Likes
- Stunning Italian design.
- Appears and feels far more expensive than it is.
- A genuine charm and mystique to the driving experience.
- It’s an Alfa Romeo so it’s cool.
Used Alfa Romeo Giulietta review
2010 - 2020
Dislikes
- Horrendous (and deserved) reputation for reliability and issues.
- Expensive repair bills.
- Suffers from a huge range of electronic gremlins.
- Well used examples will rattle and squeak.
Stuff you should know
For all of Alfa Romeo’s rich and storied history, the brand was in the dumps back in 2010 when its Giulietta arrived globally back in 2010 and locally early the following year. The small hatchback was positioned as an Audi A3 rival and, with much hype, was charged with shaking off the Italian’s then baked-in stigma for poor reliability and a lack of spirited genes.
The Giulietta, that effectively replaced the 146, was supposed to Alfa Romeo’s renaissance. In some ways it hit the mark, in styling, its willing chassis and vibe filled with Italian classicisms. In others, such as quality and, yes, reliability and areas such as cabin ergonomics, the hatch left the gates as an also-ran against German rivals it competed against.
A reboot of an old nameplate, in hope of lighting fire under the hardcore Alfisti traditionalists, the five-door Giulietta launched in two guises.
The top dog 1750 TBi version wore the famed Quadrifoglio Verde or ‘QV’ (aka, four-clover leaf) designation, was powered by an evocative 1.75-litre turbocharged petrol four, was dripping with charisma and, at $42k as a manual only, had Volkswagen Golf GTI firmly in its cross-hairs.
Sat under the QV was the regular version, initially called the Distinctive, powered by a 1.4 TB MultiAir turbo petrol four. Used buyers shouldn’t sleep on the 1.4 versions: it’s a cracker of an engine but as you will read, can be riddled with issues. At $37k, the base version was priced around the entry point for premium European small hatches.
Both versions came as six-speed only in its launch year, with DNA drive mode trickery and a Q2 electronic differential for exclusive front-drive format. Both were handsome lookers, the QV styling marked by larger dark-finish 18-inch wheel, lowered stance and signature QV badging.
Inside, each boasts clear retro leanings with oh-so Italian touches, right down to instrument labelling, and the flagship’s leather seats were wonderful. But it was also critically panned for its cheap and flimsy make-up in areas and some of its features were and are quite fragile.
Pace wise, the QV was claimed, at 6.8sec 0-100km/h, to be one second quicker to march, thought the 1.4’s advertised 5.6L/100km frugality was much better than the QV’s still-handy 7.6L although we have found both engines are far thirstier then what Alfa would lead you to believe. But, really, you bought into the drive, and the Giulietta offered sharp steering and frisky dynamics with reasonably polished ride, so there’s enough fun factor in its step to live up to its spirited looks.
For 2012, Alfa Romeo started offering a choice of a ‘TCT’-branded six-speed dual-clutch transmission, starting from $39k behind the petrol 1.4. A Giulietta JTD-M also arrived powered by a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four, priced at $42k with the dual-clutch auto with similar performance (7.9sec) and fuel economy (5.3L) to the 1.4s.
In mid-2013, the line-up added a new Progression nameplate sat under the Distinctive but above a new cut-priced, no-name base version (from $24,550) powered by a more modest version of the 1.4 engine. Pricing for the Progression ranged from $27k-ish for the 1.4 manual to $33k-ish for the oiler JTD-M auto.
In 2015, the QV got a newer-generation engine shared with the 4C sportscar that upped power to 177kW while adding the option of a dual-clutch auto to create three versions: the manual ($39k), the Auto ($42k) and the confusing named Launch Edition ($45k with an auto) that could be had with trendy matte paintwork, if only offered in 25 units.
The QV was now quicker (6.0sec) with as an auto and with launch control fitted. And also more frugal (7.0L) than before. A new Uconnect 6.5-inch multimedia system was also added at this key update that also brought subtly refreshed styling inside and out for MY15.
In late 2015, Alfa Romeo reprised the Sprint badge that, with 110kW 1.4 power and at $31k, slotted between the Progression and Distinction. Around here, the base engine upped power and torque and the no-name entry variant was dropped.
The Italian marque kept refreshing and re-firing the Giulietta throughout its lifecycle, dipping again into its heritage name bag to present the Veloce in October 2016, with QV running gear and the old QV pricing ($42k). The Super dropped to $30k and effectively replaced the then-axed Progression.
A limited 30-unit run of Veloce S versions, at $45k-ish, hit showrooms in mid 2019, but by April 2020 the Italian marque announced with would axe Giulietta, which would eventually be replaced by the Tonale small SUV.
