OF THE SEVERAL thousand lines in John Milton's poem "Paradise Lost," I've only ever remembered the sexy bits. "Now let us play," says Adam to Eve in Book 9. "For never did thy beauty since the day/I saw thee first and wedded thee, adorned/with all perfections, so inflame my sense/With ardor to enjoy thee, fairer now/Than ever..."
The verse was fresh in my head, having recited it to my wife on Valentine's Day (a pro tip, gentlemen). I heard it tolling again last week when the delivery people pulled up in a 2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti Q4 sedan, painted a glowing, Milk-of-Magnesia blue. Fairer now than ever.
Comparatively speaking. In a vehicle market increasingly dominated by dorky SUVs, machines like the Giulia are looking better and better. What we have here is a properly fun-to-drive, human-scale sport sedan, with 50/50 weight distribution; rear- or all-wheel drive; an eight-speed automatic with paddle shifters that can do the deed in less than 100 milliseconds; a carbon-fiber drive shaft and limited-slip differential. Questa รจ tanta macchina.
The Giulia Quadrifoglio version (referring to the performance line's four-leaf clover emblem) is even more magically delicious. The Q-ship is powered by what is effectively half a Ferrari V12: a 2.9-liter bi-turbo V6 producing a molten 505 hp and 443 lb-ft of torque. In the rear is a fully articulating torque-vectoring differential. I hustled one around Sonoma Raceway and thought I was gonna cry.
The Giulia issss so sexy, says the snake. While this spacious four-door can't be compared with the svelte coupes of Postwar Alfa -- 33 Stradale, Giulietta SS, GTV6, 8C Competizione -- it does stack up well against the marque's historic roster of sedans, including the now-collectible 75 (called Milano in the U.S.) in the '80s; and Walter de Silva's penning of the 156 (1997). Protesting Alfisti can scrawl an angry note on a biscotto and dunk it in their ristretto.
The Giulia's emphatic rear-drive layout expresses itself in the long, diving hoodline; in the minimal front overhang; and the volume massed at the rear quarter, the tumescence around the wheel wells. Those are baby-making hips.
No question, the Giulia has a body for sin. But car ownership isn't always a bower of bliss, especially owning Italian cars. It doesn't matter how lovely the Alfa is if the only people who get to admire it are the techs down at the dealership. Like Adam, those considering the Giulia must weigh their lust against their fears of hell's fiery furnace, stoked with repair bills. It's a close call.
Here's what the smitten need to know: Alfa Romeo, a wholly owned property of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), is in a world of financial hurt. U.S. sales were down 20.5% in 2019 from the year before. Sales of the Giulia sedan fell 24.4%. That doesn't mean they are bad cars. it means that people stopped buying them, along with a lot of other midsize carlike products. Alfa's situation in the U.S. is, however, worrisome for the three Rs: retail, repair and residual value.
FCA management has had to drastically scale back and slow walk Alfa's product development while it improves its balance sheets and prepares for electrification. As a result, the Giulia remains virtually unchanged from its debut four years ago and won't see what's known as a mid-model refresh until 2021. FCA needs this immortal beauty to be immortal a while longer.
The biggest year-over changes for 2020 have to do with the UX: a standard 8.8-inch display screen with improved graphics; and a more robust set of driver-assistance systems, including the dire-sounding "Full-speed Forward Collision Warning Plus" -- the plus being active emergency braking. Wouldn't want anything to happen to that falcon-like beak.
I've spent some time with its new infotainment system and declare it marginally adequate. You don't buy these things for the jukebox.
If you're among the few thousand North Americans who might yet be horned-up enough to buy the Giulia despite the warning signs, let me offer some reassurance. First, FCA invested a now almost-unthinkable 5 billion Euros into the reboot of Alfa Romeo in the early part of last decade. The company created its own flexible product architecture, called the Giorgio platform, and created a new home base for manufacturing, in the city of Cassino. The Giulia represents an Alfa Romeo fully funded, at the peak of its stature in FCA's reorganization.
The car was actually over-engineered and over-contented for the competitive set. Under the all-steel monocoque are elaborate aluminum front and rear subframes, as well as aluminum suspension, bracing, and high-spec brake components. Hood and doors are either aluminum or carbon fiber, in the case of the Quadrifoglio.
Our tester's 2.0-liter turbo four is also fairly exotic, with direct injection; a twin-scroll turbo with electronically actuated wastegate; liquid-cooled charge air cooler; and forged aluminum pistons. In a conspicuous effort to reduce valve train losses, the engine-builders specified a hollow exhaust camshaft, with end-pivot roller-finger followers and hydraulic lash adjusters. Because nothing ever goes wrong with that.
The result is a silky-smooth little tourbillion making a righteous amount of torque: 306 lb-ft, between 2,000 and 4,800 rpm, with peak horsepower (280) at 5,200 rpm. The Ti Q4 (with optional all-wheel drive) weighs a fit-and-ready 3,622 pounds. Alfa cites a 0-60 mph time of 5.1 seconds. However, to do that, one must first arouse the Giulia by turning the drive mode out of one of its fuel-saving modes into Dynamic. God sees you.
Spellbound by the Giulia's beauty, buyers may not notice damnation yawning before them. At Alfa Romeo of Akron, Ohio, as a random for-instance, the every-10,000-mile service on the four-cylinder costs $249 (the first one's free). The 20,000-mile service runs $499.95. At 30K, it's $429. At 40K, $499.95...
That seems fair.
2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti Sport Carbon AWD
Base Price: $50,345
Price, as Tested: $59,640 (including destination)
Engine and Drivetrain: Longitudinally mounted, turbocharged and intercooled direct-injection SOHC 2.0-liter four cylinder; eight-speed automatic with manual-shift mode; rear-biased all-wheel drive
Power/Torque: 280 hp at 5,200 rpm/306 lb-ft at 2,000-4,800 rpm
Length/Width/Height/Wheelbase: 182.8/73.2/56.5/111.0 inches
Curb Weight: 3,622 pounds
EPA Fuel Economy: 23/31/26 mpg, city/highway/combined
Write to Dan Neil at Dan.Neil@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 22, 2020 00:16 ET (05:16 GMT)
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February 22, 2020 at 12:16PM
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