Test drove a Giulia Quad today

[stevehifi]

Hi Guys,

Just wanted to give my impression of this fabulous car after taking it for a test drive today.

Year: 2018 with ceramic brakes, sparco seats and fully optioned
Steering: telepathic, precise, organic.
Suspension: not too stiff, very compliant and uniform
Power: aggressive, wonderful exhaust note, very quick off the line
interior: very driver focused, perfect steering wheel.. sparco seats are
very supportive.
Brakes: the car I drove had the ceramics, overall they stop well but the stopping experience feels like I'm stepping on a rod instead of a pedal. It's very firm and lacks progressive effort, but the car does stop well.

To summarize this is a very focused driver's car and turns direction remarkably. The tightness of the chassis and directness of the steering makes the car feel alot smaller than it is and makes it very playful. It inspires confidence and makes the car a joy to drive at any speed.

Compared to the M3 (ZCP):
Getting back in the M3, I feel like I'm driving a 5 series now. The lack of steering feel, and extra effort needed to rotate the car makes it feel alot bigger than it is. Also the car rolls alot more in the corners than it needs to and it's strange since the suspension/wheel combo makes the M3 so much stiffer than it needs to be.
Not to say the M3 is not capable, but I feel it doesn't reward the driver or inspire confidence like the Giulia does.

I know alot of people ding the car for the poor reliability and the dealer I spoke admitted that many of the 2017 models had issues. He even said one was lemon law'd, but he said he's had no individuals with 2018 cars come in for major issues and he's sold 20-30 cars last year.

Anyways just wanted to give my insight on the car. It's really a nice performance sedan and truly worth consideration.

Steve

[///M4ster Yoda]

Good review. I like the car but I just can't get past the front end. All I see is an Owl.

[icegrill]

Very cool review. Good luck with reliability and depreciation.

[matty088]

great review. Any mods on zcp? CS coding or anything?

I think the m rolls a ton in the rear at slow speeds. Little sloppy even. But when going quicker it gets pretty tight. I am wondering if there speed inputs in the edc tuning algorithms. I think this is true for the CS coding. After experiencing it for now 6 months. I did think the zcp coding was tighter at lower speeds though. Even harsh sometimes.

Id like to try a guila. Not sure why i didnt before i pulled trigger on the zcp.

[chicagob5]

I looked at the QV briefly when shopping around for my F80 but got scared away by reliability concerns. I like how they look and the motor is a monster. I had the same sentiment about the brakes - I suspect thats due to the pedal being electric.

[matty088]

looks like they are gonna be $4x,xxx soon for a used one.

[minn19]

Mostly agreed, except for the steering wheel and exhaust note. I've been driving M cars for so long now that a skinny steering wheel like that feels weird to me. I do really like the look/design of them though.

I don't get why people rave about the exhaust note. To me it sounds very similar to a stock M3, which is not great. It sounds just as flatulent and artificial to my ears.

I also think they are closer drivewise, but I will give you the suspension is more compliant over rough roads etc.

[minn19]

Originally Posted by matty088

looks like they are gonna be $4x,xxx soon for a used one.

Pretty soon you will be able to get a new one for that. My local dealer still has 4 18s at around 18k off and they still can't move them. That doesn't bode well for around here getting later into the summer/the current model year (19).

[shortseller]

Originally Posted by minn19

Pretty soon you will be able to get a new one for that. My local dealer still has 4 18s at around 18k off and they still can't move them. That doesn't bode well for around here getting later into the summer/the current model year (19).

Yeah, the C&D article really buried them. To go that far, it must have been a really frustrating experience. Too bad, it’s a really nice car and option within the car segment.

[Aaaaaaaaa]

You did see this right
https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews...bility-update/

"We went from recommending that people buy Giulia QFs to recommending that they lease Giulia QFs to recommending that they stay away from Giulia QFs altogether."

[minn19]

Originally Posted by shortseller

Yeah, the C&D article really buried them. To go that far, it must have been a really frustrating experience. Too bad, it’s a really nice car and option within the car segment.

At least in my area they were a hard sell any way even before this article.

[TurboSid]

Originally Posted by icegrill

Very cool review. Good luck with reliability and depreciation.

