Is this Giulietta worth a look?
Discussion
Was this ever anyone's on here? I'm thinking of taking a look at it but don't know much about these cars. The shut lines on the back door and boot look a bit wide. Is this just usual for this model?
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Well this is still for sale. Seems a bargain at £8.5K but the webuyanycar trade price is just £6k. Are these really that undesirable?? I'm well aware of WBACs lowball offers but this seems excessive. For comparison most Focus ST's of that age, say advertised at £11K with a dealer are coming up with approx £9.5K on WBAC.
Any Cloverleaf owners care to persuade me that it's a decent proposition. I like a fun, sporty steer. The usual reviews paint them as quite dull vis a vis the Focus ST, Gold GTi etc, but I always suspect the motoring press is a bit biased. The stats and spec of the 1.8 Cloverleaf look good on paper but I'm needing some convincing.
Any Cloverleaf owners care to persuade me that it's a decent proposition. I like a fun, sporty steer. The usual reviews paint them as quite dull vis a vis the Focus ST, Gold GTi etc, but I always suspect the motoring press is a bit biased. The stats and spec of the 1.8 Cloverleaf look good on paper but I'm needing some convincing.
Toyoda said:
Cheers it does seem to be the norm.
As for the red leather seats, some models have matching red door cards, but this one has black. Is it likely to be that the previous owner has just swapped the seats, or could you spec the red seats with the standard doorcards?
I am fairly sure that is normal for that age of Giulietta.As for the red leather seats, some models have matching red door cards, but this one has black. Is it likely to be that the previous owner has just swapped the seats, or could you spec the red seats with the standard doorcards?
I had a 170 multiair Sportiva in the same spec and I remember the door cards being black and the seats red.
It was a very good car with no issues of any sort during the 50k miles I ran it for.
Truckosaurus said:
I recall his conclusion is that the Golf is 'better' but the Alfa is more fun.
We've had our 170 Sportiva for over two years, and it's a great drive IMO, it feels very planted and goes really well for a 1.4. If you get a 2014 onwards model, the seats are improved as well as the stereo/satnav.
I'm pretty sure they didn't change the doorcards to red when red leather was specified.
if you go off webuyanycar valuations on anything you'll probably end up buying nothing!
The cloverleaf is quite a rare car in manual form, only about 750 sold between 2010 and 2014 when the TCT only was introduced. Its rare to find more than 20 for sale across the whole country at any one time so its fairly easy to get a rough idea of the value based on year and miles. Condition and history is obviously something you have to check by seeing the car.
I think they are great value for money, they are solid in terms of reliability and build quality, the looks you either like or don't. I personally think they look much better than the generic options. The performance is good and the grip is fine, it doesn't have the steering feel of a 205GTI or an RS megane or something but they are better than some reviews will have you believe. Another plus point is that its highly unlikely you'll get stabbed in the middle of the night for your keys, which can be an issue in some areas with fast fords and Golfs.
I have one for sale too at the moment, the black one with 91k, maybe too many miles for you not the colour you want but as a car its been totally trouble free for the last 60k miles. I bought it off a friend of mine.
I'd say you have nothing to worry about as long as its been looked after.
if you go off webuyanycar valuations on anything you'll probably end up buying nothing!
The cloverleaf is quite a rare car in manual form, only about 750 sold between 2010 and 2014 when the TCT only was introduced. Its rare to find more than 20 for sale across the whole country at any one time so its fairly easy to get a rough idea of the value based on year and miles. Condition and history is obviously something you have to check by seeing the car.
I think they are great value for money, they are solid in terms of reliability and build quality, the looks you either like or don't. I personally think they look much better than the generic options. The performance is good and the grip is fine, it doesn't have the steering feel of a 205GTI or an RS megane or something but they are better than some reviews will have you believe. Another plus point is that its highly unlikely you'll get stabbed in the middle of the night for your keys, which can be an issue in some areas with fast fords and Golfs.
