Alfa Romeo Giulietta
Another stunning Alfa Romeo design, this time in the form of a small family car.
You only need a second to glance over this car to know exactly what it is. The front end of an Alfa Romeo is recognisable anywhere and the Alfa grill is one of the most distinctive features of modern car design worldwide.
So often, car designs can age very quickly but the Giulietta has been with us since 2010 and still looks as fresh as anything out on the road. 2016’s facelift was subtle, but that’s all it needed to be.
The Giulietta is a 5-door hatchback, essentially a small family car and is the second smallest car in the Alfa Romeo family. Like all other Alfa models, it is produced in Frosinone, Italy and in 2011 it finished second in the 2011 European Car of the Year award.
Underneath its bonnet is a choice of petrol or diesel engines. Synergy customers who favour a business lease agreement may well favour the diesel units, with Alfa’s 1.6 ‘JTDM-2’ diesel engine the most efficient in the Giulietta family, giving out just 99g/km of CO2 while still producing around 120bhp. A double-clutch automatic gearbox Alfa Romeo calls ‘TCT’ is also available as an option if you prefer a 2-pedal setup to a traditional 6-speed manual.
While Alfa doesn’t produce a hot ‘Quadrifoglio’ version of the Giulietta like it does with other models in its family, it does have a version called ‘Veloce’ which comes with a 237bhp petrol engine, still a powerful unit for a car of this size and more than enough to make the Giulietta travel at a serious pace. Its 1.75-litre turbo engine is the same that Alfa Romeo uses in its 4C sports car.
Across the Giulietta range there’s plenty of equipment and gadgets to be found. Cruise control, climate control, Alfa Romeo’s ‘Uconnect’ touchscreen infotainment, a BOSE sound system, and the active safety systems expected of a modern machine.
Easily one of the most beautiful cars of its segment, the Giulietta is a real head-turner in an area of the market where there aren’t many cars that can do that. A fashionable machine that has proven popular for good reason.