2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio review

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2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio

The market for four-door performance sedans is becoming increasingly thin in 2024, as greater focus is placed on making high-riding SUVs go really fast.

Of course, the segment stalwarts remain. We've just seen a new generation of Mercedes-AMG C63, and BMW's M3 is still popular the world over.

Alfa Romeo's Giulia, too, has just gone under the knife for a midlife facelift, but the changes are minimal. You can note its new styling, some new interior technology, and subtle spec differences, but there are no changes to the 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 engine.

That's not necessarily a bad thing, but are Alfa Romeo's updates enough to stay competitive with its rivals in 2024?

We recently tested the facelifted 2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio to find out. I've been spending some time with it to reacquaint myself, and I want to impart my favourite things about the model.

How much is an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio?

The Alfa Romeo Giulia was the first model built upon the Italian brand's Giorgio platform, designed to reinvigorate Alfa Romeo and bring the brand back into the limelight.

The platform has gone on to spawn the Stelvio SUV, and now the Giulia itself has hit a midlife facelift that's brought subtle styling tweaks inside and out.

There's updated styling inside and out, new LED lights with a unique 3+3 lighting signature and scrolling indicators, plus a new 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster.

It remains with the same powertrain – a 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine – and while that engine was made more powerful in overseas markets, the Australian version retains the same outputs.

That means the rear wheels must deal with 375kW and 600Nm – spoiler alert – it's exactly capable of just that. But more on that in the driving section.

The Quadrifoglio sits at the top of the Giulia line-up as the performance-focused hero. It's priced from $153,700 before on-road costs (ORCs), though the ultra-limited-edition Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAm briefly held the 'most expensive Giulia title' at $288,000 plus ORCs.

The Giulia Quadrifoglio undercuts the most affordable rear-wheel-drive BMW M3 with a manual transmission by $10,000, but the more direct comparison is the M3 Competition that costs $181,500 plus ORCs.

The Mercedes-AMG C63 E Performance costs $187,900 plus ORCs.

Regarding how much kit your $153,700 gets you, the Giulia Quadrifoglio comes with 20-inch wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport tyres, heated sports seats with electric adjustment, a 14-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, adaptive sports suspension, and a hands-free powered boot.

It's also adorned by copious carbon-fibre accents throughout the interior and exterior.

Alfa Romeo has tapped revered designers such as Bertone, Giugiaro, and Pininfarina in years past to pen its cars, but the Giulia's design was brought in-house.

Now, I'm not meant to tell you what good-looking is, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But let's be honest: the Alfa Romeo Giulia is objectively gorgeous.

I think the Alfa Romeo Giulia is one of the most stunning four-door sedans on the road – particularly in the flagship Giulia Quadrifoglio specification.

The proportions are perfect, the intricate details are eye-catching, and the colours are simply stunning.

As for what's under the bonnet, the Giulia Q's 2.9-litre V6 is something of a Ferrari engine in disguise. It's design follows closely that of the 3.9-litre V8 from Ferrari's old California T and 488 GTB.

You can kind of feel the connection too. It obviously sounds different, but there's an energetic nature to the motor which, although it dislikes the mundane daily commute, switches up as soon as you rev past 4000rpm.

It's characterful, revs out beautifully to redline, and although there's a smidge of turbo lag, once it's on power it's on for good!

How big is an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio?

You might think a car that came out nearly a decade ago is starting to fall behind in terms of presentation and design.

And to be honest, that's a fair assumption.

It's true that the infotainment could be larger, and there could be bits and pieces added such as ambient lighting, but the parts that really matter still stand up as brilliantly tactile.

I love the metallic shift paddles that feel incredibly sturdy and have a brilliant responsiveness, while the aluminium pedals felt great under my feet.

The steering wheel is nice and thin – easy to grip – and the carbon-fibre accents throughout the cabin look awesome. The inlays are arranged in a woven pattern that has a cool texture to it.

