Fiat Chrysler has no compact or mid-size sedan to offer for the 2017 model year. Affordable, high-volume four-doors from established American brands weren’t working, and so the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200 were jettisoned. In the vast space below the full-size Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger, then, expectations fall solely on the shoulders of a luxury sports sedan from a relaunched Italian brand that last sold a four-door here in 1995. Oh, and the most expensive version of that new car is going to start at $73,595.
That’s for the 505-hp 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, on sale this month at 156 dealerships (basically, wherever you might find an existing Maserati or Fiat franchise). For its princely sum, the four-leaf-clovered Quadrifoglio offers owners a Ferrari-derived twin-turbocharged V-6, all-wheel drive, torque vectoring, various carbon-fiber body parts, and admittedly delectable performance and style—read our First Drive review here. Initially, the Quadrifoglio will offer a choice of seven exterior colors, four wheel styles, and three paint finishes for the brake calipers. Navigation, blind-spot monitoring, an adaptive suspension, an electrically powered active front splitter, and a red start button mounted on the steering wheel (just like in a Ferrari 488GTB!) all are included.
Even better, the Quadrifoglio’s 191-mph top speed doesn’t need to be unlocked via an option, as is standard practice at Mercedes-AMG and BMW M. But even though a few early promotional cars have shown up at dealerships with six-speed manual gearboxes, Alfa Romeo will not sell it here with a stick, only the eight-speed automatic.
The base Giulia is far more affordable, coming in at $38,990. This version comes with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 280 horsepower and 306 lb-ft of torque, with rear-wheel drive as standard and Q4 all-wheel drive available for $2000 extra. Standard equipment includes leather, 10-way power front seats with lumbar adjustment, proximity ignition with remote start, a backup camera with rear parking sensors, LED taillights, xenon headlights, 17-inch wheels, and a 6.5-inch infotainment display. A Sport Exterior package ($1250) adds 18-inch wheels, adds color to the brake calipers, blackens the chrome trim, and adds sportier front and rear fascias. A flat-bottom steering wheel and a carbon-fiber driveshaft, should any Mercedes E-class driver ask, also are standard.
The Giulia Ti, at $40,990, adds 18-inch wheels, wood trim, heated seats and steering wheel, an 8.8-inch infotainment screen, satellite radio, and a few other luxuries Alfa Romeo isn’t yet divulging. A Sport package upgrades the Ti with the same stuff as the base car plus dark-finish 19-inch phone-dial wheels, 14-way power front seats with manual thigh extensions and power side bolsters, a different steering wheel, and aluminum shift paddles mounted on the steering column.
A Lusso package flips the Ti in the other direction, with leather-wrapped dash and door toppers, extra-soft Italian leather upholstery, gray-stained oak or light walnut trim, and a “luxury” steering wheel. These packages cost $2250 each. For an unspecified cost, a separate Performance package brings column paddle shifters, adaptive suspension, and limited-slip differential. As life would have it, carbon-ceramic brakes and carbon-backed Sparco seats are only options on the Quadrifoglio. The four-cylinder Giulia models go on sale in January. The Giulia also will donate most of its running gear to what eventually may be Alfa’s highest-volume product, the Stelvio crossover.
The pragmatists among us fear for the future of Alfa in the United States, even as we cheer its return with a truly fun-to-drive sports sedan (which follows the low-volume 4C into the U.S. market). Alfa’s U.S. dealer network doesn’t even total half of BMW’s, and depending on the dysfunctional Fiat dealership network adds to the difficulties. But que sera, sera. We’ll enjoy Alfa’s American revival however long it lasts.
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