RE: Alfa Giulietta | Shed of the Week

[username_checksout]

caffeine said:

Unfortunately things go rather awry at the front end which is a sort of tall, amorphous mass with tiny features and ‘beady’ little headlights, similar to the MiTo of the same era, it was often dubbed the ‘Surprised Owl’ look, certainly a disappointing follow up to the low, sleek look of the 159, Brera, etc.

Came here to say the same. The front is gopping.

[andyroo1990]

I bought 60 plate Cloverleaf 1750tbi as a family/daily back in 2019 for £6500 with 58k on the clock. Now sits at 106k. Its generally been quite reliable.

Boot wiring looms replaced as they're in a place where the wires eventually fray. Recently changed the radiator, the 02 sensors and the coolant bottle; all the original equipment stamped April 2010.

I've just had my injectors cleaned which solved my rough idle; 2 of them had gunk obstructing the spray pattern but generally in great condition.

I change the oil every 6 months, belts changed twice in my ownership; 2020 and 2024. Some modifications like a Novitec rear diffuser and cat back. Wheels and calipers.

Around town using E5 and Archoil I get 30mpg. Did a long run to Scotland, trip said 38.4mpg and I did 394 miles and squeezed in 47.17litre so 37.97mpg a true calculation.

Its not as Beautiful as my RX8 was, Its not a performance monster like my Megane RS250 was but its a brilliant 5 door for the school run, family holiday with the dog and roof box or enjoying some B roads.

[Jonstar]

Had the 170, supposedly the pick of the bunch. Great all round engine, and brilliant value. The driving position was shocking though, the pedals are angled upwards and there's nowhere to rest your left leg, how can they get it so wrong I'll never know.

[Water Fairy]

Johnspex said:

Do these people who are so desperate to be first wake up, post, and run into mummy and Daddy's bedroom shouting " I was first!" only to be told to go back to bed as they have school in the morning?

Ironic that you actually sound sadder than those of whom you speak. It's just a bit of fun ffs.

[Killer2005]

Jonstar said:

The driving position was shocking though, the pedals are angled upwards and there's nowhere to rest your left leg, how can they get it so wrong I'll never know.

Those are my wife's complaints about mine. We however have very different driving positions, I have my seat on the lowest setting whilst she sits higher up, so not an opinion I share.

Edited by Killer2005 on Friday 28th June 22:22

[kambites]

Article said:

...smart-looking...

Well I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder but to my eyes, it's one of the most ungainly looking mainstream hatches of the last 30 years. It looks like the front end was scaled for a car 30% larger than the rest of the thing.

[jamesbilluk]

Killer2005 said:

Those are my wife's complaints about mine. We however have very different driving positions, I have my seat on the lowest setting whilst she sits higher up, so an opinion I share.

And the steering wheel doesn't go low enough.

[Mr Tidy]

I still haven't owned an Alfa Romeo - I got put off Italian cars by two 1970s Fiats!

This looked like a decent buy for someone, and Shed did us proud again, but the front end really does look minging.

[Blackpuddin]

kambites said:

Article said:

...smart-looking...

Well I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder but to my eyes, it's one of the most ungainly looking mainstream hatches of the last 30 years. It looks like the front end was scaled for a car 30% larger than the rest of the thing.

Takes all sorts I suppose, I like it.

[njw1]

Mr Tidy said:

I still haven't owned an Alfa Romeo - I got put off Italian cars by two 1970s Fiats!

I got put off Italian cars by an absolute turd of a Fiat Punto and the previously mentioned Guilietta of my sisters did absolutely nothing to change my mind, it did quite the opposite in fact. A shame really as I quite like the styling of a lot of them.

[Boringvolvodriver]

I had one in 170 DCT guise as a company car and really enjoyed it. In the 34000 miles I had it (left the company) no issues at all although I managed to get through front tyres fairly quickly!

Would have had another one (wasn’t in the list at next company) although not sure I would be so keen at shed money.

[the-norseman]

Mr Peel said:

These have some appeal. But it's a nuisance that the facelifted Cloverleaf is auto only.

Yep, I ended up buying a manual 1.4 as I wanted facelift but manual.

[the-norseman]

I bought a Giulietta recently as a daily, always had "hot" hatches like Leon Cupra/Cupra R etc but wanted something a little less thirsty, I wanted red, manual and with the bucket seats, I had settled on 1.4 170 but couldnt find one with the spec so ended up with a 1.4 150.

I love the styling, love the interior, economy is decent but the 150 model is "slow" it needs pepping up with a remap.

I've got two cars currently, a 2011 XC90 on 132k and the 2017 Giulietta on 69k. the Volvo is fairly clean underneath, the Alfa is rusty as hell underneath looks like its about 25+ years old.

[AMGSee55]

andyroo1990 said:

I bought 60 plate Cloverleaf 1750tbi as a family/daily back in 2019 for £6500 with 58k on the clock. Now sits at 106k. Its generally been quite reliable.

