Alfa Romeo’s stylish Giulietta hatchback now ticks the ‘value’ box with the expanded range starting at $25,000 ‘Driveaway’.
The repositioned Giulietta is the second play of Fiat-Chrysler Australia which assumed local distribution of the Fiat and Alfa Romeo brands earlier this year. With most Volkswagen Golf models selling in the range of +$30,000, the revised Giulietta lineup finally puts Alfa Romeo right at the sharp end of the field for European hatchbacks.
And of course, like every Alfa Romeo, the Giulietta comes with that unmistakable Italian style inside and out.
“Earlier this year we outlined a new pricing structure for the Fiat and Alfa Romeo brands to make these iconic Italian vehicles more affordable and more accessible to the Australian market,” revealed Fiat-Chrysler Australia chief Veronica Johns. “The introduction of an expanded Giulietta range is the next step in our repositioning program for Alfa Romeo and we’re confident the significant improvements we’ve made to the value equation for this vehicle line will attract the attention of new car buyers.”
Two new model grades – ‘Giulietta’ and ‘Giulietta Progression’ - add to the existing ‘Distinctive’ and ‘QV’ variants to give the handsome Italian hatchback a four-tier lineup.
All engines (petrol and diesel) are turbocharged, with the new entry-level Alfa Romeo ‘Giulietta’ employing a new 88kW/206Nm version of Alfa’s 1.4-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine driving the front wheels via a six-speed manual transmission.
Stepping-up, the Giulietta Progression scores the MultiAir version of the turbocharged 1.4-litre petrol engine (125kW/250Nm) or the 2.0-litre JTDM turbo-diesel (125kW/350Nm). The petrol variant drives through either a six-speed manual transmission or Alfa’s twin-clutch automatic, while the diesel exclusively uses the twin-clutch auto.
Over the standard Alfa Romeo Giulietta, the ‘Progression’ model adds 16-inch, five-spoke alloy wheels, electric lumbar adjustment for the drivers’ seat and a centre arm-rest in the rear.
Further up the model order is the Alfa Romeo Giulietta ‘Distinctive’ (1.4-litre Multi-Air turbo-petrol or 2.0-litre JTDM turbo-diesel) which is exclusively twin-clutch automatic.
The Alfa Romeo Giulietta ‘Distinctive’ is comprehensively equipped with extra features over the ‘Progression’ version including 17-inch alloy wheels, TomTom satellite navigation, ‘Competizione’ fabric upholstery, front fog-lights, alarm system, rear parking sensors, dual-zone climate control with humidity and odour sensor and rear seat vents plus the eight-speaker Alfa Sound System audio.
And the range-topper remains the glorious ‘Quadrifoglio Verde’ (QV) with its 173kW/340Nm turbocharged 1.7-litre petrol engine driving through a six-speed manual transmission. The QV is actually lighter and faster than the acclaimed Volkswagen Golf GTI and runs a 10-speaker Bose audio system, 18-inch alloy wheels, red-painted brake calipers, a unique dashboard panel and aluminium trim highlights.
The new lineup is:
Giulietta 1.4-litre petrol (88kW) man. $24,550 ($25,000 ‘Driveaway)
Giulietta Progression 1.4-litre MultiAir petrol (125kW) man. $27,450
Giulietta Progression 1.4-litre MultiAir petrol (125kW) auto. $29,450
Giulietta Progression 2.0-litre diesel (125kW) auto. $33,350
Giulietta Distinctive 1.4-litre MultiAir petrol (125kW) auto. $31,350
Giulietta Distinctive 2.0-litre diesel (125kW) auto. $35,250
Giulietta QV 1.7-litre petrol (173kW) man. $39,159
