by "Z (ND + Cancer Fighter)" (roadsterzach)
Published 01/26/2017 at 19:33
by "Z (ND + Cancer Fighter)" (roadsterzach)
Published 01/26/2017 at 19:33
Tags: Alfa
; Romeo
; Giulia
; Fiat
; 124
; 124 Spider
STARS: 3
Got my old laptop working again; and lo and behold my old burner account is still logged in on Kinja! Testing to see if I still have Oppo Posting powers, since it’d be nice to start commenting/posting again. Here is a picture of one of the Alfa Romeo Giulias I got to try out yesterday for your time.
"Svend" (svend)
01/26/2017 at 19:38, STARS: 4
No. Doesn’t seem to be working mate. Sorry.
Give it another try.
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"RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars" (rallydarkstrike)
01/26/2017 at 19:38, STARS: 1
Was it a stick? Also, what is the verdict? You likey? You hatey? :O
Give a fellow Italian car enthusiast the lowdown! :D
"Z (ND + Cancer Fighter)" (roadsterzach)
01/26/2017 at 20:00, STARS: 0
Nope, all they had was automatics. Not sure if we even get the stick in the US.
The car is absolutely beautiful in person. Pictures don’t do it justice, nor did seeing it under the billion different lights at the San Diego Auto Show. Out in the sun, it is a very gorgeous car. The standard bumper looks nice and classy, which is great because I was worried that only the Quadhoweveryouspellitsname bumper would look alright. They had a few colors show up, and while the silver and white were acceptable, the red and blue where hands down the best and the way to go.
I was blown away by the interior. I honestly expected the same level of quality as my Premium EcoBoost ‘Stang, maybe Cadillac quality if I was lucky. Instead this is near Volvo in their choice of materials and fit and finish. Everything was laid out very ergonomically for the driver and I loved how integrated the screen is in the dash. The leather was by far the best leather I have seen leave a factory, on par with some Ferraris I have been in. I’m also 6’2, and with the driver’s seat set-up for me in front, you could still somewhat comfortable fit another one of my in the back seat. The interior alone would sell me the car if I wanted a sedan, as its a very nice place to be.
The I4 engine sounded nice enough from outside the car, although its a bit muffled inside - but I’m sure the target luxury market prefers not to hear the engine unless they opt for the QuadF. The I4 also makes enough power to propel it along well enough, it doesn’t feel lacking, but you can tell the engine does have to work given the weight of the car. Transmission is nice and crisp, faster and smoother shifts than other ZF transmission’d cars I’ve driven.
If I had to find a fault, it would be that I wish there was another engine in-between the I4 and the QuadF V6 turbo - maybe the V6 minus the turbos priced in the middle of the two trims. There’s nothing wrong with the I4, but I feel like it would be even smoother and more luxurious with slightly more power and less effort out of the engine.
Honestly, I highly, highly recommend it. I’m trying to get my best friend to buy one right now instead of a BMW 3er or Mercedes C-Class, but we’ll see if I can convince her.
"404 - User No Longer Available" (toni-cipriani)
01/26/2017 at 20:01, STARS: 0
If you’re logged on in Chrome, get EditThisCookie, you can export the cookie and save it somewhere.
"Z (ND + Cancer Fighter)" (roadsterzach)
01/26/2017 at 20:12, STARS: 0
Unfortunately I’m on Firefox on an old MacBook that’s struggling to survive. Would love to be able to log in on my new computer though. I’ll have to google to see if there’s something similar for Firefox. Thanks for the tip though, I appreciate it!
"DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back" (karsonkinja)
01/26/2017 at 20:26, STARS: 1
What is the expected sticker price on that model?
It would be great if the Giulia will be commpetitive enough to carve out a permanent place in the market.
"Z (ND + Cancer Fighter)" (roadsterzach)
01/26/2017 at 20:31, STARS: 2
The blue one pictured I believe is $37k. I didnt’ check out the blue on besides walking past it since it hadn’t been pre-inspected yet, but I did test out another one that was fully loaded up and the sticker on it was $48k or $49k, but it wasn’t the top of the line Quadrofoglio either. I think a base no options Giulia starts at $33k-ish. I mean given its price range, a base car I would take over a loaded Camry and the loaded up cars are well worth it over a BMW 3er or Mercedes C-Class in my opinion.
I am really, really hoping that Alfa pulls through and carves out a marketplace, as based off what I have seen in the Giulias they deserve to give the Big German 3 a run for their money. I’m just afraid that old reputations and saturated luxury sedan market are going to do them in.
Honestly if I was in the market for a sedan, I would have leased one of the cars they had in stock yesterday. Instead I am young with no kids and bought a 124 Spider because I miss my Saturn Sky I used to have. I will be recommending the Alfa to everyone though, because it is well worth the price.
"E90M3" (e90m3)
01/26/2017 at 20:47, STARS: 0
Can you not convert a burner account into a normal account with a google login?
"DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back" (karsonkinja)
01/26/2017 at 20:52, STARS: 1
A quick Google search tells me they start at just under $37k but that could change based on options of course. I think lease deals may be the way to go on this car. They can then build a brand identity and perhaps a modern US customer base.
I agree with you on the point that old reputations and the current market could kill the car. While not quite in the same price range, the same factors (including a small dealer network, which alfa in the US suffers from) have made the Ghibli an oft overlooked sedan. And to be honest I personally am not too confident in the reliability of Alfa’s, so I totally understand consumer skepticism. But in the end...Those looks are worth it. Especially for a good lease deal as mentioned above. Alfa has some potential here, but as with all things, marketing and customer service will make or break them. I hope they do right by the car.
How long have you had the 124? I know opinions are very mixed but I’m curious what was the deciding factor in your purchase was, and how it’s treated you so far. I saw one the other day on the road in white. Gorgeous gorgeous car.
