Alfa Romeo Giulietta

I have a 2.0 JTDm Veloce 170bhp. The car looks striking, especially from the front, not pretty, but different from the usual Eurohatch shape. EURO NCAP score is the best on the market for the class. The suspension compromise between comfort and handling -not too much roll. The Giulietta is agile (weight around 1300Kg -136bhp/ton) and carries speed well into bends. Excellent brakes -including eba and pre-fill which primes the system if you suddenly let go of the accelerator, Drives best in dynamic mode, Q2 acts like a limited-speed differential to control understeer in fast cornering. Acceleration is 'warm' rather than 'hot', although the quiet cabin makes the car feel slower than it is.
Mileage in my hands is 53mpg on long motorway runs at 70mph, 38-40 mpg mixed town/motorway, 34mpg fast driving on B roads.
No reliability problems so far (5K miles). Interior is retro-stylish but ergonomics idiosyncratic. Sharp edge to temperature control dials and lack of grip on the two smaller control knobs irritate every time they are used. Satnav is fairly useless as it takes forever to scroll through the alphabet -I use a windscreen mounted touchscreen unit. TMC printed traffic warnings are useful , however, but doe not justify the £1000 cost. Heated seat works well but goes off after a few minutes -ok for cold mornings, but back pain sufferers would probably prefer to choose when to switch the seat heater off. Interior and boot space are adequate four this size of car

Name: Anthont Perini
Location: Rowlands Gill