Owner:
Mike Woodley
What’s the car?
2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio in Competizione Red.
When & how did you come to buy it?
I bought it in April 2021 as I wanted something reasonably practical but still fast & fun. It had to be good at doing the day to day stuff, mundane motorway treks, as well as delivering when driving just for fun. To be honest, once I’d decided I wanted that type of car, it had to be a Quadrifoglio.
We were still in the middle of various Covid restrictions so when I found this well spec’d, low miles, one owner car at a Alfa dealer near Heathrow I put a refundable deposit down sight unseen. Then as soon as it was legal to do so, we went down to pick it up. Needless to say, the drive home didn’t disappoint!
What was your previous car?
This wasn’t really a direct replacement (previously we had a couple of cars fulfilling the daily and fun car roles) but the previous performance car was a Lotus Exige V6 S.
Anything you wish you had known before buying?
Not really as I usually do quite a bit of research before buying, and I’m pretty fussy about spec, so there’s been no surprises.
Has it had any modifications?
Nothing apart from a remote control for the exhaust valves. As standard the valves only fully open when in Race mode (or the upper rev range of Dynamic mode) which also switches all the traction control off – not always desirable.
It’s not really a modification but I also changed the tyres early on for some Michelin Pilot Sport 4S’s. The standard Pirelli Corsa’s are a bit rubbish in the cold/wet so not ideal for Scotland, the Michelin’s are miles better. Oh yeah, I got some PPF fitted too. The Competizione Red paint looks superb but apparently it’s not the easiest to colour match. That, combined with my slight OCD tendencies, made PPF a wise addition.
What do you love about it?
To be honest, almost everything! The looks, the performance, the way it drives, the noise, and its Jekyll and Hyde character. Quiet and comfortable or loud and lairy, it does them both very well.
The engine is superb, it’s bloody quick, rides well, feels agile for a relatively heavy car (helped by the fast steering), and the gearbox (ZF 8 speed) is excellent. It feels special, with carbon fibre panels, active aero, plus of course the Ferrari influence. Some of the team that developed the Quadrifoglio also worked on Ferrari 458 Speciale, and allegedly the engine is effectively a Ferrari V8 with two cylinders loped off. Plus they are pretty rare which is also a bonus.
It can also return decent mpg – a steady motorway run can see 35+ thanks to cylinder deactivation. Obviously that’s not what you buy a 500 bhp car for but it’s handy that it can do it. The interior comes in for some criticism as does the infotainment but I don’t have an issue with either. Yes, it’s not the latest tech but for me the lack of a touchscreen is a bonus – give me physical buttons any day, and I really don’t need Siri in my car! I also like how the infotainment screen is integrated nicely rather than just stuck to the dash, looking like an after thought. All the controls are simple, intuitive and work well. Build quality might not be up to German standards, but it’s pretty decent and there are no squeaks/rattles.
Anything you dislike about it?
There are a couple of things…. The main one is that it does feel it’s weight (about 1700kg) at times, especially when pushing on over undulating/bumpy roads where it can easy to ground out and catch the front carbon splitter (very expensive to replace!). As a result, I do find myself lifting off a wee bit to preserve my bank balance in places where I wouldn’t have to in a lighter/more focused sports car. But I guess that’s one of the compromises of a saloon based performance car. The brakes can be tricky to modulate smoothly (it’s a brake by wire system), and it’s probably too easy to drive it too fast but that’s true of a lot of modern performance cars. Otherwise I can’t think of anything else.
What are the running costs like?
Surprisingly good. Without wanting to tempt fate, it’s been perfectly reliable, with zero issues in two and a half years and 18,000 miles. Honestly! Not even a warning light.
The big four year service (circa £1400) was included as part of the sale, as was the next years service (only a minor). The service this year was about £600. Tyres were about £800 for a set of four, and that’s it. I don’t count fuel as running costs as it depends so much on usage and you kinda accept that it isn’t going to be cheap when you buy a car like this.
Any future plans for the car?
I’ll probably be looking to sell it in the new year, mainly just because there are some other cars I’d like to own/try, and will likely go back to having a hot hatch of some sort along side a two seater sports car. It will be difficult to let this one go though!
What memorable drives/road trips has it been on?
The main ones have been two euro trips and two trips up to the highlands/NC 500. It was superb on the euro trips. Fast & comfortable, with a big boot and a decent range on the long motorway/autobahn stints. Then it more than held it’s own on the Alpine passes – it’s a great road trip car and didn’t miss a beat. The roads up in highlands are bit more challenging than those in Europe (not as smooth, more undulating) so it’s weight was a bit more noticeble on those trips but it was still very good.
What’s next?
Not sure. I’m currently looking at options and trying to decided what to get next but I’m not having much success in deciding! I suspect it will be some combination of a hot hatch and a sports car but not sure which yet. It also depends on whether I can actually bring myself to sell the Quadrifoglio…
