Are Alfa Romeos Good Cars?
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Are you car shopping for an upscale European import? Beyond the Audi, BMW, and Mercedes trio, there are only a few options. Among these choices is the Italian brand Alfa Romeo; its sleek and stylish vehicles are viable alternatives for luxury shoppers. But, are Alfa Romeos good cars? We’ll dive into the answers. But, first, let’s explore the automaker’s story, especially when it comes to the U.S.
Alfa Romeo was founded in 1910 in Milan and is one of the oldest continuously operating car companies. But, its first offerings wouldn’t appear in the U.S. until the 1950s. Alfa Romeos developed a cult following but never fully caught on with consumers. The automaker backed out of the American market after 1995. A decade later, Alfa Romeo dipped its toe in the water once again by importing the high-performance 8C Competizione coupe to the U.S. 2014 saw the availability of the 4C coupe.
But these limited production two-seaters did little to promote the brand beyond die-hard enthusiasts. The company ramped up its efforts with the 2017 launch of the Giulia sport sedan, followed a year later by the Stelvio SUV. So, looking at Alfa Romeo in the U.S. means focusing on these two models. There’s simply not enough available information about the 8C and 4C models. And even details on the Giulia and Stelvio can be hard to find.
Alfa Romeo Giulia: Are Alfa Romeos Good Cars?
Setting its sights directly on the storied BMW 3 Series sedan, the Giulia offers a compact, four-door body style with European driving characteristics and distinctive Italian looks. All references are for four-cylinder-powered Giulias, not the high-performance Quadrifoglio version.
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Reliability
While the Giulia has sold well (for an Alfa Romeo) in the U.S., its numbers are still paltry compared to brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz. That means limited reliability data for the Giulia. Trusty source carcomplaints.com has only a handful of records, and RepairPal doesn’t even track the brand.
And turning to anecdotal reports reveals everything ranging from a shocking problem-filled review by Road & Track to owners ranking the Giulia 4.9 (out of 5.0) on the KBB website. Even Consumer Reports offers a mixed-bag recommendation: the 2022 Giulia gets a 1 out of 5 for predicted reliability, but a 5 out of 5 for expected owner satisfaction. In short, there’s no rock-solid answer about Giulia’s reliability for the “Are Alfa Romeos good cars?” question.
Safety
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) hasn’t tested the Giulia, so we’ll look at what the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) says. Overall, IIHS gives the Giulia a “Good” rating (its highest) for most aspects of crashworthiness; some model years get called out as a “Top Safety Pick” or “Top Safety Pick+.“
Ownership Costs
Depreciation makes up a significant portion of ownership costs for most cars, and the Giulia is no different. According to CarEdge, the owner of a new Giulia can expect the vehicle to lose 54 percent of its value during the first five years.
Drilling down further, Edmunds reports that typical owners of a base-model (new) Giulia will shell out $48,454 over five years. Much of this amount ($17,047) comes from depreciation, with things like fuel, insurance, maintenance, and taxes accounting for the difference.
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Pricing
A new 2022 Giulia in Sprint trim (the lowest-priced version) starts at $44,495. Among major competitors, only the Mercedes-Benz C300 costs more at $44,600. The bestseller in the segment, the BMW 330i, starts at $42,445. The Audi A4 has a $40,995 sticker price.
Fuel Economy
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the 2022 Giulia (with rear-wheel drive) at 24 mpg in the city and 33 mpg on the highway (27 mpg combined). That falls behind the 26 city/33 city/30 combined mpg for the base BMW 330i.
Alfa Romeo Stelvio: Are Alfa Romeos Good Cars?
Knowing that the marketplace has shifted to SUVs, Alfa Romeo wisely introduced an SUV for the 2018 model year as part of its plans to tackle the American market. The Stelvio takes on the Audi Q5, BMW X3, and Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 (all bestsellers for their respective brands). Again, we’re looking at the entry-level Stelvio, not the Quadrifoglio edition.
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Reliability
Assessing the Alfa Romeo Stelvio SUV runs into similar issues as the Giulia; there’s simply not a lot of information. Carcomplaints.com and Repair Pal have zero to show about the Stelvio’s dependability.
Consumer Reports has incomplete details for the 2018-2021 versions, while the 2022 model is ranked 1 (out of 5) for projected reliability. Yet, anticipated owner satisfaction is rated at 3 (out of 5), whereas the same-year Giulia scored a 5 out of 5 in this category. Consumer reviews via KBB give the Stelvio a near-perfect 4.8 out of 5.0 overall ranking. A lack of concrete evidence makes it difficult to provide a ruling on the Stelvio’s reliability.
Safety
Neither NHTSA nor IIHS has crash-tested the Stelvio. And while the SUV has done well in European testing, the standards are different there. There’s no definitive answer about the Stelvio’s safety.
Ownership Costs
The 2022 Stelvio matches its Giulia stablemate when it comes to depreciation at 54 percent over five years. Turning to Edmunds and overall five-year ownership costs, a base 2022 Stelvio involves $47,115 in expenses. This includes $14,791 in depreciation, $13,984 in fuel costs (based on 15,000 miles per year), and $4,474 in financing fees.
Pricing
The premium compact SUV market is among the most competitive areas of the auto industry. In addition to its German competitors, the Stelvio faces noteworthy rivals like the Lexus RX, Acura RDX, Infiniti QX50, Cadillac XT5, Lincoln Nautilus, Genesis GV70, and Jaguar F-Pace. Even another German brand, Porsche, gets in on the act with the Macan.
Interestingly, the least expensive Stelvio (the Sprint trim with rear-wheel drive) starts at $47,145. It’s a significant premium above the Stelvio’s primary challengers: Audi Q5 ($44,495), BMW X3 ($44,695), and the Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 ($44,900).
Fuel Economy
EPA-estimated fuel economy for the Alfa Romeo Stelvio starts at 22 mpg around town and 29 mpg on the open road; the combined rating is 25 mpg. That’s virtually identical to the BMW X3 (which otherwise gets one mpg more in the city).
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