I have one for sale too at the moment, the black one with 91k, maybe too many miles for you not the colour you want but as a car its been totally trouble free for the last 60k miles. I bought it off a friend of mine.
I'd say you have nothing to worry about as long as its been looked after.
DoubleD said:
How do they cope with kids in car seats in the back? Kids car seats tend to be pretty tall and these cars have quite a low roof line.
My daughter fits in the back on her Recaro Monza Nova 2 with no issues. She's nearly 8 and has the headrest near its max height. Rear legroom is also pretty good for a medium sized hatchback.The wife has had her Giulietta Cloverleaf for 4 years now. It seats the two children (both in child seats) comfortably in the back but there's not loads of legroom behind the driver's seat when I'm driving it (i'm 6'1"). But we can easily fit a Bugaboo buggy in the boot (more easily than the Mini Countryman we've just bought), it goes like stink, handles pretty well and has had no major problems.
Like all Alfa's, keep on top of maintenance and remember that the 1750TBi engine needs regular oil changes with the correct Selenia Sport Power - it's made specifically for this engine. Turbos are known to blow even on low mileage examples but this is attributed to irregular oil changes, wrong oil being used, oil feed pipe and banjo not been swapped for the later version (from 2013 I think), and fuel contaminating the oil. Ours has always had the correct oil, changed every 8-10k miles from new and has covered 64k now.
I would advise a test drive to see if you want it or not. For me, that's what it boils down to - you either love Alfas or you don't.
Like all Alfa's, keep on top of maintenance and remember that the 1750TBi engine needs regular oil changes with the correct Selenia Sport Power - it's made specifically for this engine. Turbos are known to blow even on low mileage examples but this is attributed to irregular oil changes, wrong oil being used, oil feed pipe and banjo not been swapped for the later version (from 2013 I think), and fuel contaminating the oil. Ours has always had the correct oil, changed every 8-10k miles from new and has covered 64k now.
I would advise a test drive to see if you want it or not. For me, that's what it boils down to - you either love Alfas or you don't.
Here is my 2p.
I have had my 2011 52K Giulietta Cloverleaf for just over 4 months now having previously owned a 159 TBI and a MK5 Golf GTI.
I think they are very underrated for what they are, to date I have suffered no major issues other than a completely wrecked blower motor which I think was more of a freak occurrence than a common problem. The build quality isn't the greatest, some of the trim feels flimsy and you will get the odd rattle but on the flip side of that the car is very light so it feels very spritely and handles very well as standard.
The engine is great and very characterful, it's a bit flat below 2K but will pull harder and harder towards the redline, mine has had a modest remap to 260BHP (280+ is easily achievable) and it sounds nice and raspy with just a performance backbox.
I'm averaging around 28mpg long term which mostly consists of a fast b-road commute and driving around town but I have had nearly 40MPG over a long distance.
It's not as practical as my old Golf with it's sloping roofline and boot but it looks so much more special with the added bonus of not seeing another every journey you make.
I'm in the process of updating the looks to the latest facelift, so far I have done the front grill, foglight surrounds and door mirrors and once I can source a set of reasonably priced door handles you could easily mistaken it for a current model.
As I got it for such a good price I can see myself hanging onto it for a good few years.
I have had my 2011 52K Giulietta Cloverleaf for just over 4 months now having previously owned a 159 TBI and a MK5 Golf GTI.
I think they are very underrated for what they are, to date I have suffered no major issues other than a completely wrecked blower motor which I think was more of a freak occurrence than a common problem. The build quality isn't the greatest, some of the trim feels flimsy and you will get the odd rattle but on the flip side of that the car is very light so it feels very spritely and handles very well as standard.
The engine is great and very characterful, it's a bit flat below 2K but will pull harder and harder towards the redline, mine has had a modest remap to 260BHP (280+ is easily achievable) and it sounds nice and raspy with just a performance backbox.
I'm averaging around 28mpg long term which mostly consists of a fast b-road commute and driving around town but I have had nearly 40MPG over a long distance.
