend that is on his third one year lease of Giulia's. He puts over 30k a year on each of them and he said the only issue he's ever had with one is a headlight replacement. He just bought his second Quadrifoglio, keeping the first one. No problems at all. Yes, he has three of them now. I have driven them all and while my M340i is a better overall car (well, maybe a toss up with the Quadrifoglio... it is more fun), Alfa's are great cars and don't deserve all the bad press parrotted about them.
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06-07-2022, 02:20 PM	#69
Timurhan New Member 21 Rep 23 Posts Drives: BMW MSport 320i (G20) Join Date: May 2022 Location: Lancashire iTrader: (0)	I had a Giulia Veloce (278 bhp) for over two years. A great, fast car. It slightly betters 330i. However, it is true that there is a rather uncomfortable delay in turbo coming alive. This often briefly worried me at roundabouts and junctions when the delay felt like ages...
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04-22-2024, 01:11 AM	#71
vedant Private 32 Rep 83 Posts Drives: '22 BMW 330i M-Sport Join Date: Mar 2021 Location: NorCal iTrader: (0)	Sorry for resurrecting this but thought I’d share… Drove my friend’s 19(?) giulia ti sport (the one with column-mounted flappy paddles) today and it was quite nice. But I definitely prefer my 330i to it, which is equipped with the adaptive dampers, e-diff, and michelin pilot sport 4s summer tires from the rather uncommon dynamic handling package. People say the steering feel is amazing on the giulia but I feel the 330i in sport mode with the variable sports steering felt just as good if not better. However I also didn’t really notice the complaint that many had with a weird torque curve or spongey brakes - the car felt fine to me. The one thing I did appreciate in the AR was the aggressiveness in shifts in dynamic mode, something our cars are more subtle in. In sport mode I would like that aggression. In my opinion if you’re not considering the m sport car, the giulia is better. And it’s a WAY better buy certified used than it is new. But m sport especially with the LCI upgrades has the edge over the giulia. And if you are getting the giulia, be sure you have a local dealership that’s doing all right or at least well-partnered with some other stellantis brand. My local AR-maserati dealer closed down for good.
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