After 40,000 Miles with an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, Our Heart Is Broken
40,000-Mile Wrap-Up
We knew pretty early in our 14-month relationship with this Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio that we weren't going to be able to make a clean break from it. This was not that kind of relationship. And it is not that kind of car.
No, instead we would continue coming back to the Giulia, no matter how it betrayed us. Mostly that's because we were obligated to finish this 40,000-mile test. But we also just couldn't give up on it. Rarely have we hoped for a car in our possession to succeed more than we did for this Alfa. And rarely have we been more consistently disappointed.
We've been down this road before. Have a look at our reviews of the Alfa Milano and 164 sedans from the '80s and '90s. They are rap sheets of shoddy workmanship, schizoid electronics, and unforced errors, even if they are interspersed with glowing praise. Such is the reputation of old Alfas that many staffers still firmly believe that a long-term Milano burned to the ground in the parking lot of a local mall. No evidence of this exists. But there was, decades ago, a long-term Milano test that, after a tragicomic series of faults, was terminated.
We'd hoped for better with the Giulia Quadrifoglio. Upon first encountering the model, we were enthralled. A Quadrifoglio beat a BMW M3, a Cadillac ATS-V, and a Mercedes-AMG C63 S in a 2017 comparison test. We named it, and the beautifully balanced lesser Giulia with its turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four, to our 2018 list of 10Best Cars.
We ordered a Giulia QF at our earliest opportunity and had it slathered in $2200 worth of Rosso Competizione paint that's the color of fresh blood. The sinister-looking, dark-finish five-hole 19-inch wheels cost an additional $500. For $1200, we had our Giulia loaded with Alfa's driver-assist features (lane-departure warning, adaptive cruise control, and automatic high-beam headlights) because, well, we should test those things, right? We added carbon-fiber accents to the steering wheel for $400 and regretted it because they add nothing to the experience of looking at or driving the car. Also, we don't fetishize carbon fiber. We passed on two of the QF's priciest options, the $3500 carbon-fiber-backed Sparco race seats and the $8000 carbon-ceramic brake rotors. The standard seats are plenty supportive, highly adjustable, and easy to get into and out of. And the iron brakes provide stunning stopping power. To say we were eager to burn through the engine's recommended 1500-mile break-in period would be a massive understatement.
Our honeymoon lasted 2400 miles. Then the Giulia failed us for the first time. We still hadn't taken it to the track to perform our initial battery of tests when, on a 650-mile road trip, our Giulia lit its "service electronic throttle control" warning as well as a check-engine light. The car was still operational, but its mode selector became inoperative, locking the car in its standard suspension and powertrain settings. Once it was back near our Michigan headquarters, we took it to the dealer, who could find no cause for the warnings, which were no longer lit by then anyway. While crawling around the car for a solid week, though, the dealership tech found a small coolant leak. Tightening a loose hose clamp stemmed the flow. This incident is what's known as foreshadowing.
Problems with no identifiable causes are always disconcerting, even when they vanish on their own. But with the car back to full power and functionality, we went about the business of filling the logbook with praise for the Giulia Quadrifoglio. Despite some sour but justified complaints concerning the interior's subpar material quality and the touchy response of the brake-by-wire system, we fell hard for the Giulia. Its 505-hp twin-turbocharged 2.9-liter V-6 is an absolute gem, even if it's still slightly in the rough. At idle, the engine sends shivers through the car's body. In Dynamic and Race, the sportier of the QF's four modes (which include Natural and Advanced Efficiency), the throttle pedal becomes a hair trigger and the ZF eight-speed automatic fires off shifts as quickly as the best dual-clutch transmissions. The exhaust note becomes furious, blatting loudly on upshifts (whether initiated via the big aluminum shift paddles or computer instinct). The thing positively buzzes with restless energy. It feels as close to a living being as any sedan currently on the market. And the steering. Oh, goodness, the steering! It's supple, lightly weighted, and commanded by a relatively thin-rimmed steering wheel. It turns sporty-car steering norms on their heads. And it's delightful. Thanks to that quick steering and the hyperaggressive Pirelli P Zero Corsa Asimmetrico 2 tires, the QF turns in with an immediacy that should make highway driving a nerve-racking chore. But it's not. Even on short sidewalls and with a chassis tuned to handle all that power, the Giulia rides with a shocking lack of harshness. We were in love.
With 4100 miles on its odo, we finally got the car to the test track, where it managed to get to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds, run the quarter-mile in 11.8 at 122 mph, circle the skidpad at 0.98 g, and stop from 70 mph in 145 feet. It also managed to light the "service electronic throttle control" warning again. Back to the dealership we went. This time, the dealer replaced the fuel pump under warranty. For the remaining 12 months of the test, we settled into a routine with the Giulia: periods of praying in vain for the problems to cease interspersed with flashes of pure driving joy. We were elated when we could finish a long drive without scheduling a dealer visit. That's a sad state of affairs.