The seats might not be the special optional $8350 carbon-fibre Sparco bucket seats, but they had tons of support to keep me tight in fast cornering, while being comfortable enough for long journeys on the freeway.

But it's no stand-out in terms of luxuriousness. There are minimal contrasting trim inlays and no contrast stitching for the leather seats. I only wish there weren't so many dark materials and more pops of colour.

It also misses out on a surround-view camera and tilt-down mirrors – a major omission in my opinion – and there was no head-up display or wireless smartphone mirroring.

The centre console has enough storage for wallets, keys, and phones, plus a wireless smartphone charger and three USB outputs take care of recharging devices.

Unfortunately, I encountered a few creaks and rattles in my time with the Giulia Q. They're the kind of noises that creep into the cabin when the body flexes over uneven ground or over particularly sharp road joins.

Second-row space is tight for my 194cm frame. There's not much leg room behind my own driving position, but most shorter people should fare fine.

At the rearmost, the boot pops open to reveal a 480-litre space. I like how there were latches to fold the rear seat backs, while a tyre repair kit can be found under the boot floor.

Does the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto?

New for the facelifted Giulia is a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster that can cycle between various graphics and displays to show information. I settled on the ’70s-style graphics that mimicked the old Jaeger gauges in Giulias past.

The 8.8-inch main infotainment display is lacking in size, but the functionality is made easy through touch capability or rotary controls. There are no obvious shortcut buttons to cycle between the integrated TomTom satellite navigation, digital radio, or to even skip to the wired Apple CarPlay/Android Auto. But, the home screen is configurable with customisable tiles.

I'm a big fan of the screen's graphics and typefaces – they look suitably Italian.

The screen is quick and snappy to touch inputs, and I like that there are song skip and volume controls down on the centre console. I especially like that Alfa Romeo forges on with physical controls for the air-conditioning controls, which makes it a breeze to tweak on the go.

There is no way for owners to track or control their car using a smartphone app at present like you can in something like a BMW 3 Series or Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

Is the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio a safe car?

As of January 2023, the Alfa Romeo Giulia is unrated by ANCAP for its safety credentials. The Giulia last achieved a five-star rating for 2.0-litre and 2.2-litre variants (not the Quadrifoglio) in 2017, but this rating has since expired.

What safety technology does the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio have?

New additions to the facelifted Giulia Quadrifoglio include adaptive cruise control with lane-centring functionality.

In my experience with the car, these systems worked very well and made the car easy to drive on the long highway commute to the office. However, there were instances where the adaptive system could be confused by direct sunlight and momentarily stop working.

It took longer than usual for the lane-centring system to figure out where lane markings were too, though once the car picked them up it was fine.

The forward collision warning system can sometimes falsely react to what it perceives as a collision. But it didn't get to the point where the car braked by itself – it just flashed up a ‘BRAKE!’ warning.

How much does the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio cost to run?

Alfa Romeo was one of the last luxury manufacturers to hold out from a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, but it has since adopted this common warranty program.

Additionally, the brand's roadside assistance program matches that of the warranty – five years' worth.

Services are recommended every 12 months or 15,000km (whichever occurs first), but prepare for the associated costs…

Three years of capped-price servicing costs $2465, while five years totals $5345. Comparatively, the BMW M3 asks for $4500 for five years of servicing, or the Mercedes-AMG C63 E Performance will cost an eye-watering $7085 over five years and 100,000km.

The 2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio will cost $3226 per annum to comprehensively insure based on a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male driver living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.

Is the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio fuel-efficient?

It's fair to say it's unlikely Giulia Quadrifoglio owners will have an eye on fuel economy, but fuel use is surprisingly sparse for a performance-oriented sedan.

Compared to Alfa Romeo's claim of 8.2 litres per 100 kilometres on a mixed driving cycle, I managed 10.6L/100km after a week spent on freeways, city commuting, and a country drive to the Yarra Valley in Victoria.

So, definitely over Alfa Romeo's claim, but not altogether horrible for a sports car.

