Keys in the fruit bowl…
We’re running two very di erent takes on the timeless European performance car. Ben Miller and Phil McNamara swap rides
EARLIER IN THIS issue you may have read the Giant Test. In it, we compare and contrast the new Audi RS4 Avant, Alfa’s Giulia Quadrifoglio and AMG’s C63 S estate. But this battle is in fact one that rages most days in the CAR office, where we’re fortunate enough to be running both the Giulia and the RS4’s two-door sister car, the RS5 coupe.
This month Ben Miller and Phil McNamara flitted between each other’s daily drives in the name of science.
PM: Interesting to finally spend some time in the RS5. Its most compelling aspect is its refinement. Wind noise is minimised and there’s barely any rolling tyre noise. A great cruiser. The Alfa isn’t bad, but it’s not in the Audi’s league. Jumping from the Giulia into the RS5 underlines the Audi’s clear advantage on interior quality and gadgetry; the Alfa has lane departure warning but no active countersteer, its screen is shamed by that of a Seat Ateca, there’s no CarPlay, no ability to input a postcode bar the weirdly good voice recognition…
BM: Indeed, though much of the Audi’s tech is lost on me – I don’t use it. You’re right about the refinement, though. On the adaptive dampers the ride is impressively pliant: I recently drove an RS4 without the adaptive dampers and it was fairly unyielding. For me it’s the two engines and drivetrains that really set the two apart, though. I already had a hunch the Audi’s engine wasn’t sufficiently charismatic, and the Alfa has confirmed it. The Audi never feels slow, thanks in no small part to the fabulously polished quattro powertrain, but 444bhp isn’t enough relative to the C63 S AMG or the Alfa. And after the Giulia’s mad top-end rush, the Audi’s delivery is just so linear; effective, but not exactly thrilling.
PM: You’re right – on the road, the RS5 always manages to feel quick. That smooth delivery and rich torque make for ultra-rapid overtaking but the Audi’s engine is so lacking in emotion, whereas the Alfa sings. The Giulia’s is one of the best sixes on sale, no doubt. Yes, the Audi has that spread of torque but it might as well be a twin turbodiesel. When you rev the Alfa out it sounds incredible, and the auto ’box is surprisingly sharp. I don’t agree you need it in everything-off Race mode to enjoy the Giulia; it’s thrilling and sonorous in Dynamic. BM: It is, but Race mode is just so
fabulously lairy, I don’t know why you’d waste a journey not being in it. Twist the dial round, soften the dampers with Alfa’s equivalent of bumpy-road mode and the Giulia just comes alive: noise, drama, a rear axle you feel telepathically in tune with, hyperactive steering that lets you drive with your wrists like a Caterham… It’s just so immersive. Before and after a fast drive in the Giulia I find myself taking a moment and doing some deep-breathing exercises. You could say that means the Audi’s demonstrably superior, and it probably is by any objective measure, but I love the Alfa for the fire in its belly and the fact that it makes every mile memorable.
PM: Straight up, I’d have the Alfa over the Audi any day of the week. The exterior design is more beautiful, with a handsome cab-back silhouette that’s covered with nice details; the Alfa Romeo shield grille, the beautifully integrated bumper vents like a Spitfire’s plan view. By contrast the A5 has gone from being beautiful to overwrought. With these two it’s technocrat versus
BM: Come on, the RS5 does look pretty damn fine. But yeah, if it were my money I’d go with the Giulia, in red, but I’d be sure to find a great dealer first… In a way, though, these two are so different as to be almost complementary. Their strengths and weaknesses dovetail so perfectly that if you had the money – enough for a 911 GT3 or even a McLaren 570S if your Audi and Alfa are heavily optioned – you could own both and it wouldn’t feel like tautology…
PM: Steady on! I’d like to think my £150k dream garage would be a little more imaginative than that – but I take your point. The Giulia Quadrifoglio is simply more of an event, and to have Alfa Romeo go from nowhere to being in contention with an RS Audi, behind which there are decades of evolution, is quite an achievement.