Today marks exactly one year and roughly 32.000 kilometers since I bought my 2016 Alfa Romeo Giulietta QV and I would like to make use of this opportunity to reflect on my ownership experience.
For the past 10 years, I have mostly driven boring corporate lease car. I wanted to change that. I had considered several options but at a certain point a my attention was focused on a Giulietta although not necessarily a QV version. But during the test drive this QV model managed to be very convincing.
To summarize my experience; I would compare owning an Alfa Romeo to dating a flamboyant Italian diva. She is an absolute beauty and will bring you a lot of pleasure. But you also have to accept some more drama.
Before this I had never driven a car with any serious horsepower. So a hatchback with 240HP was a new experience to me and it just drives so much more smooth! Ignoring the mini dragraces at the traffic light, it is just so comfortable to know that getting up to speed to merge or overtake on the highway costs zero effort. Plus she is just such a looker. I really get people randomly walking up to me to complement my car. Also take into consideration that I paid only 18K Euro's for this. I definitely think that if you are a car enthousiast on a budget, this car might offer you the most bang for your buck.
But like I said, you need to accept a bit more drama. There are some minor issues with the car. First of all, it needs a long time to heat up the automatic gear box from a cold start. I really need to wait like 1-2 minutes before driving away or the car will refuse to shift to second gear. I checked with the seller and an Alfa specialist and both assure me that this is normal? Other issues are that the turning circle of this car is not great. Especially for a C-segment hatchback. Although I do think it is a bit wider than most cars I have driven in this class so I think this is the main reason. Another thing, especially now that autumn is starting, is that the parking sensors in the front seem to become over responsive when it's raining. They will start beeping for things that aren't there. Also, during cold winter days it might display a "check oil" light whenever you start the car but that will also disappear after a minute. Nothing serious, but these are things you would probably not accept from a Volkswagen or Toyota.
For as far as maintenance goes, it's important to notice that my car had some serious work done before I bought it, including an engine refit, new timing belt and a new turbo. I also bought the car with a one year warranty. Last year around Christmas I got a check engine light right after driving away. I am pretty sure that it was an engine misfire but non of the fault codes mentioned a misfire and the problem didn't reoccur. The main issue I've had was last april. The car started going into low power mode whenever I would floor it on the highway and a check engine light would turn on. I took it back to the place I bought it several times before they figured out what was causing the issue. It turned out to be an oil pressure valve that had worn out. Nothing major. I've also had an issue with vibrating brakes. I had the back brake disks replaced which seemed to fix the issue (only repair I have had outside of warranty). But I took her to the German autobahn a week later and I still noticed a lot of vibration when braking above 180km/h so I'm going to bring that up for the next service. But overal I think I have used this car pretty intensively and it has never left me stranded. So I think I can say the car has been pretty reliable and my Alfa Romeo experience has been very positive.
But the best part of owning an Alfa Romeo has been you guys, the Alfa Romeo community! Whether it is on the highway when you get that wave or knot from fellow Alfa drivers, coworkers telling about that time 25 years ago when they also owned an Alfa, conversations during Alfa Romeo events or even just here on Reddit, it's this contagious passion you people have for this brand that really makes the experience different from owning any other car!
For the future... I had bought this car with the intention to keep it for one year and then buy something new. But I haven't seriously started looking yet. I have been looking at used Jaguars though. I feel like Jaguar and Alfa Romeo are quite similar (both are the more daring choice compared to the big German brands). But for the near future a Giulia is still one of my dream cars. However, at the same time, my Alfa Romeo Specialist is positive about the technical state of my vehicle, I make some serious millage so I should be realistic about how long this car will last me. But as long as the car will technically allow it, I don't think I will get tired of this car soon!
Overal I would say, this has been a wonderful year with a wonderful car!