2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia

There’s something timeless about the Giulia. Still arguably attractive despite making its debut way back in 2017, this car can also entertain and enthrall. Those human desires for thrills and good looks aren’t going away, which is why the Giulia retains its appeal. While it’s easy to love, however, class-lagging resale value and a non-stellar reputation for reliability make the Giulia harder to recommend. We understand some buyers wanting an alternative that can be more things to more people. A BMW 3 Series or Genesis G70 can definitely fit that description. But for those who get what Alfa Romeo is all about — flair, verve, out-of-the-ordinary — the Giulia is a singular sport sedan.

We’ve spent hundreds of hours driving and evaluating this generation of small luxury sedans, including several examples of the Alfa Romeo Giulia. The test model seen here is a 2024 Giulia Quadrifoglio coated in Verde Montreal with a sticker price of $86,780. 

All versions of the 2024 Giulia gain a 12.3-inch digital driver information display, raising otherwise unremarkable tech levels in the cabin. New LED headlights and taillights are also fitted. Last year’s Lusso trim is history, and the new Competizione model has replaced the Estrema trim. The Giulia as we know it may not continue for much longer. There are plans for the next generation to be all-electric.

Many rivals start in the low 40s — such as the Audi A4, Genesis G70, Acura TLX, Lexus IS, and Cadillac CT5. But bigger hitters like the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class are more in the mid-40s.

Before buying a new Giulia compact luxury sedan, check the Kelley Blue Book Fair Purchase Price to know what you should be paying. Regarding resale values, the Giulia’s advancing age and middling reliability record land it toward the bottom of the segment. A $50,000 Genesis G70, for instance, could return an additional $5,000 to your pocket compared to a similarly priced Giulia when it comes time to sell. And that can mean a bigger down payment and lower monthly payments on your next vehicle.

In its most common form, the 2024 Giulia is propelled by 280 horsepower. That’s more muscle than base engines in virtually all of the competition and enough to send the Giulia sprinting from a standstill to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds, one of the quicker times of this class.

When a luxury car comes with a sport suspension as standard, it’s a good omen for enthusiasts. It makes an agile partner to this lively engine. We’d call the Giulia a sport sedan, yet it’s also sufficiently civilized for rough city roads and freeways. We’d relish any journey if we could take it in the Giulia, even visiting the dentist.

Turning the entertainment factor up to the maximum, the 505-horsepower Giulia Quadrifoglio has an active suspension as standard, a torque-vectoring differential for optimum grip and traction, a Race setting among its driving modes, and an operatic quad-pipe performance exhaust system. It can rush from a standstill to 60 mph in a fleeting 3.8 seconds, and then stop on a dime. We count it among history’s great sports sedans, delivering not just the qualifying figures but also the nuance and feel that separate the merely fast cars from the truly fun ones.

Fuel Economy

Enviable power doesn’t have to mean unenviable fuel economy. Rear-drive versions of the Giulia (with the 4-cylinder engine) return 27 combined mpg (24 city, 33 highway) — a couple of miles per gallon better than the Acura TLX and Genesis G70, but not as good as the BMW 330i. With all-wheel drive, the Giulia achieves a still-respectable 26 combined mpg (23 city, 31 highway).

The Quadrifoglio runs to 20 mpg (17 city, 25 highway), but it is wonderfully powerful. Both engines require premium gasoline.

During the course of shopping for your new compact luxury sedan, if you’ve stepped out of an Audi A4, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, or even a Genesis G70 and jumped straight into an Alfa Romeo Giulia, we get why you’d feel underwhelmed, perhaps disappointed. The cabin isn’t quite so sharply stylish as the exterior. The infotainment screen is a bit small by today’s standards, and the interface isn’t as attractive or user-friendly as many others.

It’s still nice, with decent materials, a great driving position, and the engine start/stop button set into the steering wheel. We like the front sport seats that hold their occupants in place during quick cornering, and we’ve still found them comfortable after a couple of hours. One of our favorite Giulia interior features has to be the exposed carbon fiber trim seen in our Quadrifoglio test vehicle pictured above. We reserve our biggest gripe for some of the smallest sunshades we’ve ever seen.

Rear passenger space could be more friendly to adults of above-average size (rear legroom measures 35.1 inches), but that’s true of most of the other cars in this class. Still, hard plastic on the backs of the front seats feels a bit cheap and doesn’t feel great on the knees, either. Trunk space of 13.4 cubic feet is better than some but look at the BMW 3 Series if this is a priority.

This year sees the addition of new LED headlights and taillights. After all this time, we think the Giulia remains one of the more handsome premium compact sedans, enhancing modern appearances with reminders of the marque’s fine heritage. Versions of that triangular grille have been on many classic Alfa cars. The 5-hole alloy wheels that come standard on the Veloce are the most contemporary iteration of a design that’s been used for decades. Over the years, Alfa Romeo has won fans who care about the marque and its styling that other companies can’t seem to inspire. The high-performance Giulia Quadrifoglio comes standard with a carbon fiber hood, roof, and rear spoiler. They help keep weight down and lower the center of gravity compared with a metal-topped Giulia. Alfa White is the only “free” exterior paint choice with the regular Giulia models. Others cost from $500 to $2,200, depending on the color.

Base 2.0-liter engine
It sounds great, delivers its thrust in a responsive and lively manner, has plenty of power, and still manages decent fuel economy.

Digital instrument cluster
We’re happy to see the 2024 Giulia receive a 12.3-inch digital driver information display as standard across the lineup. Audi pioneered this sort of feature, and now practically every luxury car has one, as well as quite a few mainstream vehicles. Technology isn’t really a Giulia plus point, but this helps.

Q4 all-wheel drive
Alfa Romeo’s Q4 is optional in versions of the Giulia with the 2.0-liter engine. So people living in areas that sometimes suffer Mother Nature’s darker moods can still brighten their day with a drive in an Alfa Romeo that sends up to 60 percent of torque to the front wheels if necessary.

Active Assist Plus package
It’s worth stretching to the Ti version because that’s when this bundle of extra safety features becomes available, bringing steering inputs for the blind-spot monitoring system, lane-centering, and road sign recognition.

Competizione trim
New for 2024, the Competizione model emphasizes the sport and luxury aspects of the Giulia, with an active suspension, limited-slip differential, black leather sport seats with red stitching, and a 14-speaker Harmon Kardon audio system.

Quadrifoglio
It means 4-leaf clover and was a lucky charm for Alfa Romeo back in those black-and-white motorsport days. This graphic has adorned many a sporty Alfa since. That’s just decoration, though, on what is a stunning, high-performance sport sedan powered by a Ferrari-derived engine.

The main engine offered in the Giulia is a turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder unit making 280 horsepower and 306 lb-ft of torque. This connects to an 8-speed automatic transmission. Rear-wheel drive is the standard setup here, with all-wheel drive offered as an option.

There’s no such provision in the Giulia Quadrifoglio. It’s rear-wheel drive all the way, energized by a twin-turbocharged 2.9-liter V6 making 505 horsepower and 443 lb-ft of torque. It also deploys an 8-speed automatic transmission.

4-Year/50,000-Mile Warranty

Alfa Romeo’s new-vehicle and powertrain warranties last four years or 50,000 miles, whichever happens first. This arrangement is typical among European automakers. Roadside assistance is provided for the same period. The first service is also included, as long as it occurs within 12 months or 10,000 miles.

Safety Ratings

The only agency in the United States to crash-test the Giulia is the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) where the car took top scores of Good in the main categories. Standard safety equipment includes forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring with cross-traffic alert, and adaptive cruise control.