The small hatchback range’s swansong was the Edizione Finale, a Veloce with what was quoted as six grand’s worth of extra goodies, released in May 2021 with just 35 examples offered at a price of around $49k.
What goes wrong
If you are an Alfa Romeo fan, this section may be confronting and upsetting, we apologise.
EXTERIOR:
- In terms of the exterior, the rear lights can stop working, the rear wiper can fail and the boot can just stop opening. This is generally due to the wiring loom chafing or becoming faulty or degrading because it’s simply not very good. The good news is that there are wiring loom kits available to remedy this.
- The outside temperature sensor can fail but if you need to know what the temperature is outside, just stick your hand out the window, if the window works.
- The grill elements on certain variants can protrude resulting in the vanes being knocked off or breaking. Replacement items are easy to source online.
- There are many reports that the fog lights are beginning to corrode, rust and fail.
- Models fitted with LED daytime running lights are starting to experience a failure of the LED element of the light. The issue is not necessarily the LED that fails but the ECU underneath the light that controls it. Generally, to repair this issue requires the light and lights ECU to be replaced.
- There are many reports that the door handle cover at the back of the exterior handle can fall off or break easily and that the hinge at the front of the handle can break. It is a very fiddly job to repair and may require an entirely new door handle.
INSIDE:
- Inside there are many reports that the interior door handles can snap off or break about half way along the handle. If you prefer to use genuine Alfa parts you may have to buy the whole door card as the handle is plastic welded and Alfa Romeo currently don’t sell the handle by itself. If you’re happy to go with non-OEM parts, there are kits available to fix this for far less.
- If you do repair or replace the handle, be very careful of the leading trim piece below the armrest as it can be very fragile and is becoming brittle so it can break easily.
- The centre console storage box up here on the dash is quite fragile and the hinges break easily.
- There are many reports that the Blue&me equipped head units can have major issues. The better alternative is to replace it with an aftermarket system.
- There are more and more reports that the hand brake mechanism can break.
- The finish around the dials and on the bottom of the steering wheel has a habit of fading and peeling off.
- The chrome on the gear knob tends to wear off very easily.
- Owners with large feet have complained that the
If you are an Alfa Romeo fan, this section may be confronting and upsetting, we apologise.
EXTERIOR:
- In terms of the exterior, the rear lights can stop working, the rear wiper can fail and the boot can just stop opening. This is generally due to the wiring loom chafing or becoming faulty or degrading because it’s simply not very good. The good news is that there are wiring loom kits available to remedy this.
- The outside temperature sensor can fail but if you need to know what the temperature is outside, just stick your hand out the window, if the window works.
- The grill elements on certain variants can protrude resulting in the vanes being knocked off or breaking. Replacement items are easy to source online.
- There are many reports that the fog lights are beginning to corrode, rust and fail.
- Models fitted with LED daytime running lights are starting to experience a failure of the LED element of the light. The issue is not necessarily the LED that fails but the ECU underneath the light that controls it. Generally, to repair this issue requires the light and lights ECU to be replaced.
- There are many reports that the door handle cover at the back of the exterior handle can fall off or break easily and that the hinge at the front of the handle can break. It is a very fiddly job to repair and may require an entirely new door handle.
INSIDE:
- Inside there are many reports that the interior door handles can snap off or break about half way along the handle. If you prefer to use genuine Alfa parts you may have to buy the whole door card as the handle is plastic welded and Alfa Romeo currently don’t sell the handle by itself. If you’re happy to go with non-OEM parts, there are kits available to fix this for far less.
- If you do repair or replace the handle, be very careful of the leading trim piece below the armrest as it can be very fragile and is becoming brittle so it can break easily.
- The centre console storage box up here on the dash is quite fragile and the hinges break easily.
- There are many reports that the Blue&me equipped head units can have major issues. The better alternative is to replace it with an aftermarket system.
- There are more and more reports that the hand brake mechanism can break.
- The finish around the dials and on the bottom of the steering wheel has a habit of fading and peeling off.
- The chrome on the gear knob tends to wear off very easily.
- Owners with large feet have complained that the gap between the clutch pedal and centre console is too small and it can be a challenge to find a comfy spot for your foot.
- Also in that area, it’s becoming more common that the ventilation fan can fail. To repair that, either the whole dashboard has to come out or the pedals have to be removed, either way it’s a labour intensive job.
- Make sure you try every single button and dial and do they work because there are endless reports of various electronic gremlins. Everything from the air conditioning not working properly to the gauges playing up, as these get older, the electronics are simply failing.
MECHANICAL:
To say the Giulietta is unreliable is a bit of an understatement. Many will disagree, claiming that they’ve had one for years and never had a problem. Which for a select few, might be true.But statistically Alfa Romeo as a brand, out of all car brand manufacturers, is the second most unreliable car manufacturer.
