SA Road Tests

Welcome

This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

My most recent drive is on the home page. Archived reviews and opinion pieces are in the active menu down the left side. Hover your cursor over a heading or manufacturer's name and follow the drop-down.


Reborn: 2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia Super 2.0

Pure Alfa

Posted: 12 April 2018

The numbers
Price: R666 900
Engine: 1995 cc, SOHC 16-valve, turbopetrol inline four-cylinder
Power: 147 kW between 5000 and 5500 rpm
Torque: 330 Nm at 1750 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 6.6 seconds
Maximum speed: 235 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 9.6 l/100 km
Tank: 58 litres
Boot: 480 litres
Warranty: 3 years / 100 000 km
Maintenance plan: 6 years / 100 000 km

Trivia: Prior to relaunch of the Giulia brand in 2015, the last cars bearing that name were built in 1978. Fittingly, ‘New Giulia’ also marks the company’s re-introduction of rear-wheel drive after a break of about 20 years.

Alfas have traditionally been not too expensive, but built light and fast with brakes and handling to match - although build quality back then was, perhaps, of secondary concern. That has changed.

Random bystander: This car is too beautiful to be driven by its owner; it needs a chauffeur. May I apply for the job?


Giulia has moved boldly upmarket with greatly improved build quality and new features but, unavoidably, pricing to match. Our Giulia Super test car, for example, entered Audi and BMW territory at two-thirds of a million Rand. In its defence, fit and finish of interior trim is almost as good as on a similarly priced BMW we were testing at the same time, exterior panels fit just as well, doors thump shut solidly, ride quality and compliance is excellent and safety equipment is well up to standard. Braking, handling, power, lightness and balance remain pure Alfa.

Brakes are ventilated discs at both ends, 305 mm in front and 292 mm at the rear. Lightweight suspension consists of dual wishbones in front with semi-virtual steering axes to keep wheels perpendicular to the road at all times, and multilink at the rear for best balance of lateral grip and comfort. The engine is a SOHC, 16-valve unit with MultiAir and twin-scroll turbo developing 147 kilowatts and 330 Newton metres of torque. Balance is very close to 50:50, power to weight ratio is 102.9 Watts per kg and curb mass without driver is 1429 kg.

Base and Super versions use the eight-speed, ZF 8HP50 gearbox shared with various BMW and Jeep models. It’s smooth, kicks down easily and changes gears almost intuitively. Ninety-nine percent of drivers could not hope to do better. The motor turns over lazily at about 1900 rpm for 120 km/h in top gear, progress is smooth and comfortable, power feels endless and it’s quiet. There’s a reason this car has been priced in “German” territory – it belongs there.

Safety kit includes six airbags, ABS brakes with traction and stability control, tyre pressure monitoring, child safety locks, two sets of ISOFix anchors with top tethers, automatic braking for traffic and pedestrians, rain sensing wipers, auto-on headlamps and parking aids. Super trim adds lane departure warning and adaptive cruise control with auto-stop.

Moving on to day-to-day concerns the boot lid unlocks by means of a button on the key fob or when a tab near the driver’s knee is released, the sill is 63 cm above ground level and it’s 13 cm deep. It features a small bin for incidentals on the left, two lights and the battery is behind a clip-off panel on the right. The space is nicely shaped although volume is restricted slightly by the usual transverse reinforcing beam and narrow pillars at the front end. Sadly, Alfa Romeo SA decided on a European-spec’ pump kit rather than a spare tyre and the seatback is fixed.

Our tall tester rated rear seat head-, knee- and foot room at eight, nine and seven out of ten respectively but with one cautionary note. The electrically powered driver’s chair defaults to a “park” position, a few inches back, when the engine is switched off and the door is opened. It makes life comfortable for the exiting driver but could bump up against the shins of any equally tall passenger who happens to still be seated.

The touchscreen is a 6.5” unit with reasonably simple controls comprising two buttons and a control wheel. The Alfa DNA selector that helps you choose steering, engine response and suspension settings is in its usual spot next to the gear lever. Caffeine and soda-deprived driver and passenger will find cup holders under a sliding cover in front of it. Satnav isn’t standard but can be optioned along with a larger, 8-inch, touchscreen.

Speaking of options, Alfa Romeo offers a few but not to the same confusing extent as some other makes. Excess gadgetry, while fun, means more to go wrong and has almost no value at trade-in time. That raises a point. German cars will almost certainly retain resale values better than Alfas do. Considering, however, that owners receive almost no return on (sometimes) upward of R200 000-worth of toys, you could be equally well off by skipping the gadgets and buying a Giulia. You know you want to.

It’s just as quick, has equal but different cachet, handles at least as well and offers a beautiful alternative to all the boring same-old you see every day.

Test unit from FCASA press fleet

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.

If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles.  And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

Comments or questions?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you completely disagree with what I say? If you want advice or have a genuine concern, I will be happy to hear from you. All I ask is that you write something in the subject line so I know which vehicle you're talking about.