Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio
Switchable driving modes all too often lead to frustration, but the Quadrifoglio’s set-up hits the sweet spot
DYNAMIC DRIVING MODES. LOVE them or loathe them, you’ll be hard pressed to find a performance car without any today. From the simple Sport button to the fully customisable systems that allow you to play at being a chassis and powertrain engineer at the touch of a few buttons, they are ubiquitous.
The Giulia doesn’t escape this trend, but thankfully the Alfa DNA Pro system is one of the most straightforward switchable set-ups out there. The rotary control sits on the transmission tunnel, close to the driver, and therefore passes the first test of being instinctively accessible to your left hand. There are four options: Advanced Efficiency (a), Normal (n), Dynamic (d) and Race, and all are selected with a twist of the control. In Dynamic or Race mode you also have the option of pressing the little button in the centre of the control to knock the dampers back to soft or medium respectively. And that’s it. No option to change the gearshift speeds, no choice of steering weight to select, no opportunity to open the exhaust valves and draw attention to yourself in the high street; it’s brilliantly simple and equally effective.
Ignore the efficiency mode: it saps the throttle of its delightful response and makes the eight-speed auto gearbox slow to respond and borderline frustrating when you just need it to get on with it and drop a few ratios. For an eco mode it doesn’t appear to have any positive effect on fuel consumption, either. ‘Normal’ is just that, and best suited to normal driving (whatever that is). The V6 still snaps to attention, the ’box drops ratios quicker than an English all-rounder drops a resident of Bristol, and you feel you’re still getting the meat and two veg of a 503bhp supersaloon. Because basically you are, which is why the dull part of any journey is undertaken in this setting.
Dynamic mode is where the honey is, though. The V6 is permanently primed, the throttle brilliantly sharp, and the ’box ready to respond in an instant in auto mode – although I can’t help but select manual shifts because those paddles are irresistible to use. Of course,
on UK roads the dampers need knocking back, but the result is pretty much perfect. Put it this way: I’ve yet to find an issue with this set-up.
And Race? Perfect for an evo trackday, although it opens the exhaust valves, so noise could be an issue at venues with sensitive ears. Quite remarkably, it’s also pretty well suited to the road, too. It’s the only setting in which the traction and stability controls are turned off, and you can’t switch them back on. Sound a bit lairy for a rear-drive saloon with 911 Turbo levels of horsepower and Pirelli Corsa tyres that have an F1 supersoft-style compound? Not at all. Don’t get me wrong – take liberties and throw 443lb ft at the rear wheels with the measured finesse of an elephant attempting Swan Lake and you’ll be choking on vaporised Italian rubber as you exit stage left. But be measured, methodical and precise and the Giulia glides across the surface with a precision and balance like few others from its sector. From the quick steering getting you into the apex, to the damping mastering its task and the diff allowing you to drive out of any corner with as much forward momentum as required, the effort (little) to reward (high) ratio is on a par with a thoroughbred sports car’s. Then again, the Giulia is a genuine thoroughbred.
And after that glowing praise, a little bit of reality. The tyre pressure monitoring system is on the blink, telling me the front offside is low on pressure when it’s actually at the same level as the nearside. And the front suspension/ brake clicking noise is back again. And the car has eaten another set of tyres… Dateacquired May 2017 Totalmileage 13,398 Mileagethismonth 2206 Coststhismonth £0 mpgthismonth 23.5
‘It has one of the most straightforward driving mode systems out there’