But some people still love them. And if you’re one of those people, you love the brand and have to have one of these be prepared to work on it a lot, or pay someone else to work on it a lot. If you’re an enthusiast and want to have a crack at it yourself, some of the things you might be spending your weekends fixing are things like just reattaching all the various bits and pieces that fell off that week, and good luck sorting out the endless electrical gremlins.
Or maybe you will enjoy the more serious repairs like turbo oil line leaks or worse still, replacing the whole turbo, or replacing terribly weak engine bay plastics like radiators, thermostat housings & expansion tanks.You might want to take out the engine or gearbox and fix the rear main oil seal again, and again. Although, you are probably better off pulling the engine out so you can replace the welch plugs at the same time because they’ll be leaking.
The list of things that goes wrong, goes on & on and the reality is most of it is beyond the average do-it-yourselfer so you’re going to have to pay to get it done.
We know of workshops that will go near Alfa Romeo models because they’re just so problematic.
Not to mention, that with so few of these on our roads you have to wonder how easily you can actually get parts for them in the future.
Some Giulietta will go on to be quirky low mileage collectables, but the vast majority, if they’re over 10 years old, and something serious goes wrong, its likely to cost more to fix than the car is worth and it’ll be off to the wreckers.
If you are an Alfa Romeo fan, this section may be confronting and upsetting, we apologise.
EXTERIOR:
- In terms of the exterior, the rear lights can stop working, the rear wiper can fail and the boot can just stop opening. This is generally due to the wiring loom chafing or becoming faulty or degrading because it’s simply not very good. The good news is that there are wiring loom kits available to remedy this.
- The outside temperature sensor can fail but if you need to know what the temperature is outside, just stick your hand out the window, if the window works.
- The grill elements on certain variants can protrude resulting in the vanes being knocked off or breaking. Replacement items are easy to source online.
- There are many reports that the fog lights are beginning to corrode, rust and fail.
- Models fitted with LED daytime running lights are starting to experience a failure of the LED element of the light. The issue is not necessarily the LED that fails but the ECU underneath the light that controls it. Generally, to repair this issue requires the light and lights ECU to be replaced.
- There are many reports that the door handle cover at the back of the exterior handle can fall off or break easily and that the hinge at the front of the handle can break. It is a very fiddly job to repair and may require an entirely new door handle.
INSIDE:
- Inside there are many reports that the interior door handles can snap off or break about half way along the handle. If you prefer to use genuine Alfa parts you may have to buy the whole door card as the handle is plastic welded and Alfa Romeo currently don’t sell the handle by itself. If you’re happy to go with non-OEM parts, there are kits available to fix this for far less.
- If you do repair or replace the handle, be very careful of the leading trim piece below the armrest as it can be very fragile and is becoming brittle so it can break easily.
- The centre console storage box up here on the dash is quite fragile and the hinges break easily.
- There are many reports that the Blue&me equipped head units can have major issues. The better alternative is to replace it with an aftermarket system.
- There are more and more reports that the hand brake mechanism can break.
- The finish around the dials and on the bottom of the steering wheel has a habit of fading and peeling off.
- The chrome on the gear knob tends to wear off very easily.
- Owners with large feet have complained that the gap between the clutch pedal and centre console is too small and it can be a challenge to find a comfy spot for your foot.
- Also in that area, it’s becoming more common that the ventilation fan can fail. To repair that, either the whole dashboard has to come out or the pedals have to be removed, either way it’s a labour intensive job.
- Make sure you try every single button and dial and do they work because there are endless reports of various electronic gremlins. Everything from the air conditioning not working properly to the gauges playing up, as these get older, the electronics are simply failing.
MECHANICAL:
To say the Giulietta is unreliable is a bit of an understatement. Many will disagree, claiming that they’ve had one for years and never had a problem. Which for a select few, might be true.But statistically Alfa Romeo as a brand, out of all car brand manufacturers, is the second most unreliable car manufacturer.
But some people still love them. And if you’re one of those people, you love the brand and have to have one of these be prepared to work on it a lot, or pay someone else to work on it a lot. If you’re an enthusiast and want to have a crack at it yourself, some of the things you might be spending your weekends fixing are things like just reattaching all the various bits and pieces that fell off that week, and good luck sorting out the endless electrical gremlins.
Or maybe you will enjoy the more serious repairs like turbo oil line leaks or worse still, replacing the whole turbo, or replacing terribly weak engine bay plastics like radiators, thermostat housings & expansion tanks.You might want to take out the engine or gearbox and fix the rear main oil seal again, and again. Although, you are probably better off pulling the engine out so you can replace the welch plugs at the same time because they’ll be leaking.