"404 - User No Longer Available" (toni-cipriani)
01/26/2017 at 21:08, STARS: 0
Is there even a way to do that? You can’t even change passwords on a burner. On mine I can’t even change display name, the user name won’t save, somehow they don’t take underscores anymore.
"RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars" (rallydarkstrike)
01/26/2017 at 21:12, STARS: 1
Just browsed the Canadian Alfa site....doesn’t look like we get the stick here either, which is a shame!
"E90M3" (e90m3)
01/26/2017 at 21:12, STARS: 0
Are you on a burner or a full account? It doesn’t look like it.
Honestly I have no idea how the burner account works. When I first started here you had a username a password, wasn’t linked to anything. Then in like 2011 or 2012 they made you convert your account to a google/facebook/twitter account to log in.
"Z (ND + Cancer Fighter)" (roadsterzach)
01/26/2017 at 21:16, STARS: 1
Maybe the dealer already had one discounted because I feel like I for sure saw one at just under $35k ($34,995 iirc). Still, Google also shows me $37k for the base price, which honestly after checking out the cars is still worth it.
Lease deal would be the smart way to go with these cars, both from the brand and a consumer’s perspective. I am also slightly skeptical of the long term reliability of the Alfa’s, so my preference would be to lease and see how it turns out. At $37k though, I could see a lease for somewhere around $369 with $3.5k working out very well against the BMW 3, Mercedes C, and Audi A4; especially here in San Diego where those three dominate the luxury sedan market.
I honestly wish the Maserati Ghibli was selling better, mostly because I selfishly want Maserati to have more money so the Alferi can come out nicer, better and more refined. I absolutely would love to have an Alferi in a few years when I can afford one if they are on par with the F-Type.
I will have to say customer service wise, that Alfa Romeo and Fiat of San Diego treated me so well I gladly would have paid sticker for my 124 had they not started throwing rebates and discounts at me. It was honestly the level of service and class of a Maserati/Ferrari dealer, but without any of the snootiness. It was hands down the best dealership experience I have ever had, between buying my own cars or going with family or friends.
As for the 124, I just picked it up yesterday, hence why I was able to check out the Giulias. So far my initial impressions of it are wonderful, although I had test driven them before and knew what to expect. I’ve only put 44 miles on it so far, since I was too sick to go out today despite how beautiful of a day it was. Mine is Mido Grogio, which is dark grey, although the pearl white on the Abarth was so gorgeous (I bought a Classica though).
Compared to my ND, the engine is about on par (with fun turbo sounds winning for the Fiat), the interior is literally identical, I slightly prefer the looks of the 124, the suspension is softer on the 124 and I prefer the ND’s suspension, and the ND’s transmission gearing gives it the slight edge over the 124 - although the 124’s shifter and transmission feel is far superior.
Honestly, ND or 124, you can’t go wrong with either. It really comes down to which body style you prefer, whether you want N/A or turbo boost, or both of those factors.
I’ll definitely post a more in depth review of the 124 (and my ND and former EcoBoost Stang) once I get some time and pictures together.
"Z (ND + Cancer Fighter)" (roadsterzach)
01/26/2017 at 21:17, STARS: 1
I had not seen that video before, thank you for the laughs! I needed that today.
"404 - User No Longer Available" (toni-cipriani)
01/26/2017 at 21:23, STARS: 0
I’m on a burner. I don’t want any of my accounts linked up unnecessarily, Gawker/Gizmodo has no business with my other accounts.
It’s stupid, burner is basically a classic username/password, just that the password is some random long ass string they generate for you, as the “key”. If you lose it there’s no recovery.
"E90M3" (e90m3)
01/26/2017 at 21:26, STARS: 0
I don’t know why you can turn it into a regular account. I get you don’t want your account linked, but you can make a google account like e90m3oppo@gmail.com and use that. That’s not my log in, but I did make that email address so I could give out contact info on oppo.
"404 - User No Longer Available" (toni-cipriani)
01/26/2017 at 22:04, STARS: 0
Their whole idea is a “burner” is supposedly a throwaway account. It’s designed for anonymous submissions, like you know, for submitting sex tapes of former wrestlers.
"E90M3" (e90m3)
01/26/2017 at 22:06, STARS: 0
Right, still should be able to convert it to a normal account in case you decide you want to stay around and not post sex tapes.
"404 - User No Longer Available" (toni-cipriani)
01/26/2017 at 22:11, STARS: 0
Yeah, the design makes no sense to me either. Reddit uses emails and they seem to cope just fine with burner throwaways.
"DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back" (karsonkinja)
01/26/2017 at 22:13, STARS: 1
Perhaps with incentive the price would be brought down. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if that were the case.
$369 a month is a steal for a car that looks that good. And in base Turbo 4 form it looks to be no slouch as the curb weight seems to hover just about 3,000 pounds (But that seems to be for European models). Serious bargain right there. I would almost feel bad paying that little for all that value. Almost.
That’s good to hear you have had a good experience. I hope others have just as good of experiences because as evidenced by your statement dealer experience can be more important than even the price of the car. And word of mouth is invaluable.
What I love about the 124 is that it looks absolutely fantastic in any trim and in any color. The designers really nailed that car. Not many other cars can claim similar accomplishments.
I also love the sound of the multi-air engine. If you’re gonna have a convertible you should have a nice soundtrack too. your other comments on the car line up with the comments of others I’ve heard although I am surprised to hear the transmission feel is better. I always had the impression Mazda had a really solid feeling transmission. Either way that is fantastic news. A well tuned clutch and a consistent transmission seem to be afterthoughts in today’s car market. It really sounds like Fiat was committed to building a well rounded enthusiasts car, and it appears that it shows.
I look forward to the upcoming reviews!