It's not as practical as my old Golf with it's sloping roofline and boot but it looks so much more special with the added bonus of not seeing another every journey you make.
I'm in the process of updating the looks to the latest facelift, so far I have done the front grill, foglight surrounds and door mirrors and once I can source a set of reasonably priced door handles you could easily mistaken it for a current model.
As I got it for such a good price I can see myself hanging onto it for a good few years.
said: Here is my 2p.
I have had my 2011 52K Giulietta Cloverleaf for just over 4 months now having previously owned a 159 TBI and a MK5 Golf GTI.
I think they are very underrated for what they are, to date I have suffered no major issues other than a completely wrecked blower motor which I think was more of a freak occurrence than a common problem. The build quality isn't the greatest, some of the trim feels flimsy and you will get the odd rattle but on the flip side of that the car is very light so it feels very spritely and handles very well as standard.
Hows does the G compare with the Golf and 159 in comfort and road noise. I thought the mk4 Golf was quiet inside and handle bad roads nicely.I have had my 2011 52K Giulietta Cloverleaf for just over 4 months now having previously owned a 159 TBI and a MK5 Golf GTI.
I think they are very underrated for what they are, to date I have suffered no major issues other than a completely wrecked blower motor which I think was more of a freak occurrence than a common problem. The build quality isn't the greatest, some of the trim feels flimsy and you will get the odd rattle but on the flip side of that the car is very light so it feels very spritely and handles very well as standard.
Also how easy was it to fix / replace the heater blower? So a YouTube video of it and required removing the clutch pedal for access.
Thanks
V6todayEVmanana said:
Hows does the G compare with the Golf and 159 in comfort and road noise. I thought the mk4 Golf was quiet inside and handle bad roads nicely.
Also how easy was it to fix / replace the heater blower? So a YouTube video of it and required removing the clutch pedal for access.
Thanks
The 159 was the most refined out of the bunch, better build quality, nicer interior and better seats but it felt very heavy to drive. Between the Golf and Giulietta they are quite similar, neither has a much road noise but the Giulietta has much nicer steering and I would say handles better.Also how easy was it to fix / replace the heater blower? So a YouTube video of it and required removing the clutch pedal for access.
Thanks
In all honestly it was a massive pain and most specialists will recommend removing the dash which involves taking off the front doors to do the job quoting I think around 12 hours to do the job! I too saw that video which was a lifesaver, took me about a morning to do and it involves a lot of wiggling and contorting to do it properly but it is doable and very satisfying once done especially with saving about £1000 in labour!
I test drove a facelift Giulietta with the twin clutch box. A bit cramped in the back but not terrible. The engine and gearbox were both good. I personally wouldn't have guessed it was turbocharged if I hadn't already known. Just felt strong and responsive. It also sounded nice. As someone earlier said it has a particular rasp. I found it vaguely reminiscent of the old Nord twincams.
It had a bit of torque steer but it wasn't enough to put me off. Otherwise, handling felt secure at least in the limited time I had it. It was nice inside too.
Overall I felt it lacked a bit of character for an Alfa, but at the price they are now, it would be the hot hatch I'd choose.
I drove a 159 1750 TI at around the same time. I preferred the driving position in that. Steering wheel also felt nicer. But the engine lacked drama in delivery and sound and the car felt heavy. Hard choice between the two for me actually. The looks and driving environment of the 159, or the performance and more agile feel of the QV.
It had a bit of torque steer but it wasn't enough to put me off. Otherwise, handling felt secure at least in the limited time I had it. It was nice inside too.
Overall I felt it lacked a bit of character for an Alfa, but at the price they are now, it would be the hot hatch I'd choose.
I drove a 159 1750 TI at around the same time. I preferred the driving position in that. Steering wheel also felt nicer. But the engine lacked drama in delivery and sound and the car felt heavy. Hard choice between the two for me actually. The looks and driving environment of the 159, or the performance and more agile feel of the QV.
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