The Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Roman Colosseum, Italian wine, the love story of Romeo and Juliet ... a car with impeccable design Alfa Romeo Giulietta - all this is Italy. Such a number of associations is quite natural, because the great old Italian painters, sculptors, architects, modern couturiers and car designers are the personification of the standard of artistic taste.
Alfa Romeo Giulietta is a bright representative of the Italian style, I want to talk about it only in the feminine gender. She saw the light at the Geneva Motor Show in the spring of 2010. The Giulietta of the 21st century echoes the design of the 1954 Giulietta Sprint coupe - the dream of many modern car collectors.
The exterior of the Giulietta continues the design tradition of Alfa Romeo and echoes the exterior of the 8C Competizione and the younger MiTo. The front of the Alfa Romeo Juliet is adorned with "live" eyes of lighting technology. The bumper, which combines the heraldic shield of the false radiator grille and the lower fairing with huge air intakes, is a single beautiful element. The hood with two distinctive ribs is a hint of sportiness. The coupe-like body shape with powerful rear pillars is decorated with embossed stamping along the entire length of the car. The rear door handle is Alfa-style integrated into the glass frame. Juliet's food - a sculpture frozen in metal - is so perfect that everything said in words seems insufficiently expressive. The dimensions of the Italian beauty are 4351 mm in length, 1798 mm in width, 1465 mm in height, the base is 2634 mm.
The interior of the Giulietta continues the spirit of elegance and sportiness of a car born from the world design capital of Milan. The front dashboard of the original form, the grasping steering wheel is covered with leather, the instrument wells attract the eye with bright red illumination. The ball-shaped gearshift knob, optional aluminum pedal covers, red stitching and the Alfa Romeo logo on the visible interior elements - all in Italian style. The front seats are comfortable and have a sufficient range of adjustments (although lateral support can be stiffer), three people will sit comfortably in the back.
Legroom and headroom may only be lacking for tall people. Ergonomics are acceptable, everything is at hand, tactilely pleasant materials, well-thought-out cut of the controls. The build quality, although it does not reach the German representatives, but the Giulietta's interior is the most solid of the Alfa Romeo.
By the way, the boot volume is 350 liters.
Stylish design and comfortable interior are just packaging, what is hidden under the wrapper of Giulietta? In terms of technical characteristics, the Alfa Romeo Giulietta is designed to satisfy the needs of true lovers of the brand. The sports hatchback is equipped with five units: two turbocharged diesels: 1.6 JTDM (105 hp) and 2.0 JTDM (170 hp) and three turbocharged petrol engines: 1.4 TB (120 hp) .), 1.4 TB Multiair (170 HP) and 1,750 TB (235 HP) for the exclusive Alfa Romeo Giulietta Quadrifoglio Verde.
All engines are paired with a 6-speed manual transmission. On assurances of representatives of Alfa Romeo, soon there will be robotic boxes with two clutches. Front suspension - MacPherson strut with steering knuckles, rear - multi-link. As befits a modern car, the Giulietta is equipped with an electronic assistant in the form of the Alfa DNA system (for all, without exception, Alfa Romeo Juliet), which has three modes of operation: Normal, Dynamic and All-weather. The electronics change the characteristics of the accelerator pedal, shock absorbers, steering, braking system, ESP, differential (active differential Q2).
Depending on the settings selected using DNA, the owner of an Alfa Romeo Giulietta gets a car with different characters, from the calm city average to the badass from the track. Real drivers will be pleased that the electronics intervenes in the control only at the very last moment - without depriving the driver of the pleasure of feeling like one with the car. The suspension is distinguished by its elasticity and comfort, confidently holding the trajectory in turns. Steering responses are adequate, without nervousness. A pleasant bonus from Alfa Romeo - even on poorly paved roads, the chassis demonstrates high energy consumption.
In the fall of 2012 it became known that Giulietta would be officially sold on the Russian market. Although earlier Russians were in no hurry to buy Alfa Romeo - in 2009 only 104 cars from Milan found owners in Russia. And world sales of 111,000 units are a drop in the sea of the modern car market. The likely reasons for the failure of Alfa Romeo in the Russian market can be attributed to insufficient marketing efforts and the mediocre workmanship inherent in modern Alfa, which becomes especially noticeable during operation on domestic roads.
But, nevertheless, the announced price for the Alfa Romeo Giulietta in Russia - from 899,000 rubles (for the "junior" configuration with a 1.4-liter 120-horsepower engine and 6MKPP). A more powerful version (1.4 liter 170 hp with a robotic "box") Alfa Romeo Juliet is offered at a price of 1 million 60 thousand rubles. Well, the “top-end equipment” of the hatchback is offered for 1 million 195 thousand rubles.