The Alfa Romeo Giulia's 58-litre fuel tank only takes 98-octane premium unleaded fuel, so no skimping at the petrol pump.

What is the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio like to drive?

In this updated car, power remains at 375kW and 600Nm – enough to sprint from zero to 100km/h in 3.9 seconds. It's paired to a ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic transmission that routes drive to the rear wheels only.

It's a brilliant pairing that wills the driver to go faster and faster – much like the visceral, engaging experience you'd get in a Ferrari.

On the other side of the ledger, the QV comes with cylinder-deactivation technology that enables the car to run on three cylinders at times of low demand. This helps it sip fuel frugally for the daily commute.

But while that's cool technology, no one really cares about that aspect. You all want to know what it's like to drive on a back road.

Helped largely by classic 50/50 weight distribution, the Giulia Q is a joy to drive on a twisty road.

Granted, you'll have to have it in all-out Race mode to get the exhaust at its loudest and the chassis to firm up, but this Giulia Quadrifoglio corners so flat, punches out of a corner with incredible energy, and has a tactile steering quality that feels better than a BMW M3 and Mercedes-AMG C63.

It's precise and quick when hooking into a corner, and the feedback to the driver is really communicative about what's going on under the tyres.

It is rudely firm in its most serious adaptive suspension setting. Cabin occupants are bullied around by road cracks, potholes, and lumps in the road, but the performance trade-off is incredibly useful. There is no hint of body lean as the car rounds corners, and it's unperturbed by mid-corner bumps.

When you calm the car down into its Normal driving mode, it's still pretty firm. But, it's no deal-breaker – just something to get used to.

The braking performance is really sharp too. Even though our car didn't specify the optional carbon-ceramic rotors, the brakes pull this car up quickly and firmly – and it's the kind of ability that you can rely upon again and again.

The Alfa Romeo Giulia arguably has one of the best exhaust notes of its time, whether it's experienced from inside the car or out.

It's a raspy, snarly exhaust emanating from the rear, which just so happens to get better and better the higher you rev. Even more satisfying, though, are the crisp gear changes that are accompanied by a satisfying whip-crack noise as you bang through ratios.

The only negative is it's a bit of a mundane note when it's not in all-out Race mode. And it is a shame Race mode turns off safety systems including the autonomous emergency braking and traction-control system. This is the only way you're able to hear the V6 at its best.

It is wildly fast considering it's just the rear wheels doing the pedalling. It feels every bit as rapid as its all-paw rivals, while grip is steadfast once the tyres have some heat in them.

At more mundane speeds, the tyres can skip over the tarmac when the wheels are turned sharply (such as when parking the car), but this is the only sense of traction loss I noted with the car. Even a full-throttle sprint up to the speed limit did little to overwhelm the tyres.

Should I buy an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio?

It's easy to look past the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio towards its more popular rivals such as the BMW M3 or the Mercedes-AMG C63. This Alfa might not offer everything you want in a performance car, but there's no doubt it's fast, it's fun, and it simply makes you feel good.

We've established that it has undeniable beauty, the driving experience is tack-sharp, and the character on offer can't be matched by its BMW and Mercedes rivals.

There is a list of pros and cons to consider in weighing up whether it's right for you. The cabin is dated, the technology doesn't dazzle, and there are some disappointing creaks and rattles to the build quality.

But once you start driving it, everything else simply fades away and you're left with one of the fastest, and most entertaining, driving experiences at its price point.

How do I buy an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio? The next steps.

In terms of how to buy one, Giulia Quadrifoglio customers should first start by test-driving a demonstrator at an Alfa Romeo dealership. Locations can be found via this link.

Though there's only a single Giulia Quadrifoglio variant, the experience could be improved with the Sparco performance seats – even though it's a pricey option. They hold the driver in better and look incredible.

Alfa Romeo advises there is ample stock of the Giulia Quadrifoglio available for immediate delivery.

You can also find Alfa Romeos for sale through Drive Marketplace.

If you want to stay updated with everything that’s happened to this car since our review, you’ll find all the latest news here.

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