2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia

The fact that the Ti Sport trim does not appreciate much in price over the base trim and gets additional sporty features makes it the most excting and popular trim to buy. It gets features like a dual-mode exhaust, sporty leather seats, heated steering and a few sporty exterior and interior design elements for the additonal $2,000.

The 2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia is available for sale at all dealerships in 6 configurations along with an option to choose between the RWD and AWD drivetrains, which sees a $2,000 price difference between them. The base Giulia, Giulia Ti and Giulia Ti Lusso all add creature comforts like additional driver seat adjustablity, heating functions for front seats and steering wheel and larger wheels as you go up the trims. The Giulia Sport and Ti Sport trims on the other hand adds sporty exterior and interior treatment to the mix. 

The Ti Sport Carbon trim on the other hand features carbon fiber trims inside the cabin and on the exterior, along with an active suspension setup. One can also opt from the list of additional packages offered by Alfa Romeo to add more value to the car. The $1,200 Driver Assistance package that adds an array of modern driver assistance features like lane departure assist, traffic jam assist, drowsy driver detection and a few other aids, is the one to definitely opt for. 

Also Read : 

• What are the changes made for the 2022 Alfa Romeo Giulia?
• Is the 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia still worth buying?

The 2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia can munch 24 miles in the city and 33 miles on the highway for every gallon of fuel. A combined figure of 27 MPG as per the EPA ratings and roughly 400 miles of range is acceptable for a performance oriented sedan like the Giulia. Opting for the AWD will drop these figures by around 1 mpg in each aspect with city/highway/combined ratings being 23/31/26. Also, these figures are in regard to the Advanced Efficiency mode and these figures take a hit in the Dynamic mode. 

Balancing fuel efficiency with performance sees the Alfa Romeo an admirable rival in this pool of competition. The Mercedes-Benz has higher fuel consumption than the Giulia but employs a much larger gas tank which aids in offering a longer driving range. The Lexus too offers a large gas tank capacity, identical to the Mercedes, but lower MPG ratings brings its range on par with the Alfa. The BMW 3-series on the other hand is the most frugal of the lot and also has one of the best driving range in the segment. 

“The Giulia does make a good first impression, but some materials have a distinctly preproduction feel and give the car an unfinished look” -edmunds

Seating and Comfort

Seating five, the interior of the 2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia is where the Italian seems to fall a tad short in contrast to its performance and exterior design. Not to call it substandard but most of its rivals have better quality fit and finish inside their cabins. The stylish design is clearly an improvement than before and revloves around the technology around the cabin. The larger infotainment screen, digital instrument cluster, multiple rotary knobs on the center console, ambient interior lighting and premium leather upholstery is what stands out for the Giulia. 

Heated front seats and leather upholstery offer a plush experience which is only complemented by the exceptional cabin noise insulation. The front seats are very comfortable with supportive side bolsters and has ample space to offer. At the back the legroom is a bit tight and narrow door opeings make ingress and egress a bit tricky. The 12 cu-ft of trunk space isn't the best in the segment, but rear seats can be folded for additonal cargo space when needed. There's also an optional wireless charging pad on offer for $300.

The Lexus IS takes the center stage with class leading front row legroom on offer. That being said, this compromises the rear seat space and trunk volume. The Meredes-Benz C-Class and the BMW 3-series offer similar cabin space for both the front and rear seat occupants, while the trunk capacity is best offered in the 3-series at 17 cu-ft. On the upside, Alfa Romeo has finally done away with the non-toucscreen systems and the 2020 Giulia now features an 8.8-inch touchscreen system as standard across the lineup.

There's also a new seven-inch digital driver information screen between the gauges now offered as standard. The infotainment system is sharper, larger, quick to respond and comes loaded with plenty of features as standard. An eight-speaker audio system is standard while an addtional $550 will get you a ten-speaker system. Opting for the Giulia Ti will also bring the optional 14-speaker Harman/Kardon premium audio system in the picture. Satellite radio is now standard while navigation system is still optional. 

• 8.8-inch touchscreen infotainment system
• 7.0-inch LCD driver information screen
• 14-Speaker Harman/Kardo premium audio System
• Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility
• SiriusXM satellite radio w/12 month subscription
• 10-way power heated front seats
• Ambient interior lighting
• Dual zone automatic climate control w/rear HVAC vents
• Tilt/Telescoping heated steering wheel
• Leather upholstery w/genuine wood or carbon fiber interior inlays 

“The 2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia has curves in all the right places”. -thecarconnection

Exterior

The exterior design of the 2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia is unchanged from the previous model year and continues with its sporty look and aggressive design elements all around. Beginning with its front fascia, it incorporates the manufacturer’s traditional meshed triangular-grille, atop which rests the marque’s insignia. Staring at you flanked on either side, are the Bi-Xenon headlamps with LED daytime running lights. The Giulia Sport and Sport Ti trims get a unique front look with sharper bumper design.

