ALFA GIULIA VELOCE
With 276bhp and a talented chassis, the Giulia Veloce brings a good dose of the Quadrifoglio’s magic to a wider audience
WHAT IT IS TO BE AN ITALIAN car maker. A blithe disregard for consistency has to figure and Alfa Romeo knows this better than most. Over the decades the Milaneseborn marque – these days based in Turin – has lurched between lovely and lamentable with equal facility and, in the 4C, managed to combine both extremes in one car. Then again, through much of the nineties and noughties nearly all Alfas were defined by a shifting palette of unresolved talents that hinted at past glories but somehow ended up being mediocre. None of which, of course, necessarily precludes a hike to the sun-kissed uplands of rival-vanquishing excellence. But for an underachieving brand that had taken great gulps from the well of goodwill, the Giulia Veloce isn’t just a return to form but simply stunning.
With 2016’s 503bhp, twin-turbocharged V6 Giulia Quadrifoglio, Alfa gave notice that it was back and, against the odds, selling a car that could stick it to the German supersaloon hegemony. In some ways, this year’s four- cylinder Veloce is still more rewarding, a purer steer that drives an even bigger wedge between itself and the tautly Teutonic, speedy-by-the-numbers competition. It effectively plugs the gap between the regular 197bhp petrol Giulia and the properly ballistic range-topper but, in truth, is a masterful compromise, offering a decent chunk of the Quadrifoglio’s straightline performance and aesthetic presence (if, sadly, not its baritone
singing voice) for two-thirds of the price. Perhaps most remarkably of all, it also brings elements of chassis behaviour you’d swear had been lifted from the Mclaren and Lotus playbooks.
Not unconnected is the Veloce’s comparatively lean 1429kg weight, a motive burden released from the need to carry the Quadrifoglio’s beefed-up underpinnings and fat boots. Moreover, the turbocharged 1995cc in-line four puts less weight over the front axle yet still delivers a muscular 276bhp at 5250rpm and 295lb ft of torque at just 2250rpm. With ratios chopped and swapped by a notably swift and smooth eight-speed torqueconverter auto, that’s 62mph in 5.7sec on the way to a top speed of 149mph. Enough for most circumstances.
And just about perfect for the ridiculously entertaining road that heaves, flicks and swoops across the North York Moors between Kirkbymoorside and Castleton. Hang in there on a traffic-free day and it’s a wild ride, a ruthless test of suspension compression and rebound composure over rapidly fluctuating surfaces and cambers. The Veloce is up for the challenge, too, feeling collaborative and willing to indulge. It doesn’t do spikey. It doesn’t do hunkered down. It doesn’t do grip-and-whoa. And, with no perceptible throttle lag, it doesn’t feel turbocharged. Rather, the Veloce’s impressive pace is born of terrific low- and mid-range powertrain flexibility (if no great desire to rev out), supple yet precisely controlled damping, consistency of grip and at least a few degrees of Esp-metered adjustability around an inherently neutral balance – though, regrettably, it’s impossible to turn off the ESP completely to see how the chassis fares in extremis.
‘ NO MERC OR BMW FEEL S SO SIMULTANEOUSLY FEIST Y AND FINESSED. AND THE GAP WIDENS WHEN YOU CONSIDER THE RIDE QUALIT Y’
‘ That’s a no-no,’ complains dep ed Adam Towler but, otherwise, he gets the Giulia Veloce immediately, and loves the fact that, for once, he isn’t driving a sports saloon from Stuttgart or Munich. ‘ You feel it the moment you climb into the car,’ he says. ‘It’s the driving position, the simple interior. All right, the engine isn’t exactly exuberant, but it’s still far sweeter than anything the Germans can do with four pots and a turbocharger.
‘Move off, and the real differences show. It’s just so fluid and supple. It doesn’t have to scream “I’M SPORTY!” at you every second of a journey to prove it’s a proper sports saloon. And that suppleness just doesn’t come at the expense of handling proficiency, because the Veloce is every bit as capable – no, make that more capable – than the competition. This is a car that you can really drive hard, and it always feels light, up on its toes, willing to change direction and game for more.’
To begin with, the direct steering can seem disconcertingly light given its about- centre responsiveness and the front end’s eager turn-in. But you soon come to appreciate and lean on the helm’s accuracy and trust its subtle but finely resolved feedback. No Merc or BMW feels so simultaneously feisty and finessed. And the gap widens when you consider the quality of the Alfa’s ride, which, as Adam discovered, is exceptionally fine by any standards, let alone for a car with such gifted handling. It is uncanny. The only other cars I can think of capable of amassing serious speed on this kind of road with such a polished fusion of pliancy and control come from Lotus and Mclaren, and it really doesn’t get any better than that. Braking power is formidable, too, even if the rather numb pedal feel makes it harder than it should be to modulate the pressure to a silky stop, especially when the pads are cold.
Staff writer Will Beaumont is another unthrilled by the engine’s reluctance to rev, but is beguiled by the overall driving experience nonetheless: ‘ The chassis is so supple, absorbing every nasty bump or pothole that appears. But although the suspension’s compression seems soft, there’s surprisingly little roll – it responds attentively to the fast steering – and rebound is firm enough to keep the body controlled over crests. You’d think the differences in character between bump and rebound would make the chassis feel disjointed and unpredictable, but far from it. It’s never knocked off line by road imperfections, yet it’s always alert.’
There are a few caveats, but we all agree that the Giulia Veloce looks and feels as if it benefits from all the special parts and effort that went into creating the terrific Giulia Quadrifoglio. It may lack that model’s charisma and mighty performance, but that doesn’t stop it being the best all-round sports saloon you can currently buy.