Boot wiring looms replaced as they're in a place where the wires eventually fray. Recently changed the radiator, the 02 sensors and the coolant bottle; all the original equipment stamped April 2010.

I've just had my injectors cleaned which solved my rough idle; 2 of them had gunk obstructing the spray pattern but generally in great condition.

I change the oil every 6 months, belts changed twice in my ownership; 2020 and 2024. Some modifications like a Novitec rear diffuser and cat back. Wheels and calipers.

Around town using E5 and Archoil I get 30mpg. Did a long run to Scotland, trip said 38.4mpg and I did 394 miles and squeezed in 47.17litre so 37.97mpg a true calculation.

Its not as Beautiful as my RX8 was, Its not a performance monster like my Megane RS250 was but its a brilliant 5 door for the school run, family holiday with the dog and roof box or enjoying some B roads.

Much love for the Alfa 90 next to you RHD is proper rocking horse poo rarity!!

[Rob 131 Sport]

AlfaG said:

Love my Speciale. Have owned it for 5 years and it’s been utterly reliable. Just routine servicing (belts done last year). It’s no Golf R but the 2.0 diesel is peppy enough to make swift progress and I’ve no complaints about the handling or brakes. Only meant to keep it for a couple of years but 5 years on and I’ve no intention of selling it

Lovely looking car that will still look great in years to come.

I personally don’t like the replacement Tonale, as I’m just not into the high car thing.

Edited by Rob 131 Sport on Saturday 29th June 03:22

[NDNDNDND]

the-norseman said:

I've got two cars currently, a 2011 XC90 on 132k and the 2017 Giulietta on 69k. the Volvo is fairly clean underneath, the Alfa is rusty as hell underneath looks like its about 25+ years old.

That's interesting. Our 2012 Giulietta is remarkably spotless underneath, with only a little surface corrosion on the suspension.

I can't decide if I like ours or not. It looks nice in dark metallic red. I quite like the interior; the half-leather seats have held up very well, but bits are very plasticky. The gearknob is awful, with a fragile plastic cap that breaks off easily and flaking paint that can give you a papercut. Annoyingly, being a lift-up reverse, finding a decent-looking replacement is tricky.

I quite like the engine. Ours is the MA 170 and it has a little bit of old-fashioned turbo lag and a twin-cammy sort of sound that makes holding the gears quite rewarding. But there's throttle lag too (electronic, not turbo) and I drive everywhere in 'D' mode as it's virtually undriveable in 'N'.

The steering is fine I guess, for an electric system. Chassis is nicely balanced and you can point the nose into a corner with a little lift of the throttle.

The brakes are awful - horrendously over-servo'd with poor feel at the top of the pedal and a snatchiness in the mid-travel that makes modulating the brakes hard-to-impossible. You learn to drive around it by braking extremely cautiously. Heel n' toeing is done slowly and carefully. Also, if you try to hustle it, you find yourself stepping back and forth across the threshold for the 'brake pre-fill' system, which means you can find the brake response changing from corner to corner, which is infuriating. Whoever signed off on the brakes needs a thump. On the plus side, the pedals are set perfectly for heel n' toe.

It's a good family car, I guess. More interesting and better-looking than an Astra or Focus, and probably driving somewhere between the two.

[Court_S]

Guessing the fault wasn’t of too much concern if it’s gone already; looked pretty smart on the face of it.

[waynedear]

Killer2005 said:

Jonstar said:

The driving position was shocking though, the pedals are angled upwards and there's nowhere to rest your left leg, how can they get it so wrong I'll never know.

Those are my wife's complaints about mine. We however have very different driving positions, I have my seat on the lowest setting whilst she sits higher up, so not an opinion I share.

Edited by Killer2005 on Friday 28th June 22:22

I worried about the 'nowhere for left foot'... I had nothing to worry about, never even notice when driving.
I have the seat at it's lowest, driving position is fantastic.

[RacingBlue]

I really want to like these, but after the lovely looking 147, I’ve always found these a bit blobby and generic looking. Even in top spec, they just seem too ordinary for me.

[Jimjimhim]

waynedear said:

Killer2005 said:

Jonstar said:

The driving position was shocking though, the pedals are angled upwards and there's nowhere to rest your left leg, how can they get it so wrong I'll never know.

Those are my wife's complaints about mine. We however have very different driving positions, I have my seat on the lowest setting whilst she sits higher up, so not an opinion I share.

Edited by Killer2005 on Friday 28th June 22:22

I worried about the 'nowhere for left foot'... I had nothing to worry about, never even notice when driving.
I have the seat at it's lowest, driving position is fantastic.

Where as I think they are awful, the steering wheel won't go low enough and there is no space for your left foot to go which is a pain, and like has been said the peddles are in a funny position. The interior in general is crap though with cheap flimsy plastics used everywhere. Also there is no where to put anything, the door bins are next to useless. I found mine to be much more reliable than I was expecting, apart from bits of interior falling off that is.

I don't understand the person saying he spent a day changing a headlight bulb though, I changed 2 and it took me 10 mins!