As some of you may remember I've had a 2011 BMW 3-series wagon for a few years now. I bought it in the early days of COVID and for a while it was our only car. I would have gladly kept it but it was starting to rust on all four fenders and the hatch so my plan was to sell it this spring, drive the Jaguar through the summer, and then find something else in time for winter.
The plan didn't quite work out because I stumbled on a Giulia for sale in an ideal spec for fairly cheap. Have always loved the look of these cars and they have a reputation for being spectacular drivers' cars in terms of handling and performance. My only hesitation was the automatic transmission but with my wife's Mini we still have a manual car in the driveway.
I'm picky about colors and options and this one has the pricey Rosso Competizione paint and crucially the rare performance package which gives you the rear limited slip and adaptive suspension. It also has the sunroof, both driver assist packages, premium stereo, heated rear seats, and cargo convenience package.
The Ti Sport model was also a must for me because it gives you the better seats and the very nice aluminum paddle shifters. On top of that this one has the rare Carbon package which as the name implies gives you some carbon fibre parts: Mirror caps, front grille, the side skirts from the top Quadrofogolio trim (which are surprisingly aggressive in how they stick out from the car), and interior trim. It also gives you a black headliner, black badges, and black exhaust tips.
I got the car back in March from the GTA and coincidentally I was already going to Montreal to meet up with some friends so I just flew to Toronto instead to grab the car before heading to Montreal. Within an hour of landing I had picked up the car and was heading to my buddy's house in Guelph.
First stop was to pick up some Bellwoods beer at the LCBO.
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Made it to my friend's place in Guelph. He was coming to Montreal too so he had canceled his flight and caught a ride with me.
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The two of us went out with another friend for some beers and wings and Ubered back to his place by midnight so we could get on the road at a reasonable hour.
Friday morning we got on the road shortly after 8. We hopped on the 407 and since I just had temp tags meant I wasn't billed for it. Aside from a bit of traffic just outside Montreal we made very good time and met up with our group for a late lunch at Mano Cornuto, a great little Italian restaurant in Griffintown.
Then it was off to our hotel where I tucked the car away in the underground garage.
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The driver home was a great day with good weather. Had a buddy jump in with me who had driven up with a couple other friends so that I had some company and a potential co-pilot but despite being a bit worn down from the weekend's activities and lack of sleep I drove the whole way and we only made two stops, the first to grab some lunch with our convoy partner (a manual Golf 4motion wagon) and then later a quick gas/coffee/bathroom stop.
Four cars in a single width driveway is a pain!
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The car is in great shape with very little interior or exterior wear and it seems the car has been well taken care of. The passenger side wheels have quite a bit of curb rash that I'll get fixed at some point. There is a rock chip in the windshield on the passenger side that I believe has been filled. The only real issue is a kind of annoying one: Over some bumps or while turning sometimes the driver's seat shifts a bit, as if something is loose. I'll have to take a look at what could be causing that and hopefully it's a reasonably easy fix.
In general the Giulia definitely meets my expectations. It looks fantastic inside and out. I've always thought it was one of the most attractive sedans on the market and Rosso Competizione is a great colour. The ride, handling, and steering are all great. Even though it's only marginally larger than my E91 it does feel like a bigger car for some reason. The ergonomics are great, with simple physical controls and coming from an older version of iDrive the infotainment is fine. The stereo sounds great. I do have to say that while having all sorts of power making the Alfa much quicker than the 328, the engine feels a bit like a downgrade but it's hard to beat the smoothness and power delivery of a naturally aspirated BMW inline six. The excellent ZF eight speed at least makes up for some of that. With six cylinders and a manual this car would be damn near perfect.
The biggest compromise for me is the downgrade in the utility that the wagon has. The trunk is fairly small and the back seat is a bit tight – not ideal for going on road trips with four people. But I can certainly live with that.
The fuel economy so far is impressive: 28 MPG on the first tank, 30 on the second. That's almost entirely highway driving though, and generally most of my driving is in the city, and it's definitely way worse there.
Overall I'm super happy with it so far, and I'm looking forward to more road trips in it this summer.
I ended up selling the BMW last week. The guy who bought it was super pumped to get it, he had been looking for a manual E91. His other vehicle is a manual Ram diesel so he now has two straight six manuals.
