3. Alfa Romeo Giulia

93.06%

YEARS OF MANUFACTURE 2016- present KEY POINTS Giulia is a true Alfa and it’s top for performance. Reliability is a concern, though

THE Giulia spearheaded Alfa Romeo’s rebirth and hasn’t quite served up the expected sales yet. But those who have bought one tell us they love it.

A true Alfa should be great to look at and drive, and the Giulia delivers, with the 2.0-litre petrol, 2.2 diesel and 2.9 V6 petrol engines rated top for performance and third for refinement. The car is genuine fun to drive, with the steering ranked the best in the survey, and the brakes and ride quality picking up stellar scores.

Owners also say they love the way the Giulia looks, with a fantastic result for its design only slightly marred by a marginal ranking for exterior build quality. Still, with a number one rating for child safety features, the Giulia is clearly well suited to family life.

Fuel economy is a concern, with the Alfa scoring a below average result in this area, while the Italian saloon’s infotainment system is also said to be behind the competition; its sat-nav and infotainment display comes in for particular criticism.

Perhaps more worrying is the car’s reliability, because a very high proportion of owners tell us that they’ve experienced faults with their Giulia.

“Best-looking executive saloon on sale. Outshines German brands. Only the Jaguar XE comes close.”

“Steering is one of Giulia’s best aspects. Better than any other car I’ve driven and on par with my colleague’s Porsche Cayman in the real world.”