Alfa Giulietta Cloverleaf

This is such a lovely car to drive and look at that it’s all too easy to forget about Alfa Romeo’s track record for build quality, reliability and residuals. The new Giulietta Cloverleaf is a simply gorgeous hot hatch, and delivers on the promise of its styling with grown-up performance and surprisingly good refinement. As for the ownership experience? We’ll reserve judgement until the results of Driver Power 2011 are published next spring.

There are people who say you can’t be a car enthusiast unless you’ve owned an Alfa Romeo. Funny, then, how so few drivers go back and buy a second one.

Look at the performance of the top-selling 156 and 159 in Auto Express’s recent Driver Power 2010 reliability and satisfaction survey, and you will understand why. With gorgeous looks and a snarling exhaust, an Alfa appeals to the heart – but then the head remembers the reputation for poor reliability and low residuals.

To see the new flagship Giulietta Cloverleaf is to love it, though. Beguiling front curves set the tone, with a gorgeous ‘floating’ grille, and a distinctive wedge runs into a conservative but not unattractive rear. This is a five-door bodyshell, with the rear door handles hidden in the C-pillars, as on 1997’s Alfa 156.

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The cabin is spacious, with room for a couple of six-footers in the back, and a generous boot. A four-dial binnacle makes the instruments easy to read, and we like the red lettering. The rotary ventilation controls and the way the dash stretches out to the side remind you of Alfas of the Sixties.

Special Quadifoglio trim gives the interior a sumptuous feel, with figure-hugging leather and microfibre seats as well as a hide-trimmed steering wheel and gearlever. The pedal box in our left-hand-drive car is tiny, although we’re assured right-hookers will get more space.

This top-spec TBi Cloverleaf is equipped with the 235bhp 1.7-litre direct-injection turbo, which also gets variable valve timing. Alfa claims it provides the performance of a 3.0-litre engine with the economy of a
medium-sized four-cylinder.

Fire it up and the short-stroke unit has a terrific rasping exhaust note, with a purposeful growl when you get underway. Yet the considerable power and refined torque are delivered smoothly. It has the highest specific power output of any mass-produced four-cylinder, and is pleasingly fast. What sets the engine apart is its mid-range urge, making for rapid cross-country progress.

The gearbox is a pleasure to use, with short, fast shifts and a well defined gate. Cloverleafs won’t be available with Alfa’s new six-speed twin-clutch TCT transmission, and this is also the only Giulietta not to come with stop-start as standard. It does feature super-powerful Brembo brakes, though, and these are linear in operation and serve up great pedal feel.

This lowered, sporting version has a firm ride, but absorbs bumps well even on the optional 18-inch wheels and tyres – you get 17-inch rims as standard.

Body control is excellent, and while some roll is evident, this is an agile and fluid-feeling chassis that flows through bends with impressive mechanical grip.

The steering doesn’t have a lot of feedback, but Alfa’s DNA electronic handling system allows the car to accelerate out of bends without tugging at the wheel or spinning a tyre. DNA also reins the car in when it’s on the edge, but subtly and without halting all forward momentum.

Can such appeal force the heart to rule the head?

We say yes! But does this mean you will want to buy a Giulietta Cloverleaf? As ever with an Alfa, falling in love on the first drive can be easy. It’s whether you fall out of love that is the key.

Rival: Volkswagen Golf GTI
Hot Golf is classy and refined, with superb ride and handling. It’s not as pretty as the Alfa, and its 2.0-litre TSI engine trails on power – but the two cars’ pace and price are near-identical.