Congrats! Great looking car and rather uncommon, so you were lucky to find one in the spec you wanted, and it's always nice to have something that's somewhat unique. Sounds like it was a fun trip too!
Nice, fantastic looking car.
Congratulations!
Great spec too
Nice! Congrats
Love the line up of cars.
What a great ride, and such a good spec.
How does the steering compare to the BMW? I presume the Beemer had hydraulic steering and the Alfa has electric.
Quote from: Tortoise on May 07, 2025, 08:49 AMWhat a great ride, and such a good spec.
How does the steering compare to the BMW? I presume the Beemer had hydraulic steering and the Alfa has electric.
You presume correctly. Heavier and more feel on the BMW, lighter but quicker in the Alfa.
The Alfa's handling is incredible. The way the car rotates is not something I've ever experienced before. Even with the OEM runflat Pirelli P7s the grip levels are very high.
Congrats! That looks like a fun car (and you won't see a bunch everyday)
Definitely a head turner of a car and I always compliment any person who I see get out of one.
Definitely a shame about the lack of manual, but you still have that Mini so you can always scratch that itch.
These are neat - we work on a bunch of them! I haven't really fallen in love with them over the years, but I'm really glad they exist as they're a quirky and fun alternative to the standard compact performance sedan entrants (3-series, C-Class, etc.)
I think ideally I would have got one of the last of the 340is with a manual (2018) but they've kept their value so insanely well. A red one popped up on AutoTrader for $40k today which is nearly twice what I paid for the Alfa. I don't drive a ton so it would be tough to justify spending that much, although the B58 would be a big improvement on the Alfa's 2.0T.
Congrats! Great looking car.
That is so cool. Don't see those every day, especially in NB I bet.
Quote from: blur911 on May 14, 2025, 09:03 PMThat is so cool. Don't see those every day, especially in NB I bet.
No, but there's a couple others around town that I know of. Saw a black one the other day and the guy who bought my BMW said he built a sunroof for a local judge who has a red one.
Congrats! Awesome car! I do look at these from time to time, thinking......
But guess what? I'm about to buy an old (2011) 159 wagon+diesel+manual so I may join you in Alfa ownership experience...
Quote from: Dante on Jun 09, 2025, 08:29 PMCongrats! Awesome car! I do look at these from time to time, thinking......
But guess what? I'm about to buy an old (2011) 159 wagon+diesel+manual so I may join you in Alfa ownership experience...
Oh man, that's really cool!
Quote from: Oliver on Jun 10, 2025, 08:49 AMQuote from: Dante on Jun 09, 2025, 08:29 PMCongrats! Awesome car! I do look at these from time to time, thinking......
But guess what? I'm about to buy an old (2011) 159 wagon+diesel+manual so I may join you in Alfa ownership experience...
Oh man, that's really cool!
Yeah, although not my ideal spec/color (red Ti with the yellow-ish leather interior), it would do for now. Will do a proper S&S this time if I end up buying it. Will know in the next few days.
Very cool purchase Oliver!!
Bella & I were out a while back & we parked next to one of these & she complimented how good looking of a car it was. I'm sure she'd seen them before, but never noticed it. She did a full walk around to check it all out :D
Wow, right colour - excellent choice. And the Ti will be reliable for you, as opposed to a QV which are very tempermental.
Welcome to Alfa ownership, proper petrolhead holy grail :)
Quote from: ChaosphereIX on Aug 19, 2025, 05:30 PMWow, right colour - excellent choice. And the Ti will be reliable for you, as opposed to a QV which are very tempermental.
Welcome to Alfa ownership, proper petrolhead holy grail :)
Thanks!
It's a neat car for sure, love the chassis and the handling, but the 2.0T leaves a bit to be desired – not in terms of power but in terms of smoothness. Coming from a BMW I6 that was always going to be the case though!
yeah the 2.0T is very much a workhorse engine, most suited for commuting and CUV work. Not a high revving or singing engine at all. But it gets the job done with plenty of power, and shouldn't break.
@Oliver - Look what popped up on Autotrader.
I wonder if the dealer knows what it is - one of 15 Speciale limited edition exclusive to Canada. Original MSRP $74,000
This is the closest model you can get to a Quadrifoglio.
I saw that! Would love to have one of those.