After a very long career and facing a very tough competition in the premium compact segment, Alfa Romeo Giulietta finally receives a mid-life facelift. It has been unveiled simultaneously in five locations across Europe, with the main event taking place in the Alfa Romeo Museum, Arese.
Starting from outside, the new Giulietta features with revised front-end styling that includes a new honeycomb grille, piano black bumper inserts (with red highlights on sporty models) and revised headlamp and fog lamp surrounds. It is complemented by new badge designs (both the “Alfa Romeo” and “Giulietta” logos), new alloy wheel designs, revised tail pipes, new colours (Alfa White and Lipari Grey).
Inside the premium compact car, Giulietta receives evised seat upholsteries, dashboard and door panel finishes, a Uconnect infotainment system now with smartphone-enabled LIVE services (music streaming with Deezer and TuneIn, news with Reuters, Facebook Check-In and Twitter, plus eco:Drive and my:Car services and traffic updates for navigation-equipped models) and, of course, the new Alfa Romeo logo on the steering wheel boss and upholstery.
For those who like sporty driving Alfa Romeo offers Alfa Performance, a new service specifically created to enhance the driving experience. Using an array of digital gauges and instruments, drivers can control the main parameters of the car, measure their performance using special timers and see driving statistics on their smartphone, in addition to receiving real-time driving tips. The service is available on Uconnect 6.5 inch Radio Nav LIVE.
On the engine side, there is now the option of combining the 120hp 1.6-litre JTDM-2 turbo diesel engine with the Alfa TCT twin dry-clutch transmission. The engine produces 120hp at 3,750rpm and an impressive 320Nm of torque from just 1,7450rpm. This engine and transmission combination has a top speed of 121mph and can accelerate from 0 to 62mph in 10.2 seconds, while its official combined cycle fuel-economy and emissions figures matches those of the manual version, returning 74.3 MPG (3.8 l/100 km) and producing just 99 g/km of CO2.
In the UK, the new Alfa Romeo Giulietta’s model range features five trim levels: Giulietta, Giulietta Super, Giulietta Tecnica, Giulietta Speciale and Giulietta Veloce.
The new Alfa Romeo Giulietta goes on sale on April 1 with prices starting from just £18,450. Full pricing details will be announced closer to the car’s UK launch.
