Alfa Romeo Giulia review

Giulias kick off at £43,259, for which you get 18in, 10-spoke alloy wheels, that 8.8in infotainment screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, the 12.3in digital instrument cluster, sat nav, USB charging ports, a DAB radio, those new-for-2023 LED matrix headlights with high beam assistance, keyless entry and start, active cruise control, rain sensing wipers, a rear-view camera, front and rear parking sensors, dual-zone climate control, and safety gizmos like lane departure warning and blind spot detection. And breathe.

Next up is the Veloce trim for £47,759, and it’s the one we’d pick. It upgrades you to 19in alloys, leather heated seats and heated steering wheel, plus various styling tweaks. It’s here that the limited slip differential enters the fray, too.

Then you’ve got the Competizione for £52,259. Based on Veloce, it arms itself with tinted rear windows and similar design mods for an altogether more menacing look. Want Alfa’s active suspension? You’ll need this trim, then.

The 503bhp Quadrifoglio is the big one, of course. £75,204, please. It vaults the Giulia into Serious Car Territory, a land stalked by the BMW M3. That’s an £80k plus car these days, so we’ll leave you to ponder that dilemma...

Two main option packs: a premium interior and sound pack that introduces more leather and a Harman Kardon, 14-speaker sound system for £2,500, and a driver assistance pack with numerous active safety systems for a grand.

CO2 emissions of 167g/km for the Giulia mean £645 first-year road tax for 2023/24, then it’s £180 annually after that. And don’t forget the £390 extra you’ll be paying from years two to six for breaking the £40k car threshold. Those emissions also put you in the highest possible Benefit-in-Kind company car tax band of 37 per cent, with no hybrid powertrain to soften the blow. Ouch.