The Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio is a 505-horsepower Italian challenge to everything BMW holds dear
And now we come to the verdict.
Trunk space, meanwhile, is pretty good!
The rear seats are equally comfy, but as with most sports sedans, legroom isn't copious.
The interior design has been well-thought-out. It isn't particularly showy, but it isn't bland either, and it's full of quietly sporty touches, such as the contrast stitching in green, to match the Quadrifoglio badge.
The front-seat passenger is enveloped in curvaceous, two-tone luxury.
It isn't an exciting or dramatic system, but it ticks every box — and unlike some screens in luxury cars, this one is tucked into the dash rather than sticking out of it.
You have everything you need, from GPS navigation to Bluetooth integration — and a $900 Harman Kardon audio system, if you choose, that sounds terrific. AUX and USB ports are accessible.
The 8.8-inch infotainment screen occupies most of the middle of the dashboard. It works well — neither as fantastically as Audi's or Cadillac's, but far better than Lexus' infotainment system.
The central console presents a drive-mode selector — Dynamic, Natural, Advanced Efficiency, and Race are on tap — and a hockey-puck-style infotainment knob, all framed in carbon fiber.
The seats are basically perfect.
OK, Alfa, just get rid of the annoying joystick shifter, please. That said, the eight-speed auto (no manual available in the US) is quite capable and can be operated in manual mode using the excellent aluminum paddle-shifters behind the steering wheel — this reminded us of those of Ferraris and Maseratis.
Tach. Speedo. Central info screen. This is my kind of instrument cluster.
This might be my new favorite steering wheel. It feels just right — not too thick, not too thin. Note the Ferrari-like red stop-start button and the combination of leather, carbon fiber, and brushed metal. Mmm, mmm, good. (It's $400 extra, by the way.)
The cockpit is fairly no-nonsense, with easy-to-use controls and a comfortable, well-bolstered driver's seat.
One knock on the car is the overall quality of the interior materials. My colleague Ben Zhang thought they weren't quite up to par for the segment, and he has a point. The plastics are plasticky. If you buy a comparable German vehicle or something from Lexus, Acura, or Infiniti, the insides are nicer. Ditto Caddy.
He thought this was sort of not so great for a car at this price point; I was more forgiving. But I have memories of sports sedans that were more sports car than luxury ride. We'll see if Alfa does something about it in future iterations.
Let's slip inside.
Four hundred forty-three pound-feet of torque accompanies the 505 ponies, all of it rev-limited at 7,250 rpm. So you can't wind this Giulia out as far as you could, say, a Ford Shelby GT 350. But the output on this thing surpasses the turbo inline-6 on the M3.
They're attached to this, the Giulia Quadrifoglio's engine — a 2.9-liter, 505-horsepower twin-turbo V-6 that's effectively a Ferrari V-8 with two cylinders lopped off. The Quadro Giulia makes a lot more horsepower than the base four-cylinder turbo version's 276.
Look a bit closer, and you catch a glimpse of the dual exhaust pipes on either side of the Giulia.
You can see a dash of carbon fiber on that mini-spoiler mounted to the trunk deck.
If the Giulia has a design flaw, it's the car's rear. Not terribly inspiring.
Our Giulia was given the Quadrifoglio treatment and has the four-leaf-clover badge to prove it. Such a beautiful and whimsical touch! Of course, there's some tragedy in this heritage.
It's a handsome ride, with just enough Italian panache to make it stand apart from the BMWs and Audis of the world. The roof is carbon fiber, too.
The lightweight carbon-fiber hood is sculpted, and, like those of so many luxury cars these days, the headlights are narrow, somewhat menacing slits.
Our $77,195 test car came with a Vulcano black paint job and Alfa's distinctive front grille, an inverted triangle that evokes the brand's heritage. The Alfa badge, by the way, is probably the most beautiful in the automotive universe.
The Giulia is far more low-key — a dignified four-door, oozing luxury.
We got out first taste of Alfa's return to America with the 4C, a taut little mid-engine roadster that's like a shrunken-down Ferrari.
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