You have to love all things Italian, cars, boats, wine, pasta, and the way the Italians live.
The all new Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce just adds to this, from the minute you see it, it just oozes Italian flare and style.
Our test car was the 2.0L petrol turbo which develops 206kw, an eight speed auto transmission and the all important rear wheel drive to add to the flavor. We will talk about this later!
I collected the car from www.winger.co.nz in Newmarket the new home of Alfa in Auckland. The team in the showroom were awesome showing me all the features and running me through some of the gadgets in the car.
The Italians love to make a statement and the start button on the steering wheel just gives it that little bit of extra feeling kind of like you are starting a race car.
I headed down into Newmarket and then lined up on the motorway entrance, in one of those stupid red light green light on’ ramps that are a complete waste of time, don't get me started on that! Anyway, the only thing they are good for is acceleration tests, so I had to oblige. You would think 2.0l turbo this will go ok, but it's much much better than just OK, its bloody awesome, put your foot down and you are off. Alfa claim a 0 to 100 time 5.7 seconds so it is definitely no slouch, it sounds angry and the auto transmission felt really smooth and precise.
5.7 seconds later I was up to the speed limit and this is where you notice the steering on the open road, its positive and really really direct, the car just wants to go exactly where you point it.
You can dial up the suspension settings to make the ride a little more firmer which was how I ran the car the whole time, why drive an Itallian stallion like a fairy is my view!
In the car the seats are really nice and wrap around you to make you feel secure especially if you start pushing the car around a few corners. The sound system and the bluetooth all are really easy to use. The dash and dials are true Alfa Romeo just so you don't forget where you are.
When I got the car back to the office the first comment from the team was “I really like the wheels”. Our test car had 19 inch wheels and you would make sure you have ticked that option at the dealership. The wheel design is again a legacy to Alfa Romeo in the clover leaf style and they look amazing.
Tyres on our car were Bridgestone Potenza Re001 which were good but I think I would order mine with the Pirelli P Zero it's just that Italian thing again, Italian car Italian tyres, to me it feels like the right choice.
With the two different size tyres on the car 245/35R19 Front and 285/30R19 Rear you have plenty of grip available in both the wet and dry.
Having driven the car for a few days I can honestly say I loved every minute of it. It was fun to drive handled really well and the rear wheel drive just made it feel like a proper Italian car.
The styling is as I said, Italian and I love that about it, the front looks like an Alfa should, and the clover leaf wheels just confirm that for you.
Overall if you are in the market for a proper Italian car, you need to get in and see the awesome team at Winger Newmarket and take the new Giulia for a test drive.
