Even on short sidewalls and with a chassis tuned to handle all that power, the Giulia rides with a shocking lack of harshness. We were in love. With miles on its odo, we finally got the car to the test track, where it managed to get to 60 mph in 3. It also managed to light the "service electronic throttle control" warning again.
Back to the dealership we went. This time, the dealer replaced the fuel pump under warranty. For the remaining 12 months of the test, we settled into a routine with the Giulia: periods of praying in vain for the problems to cease interspersed with flashes of pure driving joy. We were elated when we could finish a long drive without scheduling a dealer visit. That's a sad state of affairs.
When we took the car in for its 10,mile service, we lost use of it for 31 days. Thirty-one days! That's because, in addition to our requested oil change and inspections and such, we complained about a rear-end whine.
The dealer diagnosed the sound as bearing noise from the differential. The solution, after the dealer consulted with Alfa corporate support, was to replace the diff. Problem was, it would have to be ordered. Then when it finally arrived, the single Alfa tech was swamped with work—the overworked Alfa tech being a sort of yin to the Maytag repairman's yang.
About miles later, our QF seemed to have an acute attack of hypochondriasis. It believed its engine-oil level was low and threw a warning. The oil level was fine, though. So the dealer reflashed the sensor. Then at 23, miles, our old nemesis, the "service electronic throttle control" warning, lit again. The dealer could find no fault. This would happen once more, at 34, miles, at which time the tech found a connector that wasn't fully seated and replaced it.
At 27, miles, one staffer was greeted to a kaleidoscopic light-and-sound show while motoring away from a drive-through carwash.
The car warned of an open rear door and an inoperative turn signal. The attention tones mixed unhappily and were joined by the beeps of malfunctioning parking sensors for the remaining 10 minutes of his commute. And then it stopped. And never happened again. At 31, miles, the low-oil light came on again during a long drive.
And again, the oil level was actually fine. By the end of the Giulia's day stay in the shop, the dealer had reflashed the sensor, replaced the sensor, and then brought in an engineer with a software update for the sensor. The rears were down to the cords with 12, miles on them, and the fronts wore out after 15, miles of use.
But it wasn't the pricey spark plugs or the short-lived tires that bothered us the most. It was the absurd frequency and duration of the Giulia's stays at the dealership. During its 14 months with us, the Giulia spent 80 days out of commission. That's unforgivable. I'd settle for a cheapish interior when a car is this good to drive. Just a prediction: Nobody is going to buy this car when we are done with it.
The ZF eight-speed slams home wide-open-throttle shifts on par with the best dual-clutch trannies. This hp beast is a remarkably docile freeway cruiser: compliant ride, quiet exhaust note, good sightlines.
The shift paddles are perfection in material, placement, and feel. It rips, snorts, and scampers like a playful puppy, and when you're pushing it hard on a good road, the steering is divine. It has the optional wood-shop-scented interior: a heady mix of glue, burning wood, and sawdust. This a compelling toy for enthusiasts. Too bad its atrocious reliability makes it a poor transportation device.
In a car this prone to failures large and small, shouldn't the warning lights be brighter? Its brakes are more difficult to modulate when attempting to drive gently than any other new car's.
Moderate rain on the highway and this got spooky, as if it were on marbles or ice. We probably should have known we'd eventually get to this point, but that brings no satisfaction now that we're here. We'll just say it: After a trouble-filled 30,plus miles with our long-term Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio , we have officially begun criticizing the periodic warning lights that appear on its instrument panel.
Mind you, we're not referring to our complaining that the warning lights have come on although there's a lot of that as well but actually criticizing the placement, color, and luminosity of the warnings themselves. Hey, critics are going to critique.
But still, it indicates a familiarity with warnings, both false and true, that is pretty shameful. We've documented plenty of sightings of the "check engine" and "service electronic throttle" warnings. So much so, in fact, that they no longer spike our heart rate.
Since we last updated you on the Giulia, the electronic-throttle warning popped up once at about 34, miles. The dealer discovered a connector wasn't seated and replaced it. That seems to have solved the problem, so far. About miles earlier, during a long highway slog, one editor noticed a "low engine oil" warning, but only after cycling the ignition following a stop for gas.
A text appeared between the gauges alerting us to the issue. Had the warning been on earlier in the drive and gone unnoticed? Maybe, our staffer thought, the light being relatively dim and blending in with the rest of the instrument readouts. No harm, though. A check of the dipstick confirmed that the warning light wasn't just dim, it was also dimwitted.
The oil level was fine. We took the Giulia to our dealer, where it spent about a week and a half while technicians fumbled with it. First, they reflashed the system, which didn't work. Next, they replaced the oil-level sensor, which also didn't work.
Then the techs brought out an engineer with a fresh software update, which finally solved the problem. It cost us no money, but we spent a great deal of time and nearly ran out of patience. A few thousand miles before that, one Giulia driver was greeted to a festival of lights and sounds that would do a carnival fairway proud.
Following a morning carwash, the Giulia warned of an open rear door and an inoperative turn signal. The incessant attention tones mingled unhappily and were joined by the warning beeps of the malfunctioning parking sensors whenever the car's speed dropped below their activation threshold. It's a soundtrack that might be useful in CIA black-site interrogations. And then, it stopped and has yet to come back.
Not even after repeated trips to the carwash and some miles. We went back to the dealer that performed our 20K-mile service but failed to swap out the cabin and engine air filters. Ones we found. Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio Quadrifoglio upgraded for New Alfa Romeo Tonale: production car leaks online. Alfa Romeo: no plans to expand GTA range. Related articles. Latest Drives. Ferrari Competizione review. Cupra Formentor VZ2 1. View all latest drives.
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