The list of things that goes wrong, goes on & on and the reality is most of it is beyond the average do-it-yourselfer so you’re going to have to pay to get it done.
We know of workshops that will go near Alfa Romeo models because they’re just so problematic.
Not to mention, that with so few of these on our roads you have to wonder how easily you can actually get parts for them in the future.
Some Giulietta will go on to be quirky low mileage collectables, but the vast majority, if they’re over 10 years old, and something serious goes wrong, its likely to cost more to fix than the car is worth and it’ll be off to the wreckers.
Should you buy it?
If you require an ultra reliable, safe and economical hatch back, well no you shouldn’t buy a Giulietta, you should buy something like a Toyota Corolla or Hyundai i30.
If you require something with more personality and performance than these options and you’re not so concerned about boring stuff like reliability and running costs, then should you still shouldn’t buy a Giulietta. You should probably buy something like a Golf GTI or Mazda 3 MPS.
If you want this new car to look sexier than the Golf GTI or Mazda 3 MPS, then you still shouldn’t buy a Giulietta, you should look at the Volkswagen Scirocco Hyundai Veloster or Kia Proceed GT.
If you still require a 5 door hatch that ticks the previously mentioned boxes, sorry but you still shouldn’t buy a Giulietta, check out a Ford Focus ST or Audi S3.
But, if you just must have an Italian 5 door hatch that is made by Alfa Romeo and you’re happy to look past the unfortunate realities, and you are willing to maintain it and spend money sorting the constant niggling issues, then and only then should you buy a Giulietta.
So many of the things that are fuelled by lust and romance and passion are quite often terribly bad for us and doing risky things is just exciting, and as much as we adore the Giulietta from an emotional position, buying a Giulietta probably isn’t ever a sensible thing to do.
But in saying that, when has
If you require an ultra reliable, safe and economical hatch back, well no you shouldn’t buy a Giulietta, you should buy something like a Toyota Corolla or Hyundai i30.
If you require something with more personality and performance than these options and you’re not so concerned about boring stuff like reliability and running costs, then should you still shouldn’t buy a Giulietta. You should probably buy something like a Golf GTI or Mazda 3 MPS.
If you want this new car to look sexier than the Golf GTI or Mazda 3 MPS, then you still shouldn’t buy a Giulietta, you should look at the Volkswagen Scirocco Hyundai Veloster or Kia Proceed GT.
If you still require a 5 door hatch that ticks the previously mentioned boxes, sorry but you still shouldn’t buy a Giulietta, check out a Ford Focus ST or Audi S3.
But, if you just must have an Italian 5 door hatch that is made by Alfa Romeo and you’re happy to look past the unfortunate realities, and you are willing to maintain it and spend money sorting the constant niggling issues, then and only then should you buy a Giulietta.
So many of the things that are fuelled by lust and romance and passion are quite often terribly bad for us and doing risky things is just exciting, and as much as we adore the Giulietta from an emotional position, buying a Giulietta probably isn’t ever a sensible thing to do.
But in saying that, when has Alfa Romeo ever been sensible?
They don’t need to be sensible, we have Toyota for that.
Should you buy it?
If you require an ultra reliable, safe and economical hatch back, well no you shouldn’t buy a Giulietta, you should buy something like a Toyota Corolla or Hyundai i30.
If you require something with more personality and performance than these options and you’re not so concerned about boring stuff like reliability and running costs, then should you still shouldn’t buy a Giulietta. You should probably buy something like a Golf GTI or Mazda 3 MPS.
If you want this new car to look sexier than the Golf GTI or Mazda 3 MPS, then you still shouldn’t buy a Giulietta, you should look at the Volkswagen Scirocco Hyundai Veloster or Kia Proceed GT.
If you still require a 5 door hatch that ticks the previously mentioned boxes, sorry but you still shouldn’t buy a Giulietta, check out a Ford Focus ST or Audi S3.
But, if you just must have an Italian 5 door hatch that is made by Alfa Romeo and you’re happy to look past the unfortunate realities, and you are willing to maintain it and spend money sorting the constant niggling issues, then and only then should you buy a Giulietta.
So many of the things that are fuelled by lust and romance and passion are quite often terribly bad for us and doing risky things is just exciting, and as much as we adore the Giulietta from an emotional position, buying a Giulietta probably isn’t ever a sensible thing to do.
But in saying that, when has Alfa Romeo ever been sensible?
They don’t need to be sensible, we have Toyota for that.
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Disclaimer
Please note that pricing information is subject to fluctuations in the automotive market.
Information correct as of August 05, 2022.
The advice provided on this website is general advice only. It has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on this advice, you should consider the appropriateness of the advice, having regard to your own objectives, financial situation and needs.
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