Pros
Cons
What's New for 2024?
The 2024 Giulia gets freshened styling (including new headlights and taillights) and a 12.3-inch fully digital instrument display.
2024 Giulia Selector
2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia
FAST FACTS
Let's get the reliability part out of the way first. Anecdotally, yes, you can find some horror stories about the Giulia ownership experience if you poke around. But consider Edmunds' Giulia consumer reviews from earlier in this generation, which shed light on how these cars have been holding up in the real world. From the lofty overall rating to the enthusiastic praise found in many of the reviews, a picture emerges that's decidedly at odds with the Giulia's reputation. Buying a car is always a gamble, but there's enough data out there to suggest that the Giulia may not be an ownership nightmare after all.
On the performance front, the Giulia feels alive in a way that cars generally don't anymore. It's got a palpable sense of urgency — time to go, right now — and the tight steering and athletic chassis are happy to facilitate. The eight-speed ZF automatic that seems to be in most fine European machines these days is on its toes for Alfa duty, ripping off sophisticated shifts that'll quell any urges you might have had to seek a manual transmission elsewhere. And there's plenty of push from the pumped-up turbocharged four-cylinder engine, which makes considerably more power than rival 2.0T motors and puts the Giulia at the front of its class acceleration-wise.
The only thing that gives us pause from behind the wheel is the engine's bizarrely low redline of 5,500 rpm. You just don't see gasoline engines limited to that level these days, let alone sport-tuned Italian ones. Go a little lower and you're getting into diesel territory. But the Alfa's 2.0T is starting to gasp for air by the time redline arrives, so we suppose it's just as well you can't rev it higher. Ride the righteous wave of midrange torque and everything's gonna be alright.
MotorDonkey's proprietary vehicle data identifies every significant version of each model so that you can compare and decide. Ordered by price from low to high, here are the versions of the 2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia that you need to be aware of, along with our expert analysis and recommendations.
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The standard-grade Giulia with rear-wheel drive is one of the best four-door driver's cars you can buy. We favor the Veloce trim (also available on the Q4 all-wheel-drive version) because it gets you a mechanical limited-slip differential, among other desirable features. But the truth is that even the base Sprint trim comes with enough equipment to satisfy many shoppers in this segment. So if you blanch at the Veloce's $6k or so premium (more like $9k if you want premium Harman/Kardon sound, which you do), there's a lot of Giulia goodness available at lower price points. We'd just do our damnedest to nab those righteous 19-inch five-hole wheels, which come standard on the Veloce.
Adding AWD to the 2024 Giulia costs you 2 mpg on the highway and 1 mpg overall, plus a reasonable $2,000 upcharge. The Giulia's "Q4" all-wheel-drive system is notable for sending 100% of the engine's output to the rear wheels unless there is rear-wheel slippage, in which case Q4 can send up to 60% of the output to the front wheels. What does that mean? Under normal circumstances, the Giulia will feel like a rear-wheel-drive car. Rival AWD systems such as Audi's Quattro and BMW's xDrive typically provide a 40/60 split between front/rear output in normal driving.
The Giulia QF is one of the world's most desirable four-door performance cars, period. Although the clover has four leaves, the Quadrifoglio only has two driven wheels, but that just makes it more fun. This car feels alive like few others on the road, though we've said the same of the regular Giulia, too. Is the Quadrifoglio worth almost twice as much? You tell us after you've run through the gears with that Ferrari-derived turbo V6.
Even the base Sprint trim probably has most of the features you want, but you didn't come here to settle. The Giulia is a YOLO-grade proposition—you're throwing caution to the wind, so do the bold thing and get the Veloce, which is the third rung up the Giulia ladder from the base Sprint and the midgrade Ti. Why? Because the gorgeous 19-inch wheels shown above come standard, as do power front sport seats and a rear limited-slip differential (unavailable on lesser trims) for optimal cornering traction, just as the Italian car gods intended. That's a lot of good stuff for around $6k more than the Giulia's base price. But it's also about what doesn't come standard on the Veloce, namely the adaptive suspension that's reserved for the pricier Competizione. We're not fans of such suspensions from an ownership standpoint—it's far more expensive to replace components when they fail, and the Giulia handles great and rides decently with the standard suspension anyway. What you do want from the Competizione is the 14-speaker Harman/Kardon audio system, but that can be added to the Veloce via an options package. So do it like that: Veloce plus the Premium Interior and Sound Package, which gives you the H/K stereo and extended leather trim to boot. It'll cost you roughly $9k more than a base Giulia, and you won't regret the extra spend for a second.
What are the different versions of the 2024 Giulia, and how much do they cost? Select a version below or just hit the button to see our full 2024 Giulia specs and model data.
| Version | Price | Fuel | MPG | Power | Torque |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia Q2 (2.0T Rear-Wheel Drive) ✅ our pick | $43,340 | Gas | 27 | 280 hp | 306 lb-ft |
| 2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia Q4 (2.0T All-Wheel Drive) | $45,340 | Gas | 26 | 280 hp | 306 lb-ft |
| 2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio | $81,855 | Gas | 20 | 505 hp | 443 lb-ft |
In the comparison tables above, we saw how the 2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia stacks up against notable rivals in key areas:
Now we'll tell you a little more about each competitor and invite you to read our full review of that model. Note that the pricing below is for the rival versions we've selected; to see the starting price for each model lineup, which may be lower, follow the Pricing & Warranty link.
Starts at $44,100
The A4 45 TFSI uses a 2.0-liter turbo four just like the base A4 40 TFSI, but the pricier 45 pumps up the volume with an extra 60 horsepower or so. That chops nearly a second off the 0-60-mph sprint, although it also takes a sizable bite out of the EPA's fuel economy estimates. Read Full Review
Starts at $44,500
Calling the 330i "entry-level" would be doing it a disservice. If you're a sedan shopper who loves to drive, the base-spec 3 Series could everything you want and need. Read Full Review
Starts at $44,595
The 2.7-liter turbo four is short on character, but it does whisk you to 60 mph in less than 5 seconds, per Cadillac, which puts it in a league with some serious sport sedans. Read Full Review
Starts at $41,500
New for 2024, the 2.5-liter turbo four has 48 more horses in the stable than its 2.0-liter predecessor, closing the gap considerably between this base engine and the optional turbo V6. Read Full Review
Starts at $43,260
It's not that the IS lineup is grossly inefficient, but the reality is that all three of the mainstream engines — the 2.0T and two versions of the 3.5-liter V6 — are long in the tooth, and fuel economy norms have moved on. So while the IS 350's 23-mpg combined figure was just fine back in 2014, it's well behind the times in 2024. We do have a soft spot for this V6, as it delivers strong acceleration and has a reputation for reliability, but maxing out at 28 mpg on the highway is so, well, 10 years ago. Read Full Review
Publisher and Donkey-in-Chief
Josh has been reviewing cars professionally since joining Edmunds.com fresh out of grad school in 2008. Prior to founding MotorDonkey, he spent 15 years shaping Edmunds' expert automotive content in various capacities, starting as an associate editor and ultimately serving as a senior editor before wrapping up with a five-year term as the company's first-ever director of content strategy. Josh is a card-carrying member of the Motor Press Guild and a lifelong car nut who has driven, compared and critiqued thousands of cars in his career. Helping people find their perfect car never gets old—seriously!
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