This. Reliability on Alfa's is terrible

[Aaaaaaaaa]

Originally Posted by TurboSid

This. Reliability on Alfa's is terrible

"Who buys a car like this for reliability anyway"
"I've had no problems whatsoever at 10k miles"
"Yea but Ferrari engine"
"Yea but Italian design"

Responses I'd imagine you'd get on Alfa forums

[Andrae26]

Originally Posted by ///M4ster Yoda

Good review. I like the car but I just can't get past the front end. All I see is an Owl.

Only a mother cloud love that face. I agree it's ugly from the front.

[stevehifi]

Just want to make it clear that the m3 and giulia are nothing alike, they don't drive the same, and they deliver and put down power differently.

As far as reliability is concerned, agreed that it's the luck of the draw..

[MyFragileHalogen]

Not sure about ZCP but for M4 base steering does suck in factory form. (coming from an NB Miata) However with camber plates/alignment it gets pretty good.

[Humdizzle]

would have loved to have one.

personally I think its a more exciting drive than the M3.

unfortunately just being an exciting car isn't enough. The reliability is terrible and no manual option.

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by minn19

Pretty soon you will be able to get a new one for that. My local dealer still has 4 18s at around 18k off and they still can't move them. That doesn't bode well for around here getting later into the summer/the current model year (19).

Got a link?

New Quad for low 40s that I can lemon if needed is pretty interesting.

[minn19]

Originally Posted by stevehifi

Just want to make it clear that the m3 and giulia are nothing alike, they don't drive the same, and they deliver and put down power differently.

As far as reliability is concerned, agreed that it's the luck of the draw..

Again, I didn't get that, both are very high powered rear wheel drive sedans. They both handle awesome and both can break the rear end loose with ease. I think they are much more alike than they are different.

The Giulia has noticeably more mid range power and a smoother transmission compared to the DCT. The Giulia also soaks up bumps better. Both have great feeling front ends that are eager to turn in. I will say the Giulia seems more composed in general to the M3/4s wild child like attitude. But, this is all incremental IMO and not "night and day". Everybody loves saying this is completely different/night and day etc. Just like the ZCP isn't night and day better than a civic M3 and the CS is not night and day different than a ZCP etc.

But, everybody gets different experiences out of test drives etc.

[minn19]

Originally Posted by nicknaz

Got a link?

New Quad for low 40s that I can lemon if needed is pretty interesting.

Somewhat tongue and cheek of course. But, I've seen these depending on their MSRP of course bounce around from the high 50s to mid 60s. Now they don't post the discounts lately, but I'm sure they are desperate to get them off of their lot.

https://www.schmelzalfaromeo.com/inv.../Quadrifoglio/

[stevehifi]

Originally Posted by minn19

Again, I didn't get that, both are very high powered rear wheel drive sedans. They both handle awesome and both can break the rear end loose with ease. I think they are much more alike than they are different.

The Giulia has noticeably more mid range power and a smoother transmission compared to the DCT. The Giulia also soaks up bumps better. Both have great feeling front ends that are eager to turn in. I will say the Giulia seems more composed in general to the M3/4s wild child like attitude. But, this is all incremental IMO and not "night and day". Everybody loves saying this is completely different/night and day etc. Just like the ZCP isn't night and day better than a civic M3 and the CS is not night and day different than a ZCP etc.

But, everybody gets different experiences out of test drives etc.

Sorry but they are very different, most notably in the steering dept.

The Giulia actually has steering feedback and it's very quick while the M3 is dead as can be and you really have to throw it into the turn and put your faith that the car will go where you want. The Giulia feels smaller when you drive it since it does transitions so well. The Giulia doesn't need artificial steering stiffness to make it feel better, it doesn't fight you, it flows with you.

I don't mean to contradict you, I just want to make sure people reading this review understand that you're not comparing an M3 vs an M3 ZCP, M3 CS or even dare I say an M4GTS. These cars all have similar driving characteristics and dynamics but when comparing to the Giulia, forget everything and realize that this a different animal altogether.

[allinon72]

I find it hard to believe a company like FCA fixed all the issues in 1 model year. I bet they didn't even acknowledge half the issues, much less fix them. Impressive car, but only as a weekend car. No way in hell I would DD it.