[Vinzend]

Hello everyone,

I'm torn between heart and head . I'm currently driving a ( 1.3 - 95 bhp - diesel 2010) Mito. It served me well untill last year. Electrical failure in the steering column, 3rd battery in 6 years and now to top it off: 'check engine' -> you probably guessed it: engine in limp mode.

So I'm thinking of buying another car A bit bigger and a bit more power. Belgium is cracking down on diesel by adding (a lot) more road and registration tax.

My head is telling me: be sensible, don't buy a Giulietta!
My heart is telling me: drive with passion, buy a Giulietta now!


I want a Giulietta QV (241 bph) with qv seats, sat nav,... I'll be using it for daily commuting (50/50 mix between town/highway) so an automatic would be nice. I do about 16K miles a year.

So I want to ask you imput:
I might go for second hand, but what are items I should check? What do I need to watch out for? (any points of attention).
Would it be considered rude to ask the seller if I can check the onboard ecu?

What other cars am I considering: Skoda Octavia, VW passat (or golf) or Subaru Levorg. Making the same choice thousands upon thousands of managers and accountants make each year. The easy choice, the safe choice, the practical choice and the boring choice.
But I don't feel about these cars as the way I feel about the Giulietta. That body, those curves, that 1.7 (4C) engine...
I'll be one of a handful that rightly know things should never be easy, boring or safe. Because that, is no way to live.

*My apologies for the long read . Thank you in advance for your time.

 

[A_Venables]

If your not sure about a QV, what about a 170 1.4 MA? with the TCT? Given the choice, I would go for the QV though.

 

[via el diablo]

I have a 2015 Qv and even with the gentlest of driving on a two hour motorway run, the best I saw was 27mpg. I average 20-21mpg round town but I didn't buy it worry about mpg

 

[cue2]

If your not sure about a QV, what about a 170 1.4 MA? with the TCT? Given the choice, I would go for the QV though.

If you're doing over 12000 miles a year the Cloverleaf looks a bit less attractive on fuel.

 

[Vinzend]

If you're doing over 12000 miles a year the Cloverleaf looks a bit less attractive on fuel.

Fuel is a bit on my mind but not that much. It's either diesel and pay a lot of road taxes or petrol and pay a bit more on fuel.
The Belgian government is still undecided whether it will raise the price of diesel to the price of petrol in our next 'tax shift'. If it's a great car, I'll happily pay the price .

 

[via el diablo]

I bought it because I love Alfa's but it is by no means a good hot hatch. It's fast (in a straight line) but I've been done a few times by Focus STs partly because of the stupid TCT box. It doesn't handle that well on anything remotely twisty but it looks 10x better than anything else than in its class

 

[Cfm78910]

I absolutely love my QV, it is the best car I have ever owned. It looks sensational, it goes like a bomb and the TCT is excellent, and it is more reliable than DSG by orders of magnitude. There are no rattles, it is comfortable and it covers long distances with ridiculous ease. I can't fault it in any way and it is an Alfa so I am as happy as can be. Can't see how you can go wrong.

 

[cue2]

Depends if you race against Focus STs really?
If you've got a Mito at the moment you'll certainly be impressed by a Giulietta even with a Multiair. If fuel does concern you then you could get like most Brera drivers who appear to drive quite slowly in my experience except for one I finally saw being driven with some enthusiasm last week.

 

[A_Venables]

I have the 1.4MA TCT, think the semi auto box is great for what it is, it can get the shift wrong, but most of the time its spot on and can shift when needed. It will give a sportyish ride in Dynamic, but Natural mode is lovely and smooth. 170bhp is never going to be lightning quick, but its quick enough with the TCT box to keep ahead of most of the traffic. I'm getting 31mpg with mostly town driving stop/start. I have a Corsa VXR, while its by no means an Alfa, it uses the same chassis as the Mito and Giulietta is far ahead for comfort. I'm sure you wont be disappointed.

 

[Vinzend]

Thank you all for replying . Is there any think I need to check on a used Giulietta?

 

[Top Down]

Depends if you race against Focus STs really?
If you've got a Mito at the moment you'll certainly be impressed by a Giulietta even with a Multiair. If fuel does concern you then you could get like most Brera drivers who appear to drive quite slowly in my experience except for one I finally saw being driven with some enthusiasm last week.

Really? Where was I?:biglaugh:

 

[cue2]

M25 exit to Swanley!
The Brera is generally driven as if the low fuel warning is on and the driver is trying to get to the next fuel station!
Not yours obviously

 

[Top Down]

I wouldnt be seen as driving with too much enthusiasm on the M25, is it possible!? My 21 mile drive to and from work on twisty A & B's is my daily 'fix', but then I still get 26 mpg on the trip computer. I have been thinking of a GQV but 21MPG is bonkers.

 

[Cfm78910]

My average consumption over the past 10 000 miles is 31.52mpg which I am more than happy with given the performance on tap and the fact that I don't spare the horses.

 

[symon]

If you like the QV but don't like the fuel economy you could always get a 170 Diesel and get it remapped.

Ok, it won't sound as good, but it will be pretty much as fast (About 220bhp) and will still do 45mpg when you want it to.

It could also look the same if you get the right model, with the correct wheels etc.

 

[Ali_]

Had my QV for 18 months and it's the most reliable car I've owned in 20 years. Only my old 90s Hondas could compete. A very pleasant surprise. Regarding mpg, my daily commute is around 40mph average on a slow A road with some suburbs at either end and I get 27-30 mpg...mainly 27 because it growls so nicely.

 

[Ali_]

I bought it because I love Alfa's but it is by no means a good hot hatch. It's fast (in a straight line) but I've been done a few times by Focus STs partly because of the stupid TCT box. It doesn't handle that well on anything remotely twisty but it looks 10x better than anything else than in its class

Standard, an ST is no faster but most, especially those that want to race, will be tuned.

 

[CalvinD]

220bhp just from a remap?

 

[symon]

220bhp just from a remap?

Yes but only on the 170 bhp versions. 140 and 150 versions remap well but dont give as much output. They have a smaller turbo.

 

[cannonballuk]

I bought it because I love Alfa's but it is by no means a good hot hatch. It's fast (in a straight line) but I've been done a few times by Focus STs partly because of the stupid TCT box. It doesn't handle that well on anything remotely twisty but it looks 10x better than anything else than in its class

Love the GQV Shape and style, but make sure you have a quality mechanic to keep the car serviced properly. Owning the manual version from new (2011) the gearbox did take forever to loosen up, but now its so slick between shifts and with a tuning box fitted to recover some of the lost Alfa service remap update some years ago now. The update was to remap the DNA settings to lack lustre for D mode while improve N mode response, still its almost as good as new again.
Try a few cars and with manual boxes or newer TCT, you may prefer the latter gearbox like me and some others here.