Alfa Romeo Guilietta JTD

Alfa Romeo Giulietta JTD 2012

General information

There’s just something about an Alfa Romeo that makes every car enthusiast’s spine tingle with joy. The Alfa Romeo Giulietta hatchback offers a 2.0 litre turbo-diesel engine with TCT twin-clutch auto transmission.
This Italian beast not only offers great looks and roomy interior space, but it also goes head on with the VW Golf GTD, the BMW 118d and the Audi A3 TDI. With Alfa Romeo’s sporty handling and ride dynamics, the Giulietta JTD is definitely a hatchback turbo-diesel worth its while.


Interior
This roomy Alfa Romeo sets claim to rear-seat leg-room, front leg-room & head-room superiority in its class. Once you’re inside the car, you can immediately feel the difference as compared to German cars. With Italian designing reflecting in every detail, the rake/reach adjustable steering wheel is leather-wrapped, the front seats are sporty in a classic Alfa manner, and the driver’s position is low behind the wheel to offer a sporty feel.
The instrument panel keeps up with the Alfa look with modern equipment spread all around. The rear seat folds 60/40 to offer load versatility.

Specifications
The first brand to offer the common-rail direct injection in diesel engines was Alfa Romeo. The latest Giulietta model employs the most up to date MultiJet common-rail direct injection in the JTDM-2 four cylinder 2.0 litre turbo-diesel engine.
The max power stands at 125kW and 350 Nm is its peak torque which is available from a low 1750 RPM. This puts the Giulietta in direct competition with VW’s 2.0 litre TDI engine featured in the Golf GTD and Audi’s A3. The advertised combined cycle fuel consumption is an eco-friendly 4.5l/100kms. The Euro 5 compliance of the Giulietta JTD means exhaust emissions ranked at 119 g/km.

Driving experience
The first thing to note in the Alfa Romeo Giulietta is how silent this car is for being a turbo-diesel engine. The 2.0 litre turbo-diesel Giulietta manages to just outperform the VW Golf GTD in acceleration going from 0-100 km/h in 7.9 seconds. This makes it the fastest in class. Though not as good as the BMW eight speed auto transmission, the Alfa’s TCT twin-clutch 6 speeder matches the VW and Audi in precision and smoothness.
The Giulietta employs Alfa’s MacPherson strut front-end along with a multi-link rear with an additional driver selectable Alfa ‘DNA’ system – Dynamic, Normal, and All-weather. All of this leads combines to offer great handling and ride performance.
The sportier QV model gains an even greater suspension calibration owing to its lowered ride height.


Ups and Downs
Being an Italian in a market dominated by Germans is not an easy task. The Alfa Romeo Giulietta scores big with its roomy interior. The drive too does not leave much to be desired. However the only points deducted would be for the lack of finish on the interior as compared to the other European makes.