Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio review

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Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio. If you’re looking for a wonderful and straightforward super-saloon, step this way

The Alfa Romeo Giulia has been given a new look and improved technology for the 2023 model year. The saloon car was launched in 2016 and treated to some smaller tweaks in 2020, but the latest changes go a little further.

The updated Giulia is launching alongside the brand’s refreshed Stelvio SUV, and both cars will be offered to customers from the beginning of 2023. A revised line-up now consists of Sprint and Veloce trim levels, plus a new Competizione range-topper, mirroring the trim structure for the newer Tonale SUV.

Taking further inspiration from that vehicle, the Giulia adopts a subtle redesign featuring a 3×3 headlight signature (a design touch which can be traced back to the SZ Zagato) with adaptive LED Matrix technology, plus a new ‘Trilobo’ grille to provide what Alfa Romeo refers to as a “strong family resemblance with the Tonale”. The clusters also feature adaptive lighting technology which adjusts the dipped beam according to the speed of the car and driving conditions, Meanwhile, the rear light clusters are also new, and use smoked glass.

One of the Giulia’s strongest attributes has been the way it drives and Alfa Romeo hasn’t messed with the formula with this update. The eight-speed automatic gearbox is retained with column-mounted aluminium shift paddles, sending power to the rear wheels. Alfa Romeo’s Q2 mechanical limited-slip differential will also be available.

The biggest change comes inside in the shape of the all-new 12.3-inch digital dash panel. It can be switched between three different layouts: Evolved, Relax and Heritage, each placing more or less emphasis on particular driving instruments. In Evolved mode the speedometer and rev counter sit either side of a central information readout. Relax reduces the level of information on display for a less cluttered look, while Heritage offers a more retro design.

The extra few horsepower, I rather suspect, is mostly for the birds. There’s no extra torque or turbo boost conjured by the 2.9-litre V6; just a slightly greater appetite for revs at the top end. It’s still a very appealing engine, with its elastic rush of mid-range torque and keenness for the redline – but it would benefit from a bit less exhaust rort and a bit more genuine combustion noise.

I needed the few laps afforded to us at the bumpy, cambered handling circuit at Montlhery Autodrome to really tell any difference made to the hot Giulia’s handling by Alfa’s chassis revisions; because, on the road, the car feels very familiar to drive, if perhaps a little more roll-resistant.

But on track, it does feel improved: better tied down over fast crests and through compressions, a shade more precise and feelsome in its high-speed steering – but most of all, more stable through tighter turns from the apex onwards, with greater traction.

While fun, the original Giulia ‘QV’s active diff could pitch the car quite hard into corners initially via an overdriven outside rear wheel, only to throw its hands up once the car had started to slide and you were looking for assured traction to take you onwards. The new mechanical one feels quite mildly calibrated, but tolerates an exuberant line and input style better. WIth improved basic stability, you can fling the new Giulia around with greater confidence, but drive it out of corners much better – and still take it to lurid drift angles if you so choose.

Good stuff

Fast, lovely handling, beautiful, surprisingly comfortable

Bad stuff

No 4WD option in the UK, and the Stelvio shows Alfa does 4WD really well

Overview

What is it?

Can it be time already for the Giulia Quadrifoglio’s mid-life updates? OK, let’s look around: engine, transmission, bodywork… all, er, unaltered.

Which is wholly and absolutely fine by us, because this is the loveliest-looking and best-driving of all the super-saloons in this bracket.

Instead of twiddling with the visuals or mechanicals, Alfa fixed the bits that did need fixing.

First, the infotainment system and the way you control it. It’s more powerful and has easier-to-fathom logic. They added more apps and remote services. It’s now a touchscreen. And the centre-console clickwheel controller is a better quality item.

Next to be sorted, the absence of driver aids. Four years ago you could argue – and we did – that the absence of driver assistance was OK as this was designed as a car for interested drivers. Nowadays you can no longer really say that. Motorways are getting busier and more boring, and you can get these aids on most superminis.

So the Giulia now has an optional pack with level-two motorway assist – lane following with active cruise control – plus traffic-jam assist and active blind-spot assist, and speed-limit warning via a traffic-sign camera. Actually because the QF is a car with surprisingly docile manners when hooning is out of the question, you’ll be happy to use it in everyday trips. So you’ll want this everyday help.

You can also tick option boxes for a visible carbon fibre roof (the roof, bonnet and propshaft always were of that material but you couldn’t see it), and carbon-shell front seats by Sparco and an Akrapovic exhaust. Some jazzy heritage-inspired paint colours are also on the menu.

From then on the list of mods looks a bit threadbare. Dark rear-light lenses, redesigned cupholders… hold the front page.

Maybe Alfa didn’t have the money for wholesale mechanical changes. After all the Giulia range’s sales haven’t been stellar. But it really doesn’t need other updates, as it was an entirely new car merely four years ago. Time then, to re-acquaint ourselves with 510bhp of twin-turbo V6.

What’s the verdict?

“If you’re looking for a wonderful and straightforward super-saloon, step this way”

The Giulia in general and the Quadrifoglio in particular was bang-on right from the start. Fast and furious when you want, but liveable the rest of the time. And such a lovely object.

The amended infotainment and driver assist features work well, so it’s a successful update.

Really the only reason we’d not go here is if we needed something that’s not in the Giulia range. An estate, a coupe or 4WD, notably. But if you’re looking for a wonderful and straightforward super-saloon, step this way.

Raing 9/10.