A gracefully modeled rear design sees stylish LED tail lights and the bold twin exhaust pipes on either side, blackened for the Ti Sport trim and chromed for the rest of them. As standard, the Giulia stands on 17-inch wheels which size up to 18-inch and 19-inch sets, as we go up the trim ladder, with the 4-inch ground clearance remaining constant. One also gets carbon fiber mirror caps and side skirts with the Giulia Ti Sport Carbon model for the added sporty appeal. 

Though the 2020 Giulia is a shorter sedan than its rivals, it is wider than most which helps it offer that addtional grip while cornering. It also has a very low and hunkered down stance which means curbs and bumps needs to be maneuvered smartly. The Bimmer on the other hand is longer, lighter and also has the highest ground clearance to offer. Since most of these cars have pretty similar wheelbases, the space inside their cabin is also quite similar. 

• Automatic Projector Beam Xenon High Intensity, Daytime Running, Preference Setting Headlamps
• Cornering lights
• Rear Fog lights and LED tail lights
• Power heated side mirrors w/optional carbon fiber caps
• Dual chrome/black exhaust tips
• 19-inch petal-design diamond-finish alloy wheels

The 2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia hasn't been crash tested by the NHTSA yet and hence there are no safety ratings available. However, the IIHS has tested the 2020 Giulia and it shines bright in all the test and receives 'Good' ratings in most aspects of the test. Notably, the headlights on lower trims receive 'Poor' ratings while the 'LATCH ease of use' has been rated as 'Marginal', rest all other aspects get positive results.

The Giulia barely manages to keep up with the segment with its equipment list. Alfa Romeo cars are also not known to be as robust as its Europeans counterparts like the BMW. However, there are plenty of standard and available safety functions in the Giulia, but most of the driver aids are available only as options which needs shelling additional money. A highlight of some the standard and available safety features have been listed below:

• Traction Control and Electronic Stability Control
• Hill Start Assist
• Front Collision Mitigation
• Foward Collision Warning Plus
• Available Lane Departure Warning and Lane-Keeping Assist (optional)
• Available Adaptive Cruise Control (optional)
• Blind-spot Monitor
• Front Rear Parking Assist Sensors w/Rear Back-Up Camera

2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia vs 2020 BMW 3-Series

Since Alfa Romeo is known for building sporty cars, the 2020 Giulia goes manages to be quicker and more agile than the 3-series. It is the sportier amongst the two and hence has a stiffer ride as well. BMW offers far more superior fuel efficiency figures and also has a much larger trunk, which makes it the more practical of the two. It also gets you more standard technolgy and safety features than the Giulia. Therefore, unless outright performance is all you need, the 3-Series is the one to pick. 

2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia vs Mercedes-Benz C-Class

While both the sedans feature powerful engines, the Mercedes C-Class still falls behind in aspects the Alfa Romeo Giulia inches ahead. The Giulia is a driver-focused sedan while the C-Class is tuned towards comfort and luxury. That being said, the Giulia is more affordable, is quicker off the line and has a marginally more spacious cabin. It is more attratcive amongst the two and though safety features needs to opted optionally, the 2020 Giulia offers more value than the C-Class. 

2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia vs 2020 Lexus IS 300

While both the Giulia and IS 300 are priced almost similar to one another, the difference between their performance is pretty huge. While the Lexus follows a more radical styling, the conventional sporty exterior styling of the Giulia has more liking amongst purists. The Giulia is also far more quicker and a better handling car than the IS, while the Lexus is much more comfortable and comes loaded with tons of technology and safety features. The higher frugality of Giulia tilts the scales towards the Alfa Romeo. 

Also Read : 

• All new BMW 3-Series now features a curved infotainment screen and will get OTA updates
• Mercedes-Benz C-Class is completely redesigned and gets the new MBUX infotainment system

To conclude, it’s safe to say that the 2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia remains an impressive performer and gains new attributes with the changes to its cabin. The sedan combines beauty, drivability and power, and a little bit of practicality while remaining kind on fuel economy. Reliability is still questionable and the rear seats don’t impress as much as the front ones do, but for the price it is on sale, the Giulia is a hard to overlook in the compact luxury sedan segment.