Road TestCar reviews - Alfa Romeo - Giulietta - 1.4T MultiAir 5-dr hatchAlfa Romeo modelsOverviewItaly finally launches a serious attack on Germany as Guilietta guns for Golf21 Jul 2011 DO YOU fancy a spacious and stylish hatch with a bit of luxury but don’t care to join the hordes of up-spec Mazda3 and VW Golf drivers out there? Believe it or not, your Alfa Romeo dealer may have just the (super) model you’re looking for, for the Giulietta is a grown-up go-kart with verve and style to spare. It’s too soon to make a reliability call of course, but on the strength of its packaging, driveability and efficiency, this Italian makes for an unexpectedly capable sub-$40K contender. Model release date: 1 February 2011 to 1 December 2014 All car reviewsAlfa Romeo Abarth Alpine Alpina Audi Aston Martin BMW Bentley Chevrolet Chery Citroen Chrysler Dodge Cupra Ferrari DS Ford Fiat FPV Foton GWM Great Wall Holden Haval HSV Honda Hyundai Hummer Isuzu Infiniti Jeep Jaguar Lamborghini Kia LDV Land Rover Lotus Lexus Maserati Mahindra McLaren Mazda Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-AMG Mini MG Nissan Mitsubishi Peugeot Opel Proton Porsche Renault Ram Rover Rolls-Royce Skoda Saab SsangYong Smart Suzuki Subaru Toyota Tesla Volvo Volkswagen Previous modelA BREATH of fresh air, the original 147 of 2001 thrust Alfa Romeo right up against the popular Audi A3 and VW Golf in the burgeoning posh end of the small-car market, beating the BMW 1 Series by several years. By 2005 the Series II facelift brought a sharper nose and some detailed mechanical improvements including steps to make the ride suppler and quieter, while a raft of refinement upgrades were also introduced – and all at a lower price than before. But the mainstay engine remained as before – Fiat/Alfa’s long-lived 110kW/181Nm 1970cc twin-cam four-cylinder petrol engine known as the Twin Spark - with a slick-shifting five-speed manual or problematic five-speed Selespeed automated manual gearbox. With sharp steering, reasonable fuel economy and rorty performance, the 147 Twin Spark gained a dedicated following, and remained virtually unchanged for the duration of its decade on sale in Australia. |
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