ALFA ROMEO GIULIA Q

Flamboyant Italian loses none of its charm in keeping up with the times

- CURT DUPRIEZ

IF A CURSORY GLANCE at the 2021 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio’s mid-life update leaves you scratching for signs of change, there’s a good reason for this – it hasn’t changed much at all.

That’s because the handsome and frisky Italian has, over the past four years, proven itself as a fiery, yet everyday-friendly high performer. It’s imbued with an exotic enthusiast appeal, but is increasingly left wanting for techy convenience and safety features. So while it’s relatively slim pickings on the MY21 dynamics menu, it addresses some of the latter stuff.

The new 8.8-inch, smartphone mirroring infotainment system and broader active safety will hardly send the Alfisti rushing to showrooms. That said, it’s a bit of a case of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. But there’s now just a little more sweetener in terms of spec to combat the likes of the box-fresh BMW M3 as well as the stalwart Mercedes-AMG C63 S.

One thing the flamboyant Italian definitely has on its side is price. And now more so than ever, with the hot Giulia receiving an almost $7K cut to its sticker. Admission now starts at $138,950, meaning the Alfa significantly undercuts the $150,900 Audi RS5 Sportback, $154,900 BMW M3 Competition and $168,300 Mercedes-AMG C63 S. Only the ‘base’ manual M3 comes close to the Q at $144,900.

Yes, there’s nothing much new to report in the go-faster department, but then, it didn’t really have to alter. The Giulia’s brutal 375kW and 600Nm 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 remains unchanged. And thankfully so. Alfa hasn’t felt the need to best its competition by adding more grunt, instead opting to retain the proven package’s heart-warming nature and the metallic-tinged soundtrack like nothing else in its class. It’s a big drawcard, and one of the reasons you should make the near-$140K investment.