When we took the car in for its 10,000-mile service, we lost use of it for 31 days. Thirty-one days! That's because, in addition to our requested oil change and inspections and such, we complained about a rear-end whine. The dealer diagnosed the sound as bearing noise from the differential. The solution, after the dealer consulted with Alfa corporate support, was to replace the diff. Problem was, it would have to be ordered. Then when it finally arrived, the single Alfa tech was swamped with work—the overworked Alfa tech being a sort of yin to the Maytag repairman's yang. So for a month we drove a loaner Chrysler 300 instead of our $79,595 Alfa. The regular service cost us $169, but the delay cost us most of our patience.
About 8500 miles later, our QF seemed to have an acute attack of hypochondriasis. It believed its engine-oil level was low and threw a warning. The oil level was fine, though. So the dealer reflashed the sensor. Then at 23,000 miles, our old nemesis, the "service electronic throttle control" warning, lit again. The dealer could find no fault. This would happen once more, at 34,000 miles, at which time the tech found a connector that wasn't fully seated and replaced it.
At 27,000 miles, one staffer was greeted to a kaleidoscopic light-and-sound show while motoring away from a drive-through carwash. The car warned of an open rear door and an inoperative turn signal. The attention tones mixed unhappily and were joined by the beeps of malfunctioning parking sensors for the remaining 10 minutes of his commute. And then it stopped. And never happened again.
At 31,000 miles, the low-oil light came on again during a long drive. And again, the oil level was actually fine. By the end of the Giulia's 19-day stay in the shop, the dealer had reflashed the sensor, replaced the sensor, and then brought in an engineer with a software update for the sensor. Sigh.
The regular service stops, at 10,000-mile intervals, cost us $169, $223, $786, and $251. The 30,000-mile service included new spark plugs at $49 apiece—more if you include the cost of screwing them in. We cracked the windshield, which we replaced for $1209. We spent $295 for a new front tire after it developed a sidewall bubble. The rears were down to the cords with 12,000 miles on them, and the fronts wore out after 15,000 miles of use. A low-speed traffic accident and a raccoon strike near the end of our test cost us $3529 to repaint the front fascia and replace a headlight. Also, we replaced the front brake pads and warped rotors for $1191.
But it wasn't the pricey spark plugs or the short-lived tires that bothered us the most. It was the absurd frequency and duration of the Giulia's stays at the dealership. During its 14 months with us, the Giulia spent 80 days out of commission. That's unforgivable. We went from recommending that people buy Giulia QFs to recommending that they lease Giulia QFs to recommending that they stay away from Giulia QFs altogether.
You broke our heart, Giulia. You broke our heart.
Rants & Raves
This is not an $80,000 interior. I'm not sure it's even a decent $50,000 interior. –Alexander Stoklosa
I'd settle for a cheapish interior when a car is this good to drive. –David Beard
Just a prediction: Nobody is going to buy this car when we are done with it. –Jeff Sabatini
Waves in the glass distort the rear view. –Mike Sutton
The ZF eight-speed slams home wide-open-throttle shifts on par with the best dual-clutch trannies. –Dave VanderWerp
This 505-hp beast is a remarkably docile freeway cruiser: compliant ride, quiet exhaust note, good sightlines. –Joey Capparella
The shift paddles are perfection in material, placement, and feel. –Rusty Blackwell
It rips, snorts, and scampers like a playful puppy, and when you're pushing it hard on a good road, the steering is divine. –Daniel Golson
It has the optional wood-shop-scented interior: a heady mix of glue, burning wood, and sawdust. –Jeff Sabatini
It's sad when everyone is marveling that a new $80,000 vehicle didn't leave them stranded. –Joey Capparella
This a compelling toy for enthusiasts. Too bad its atrocious reliability makes it a poor transportation device. –Rich Ceppos
In a car this prone to failures large and small, shouldn't the warning lights be brighter? –Annie White
Its brakes are more difficult to modulate when attempting to drive gently than any other new car's. –Dave VanderWerp
Moderate rain on the highway and this got spooky, as if it were on marbles or ice. –David Beard
30,000-Mile Update
We probably should have known we'd eventually get to this point, but that brings no satisfaction now that we're here. We'll just say it: After a trouble-filled 30,000-plus miles with our long-term Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, we have officially begun criticizing the periodic warning lights that appear on its instrument panel.
Mind you, we're not referring to our complaining that the warning lights have come on (although there's a lot of that as well) but actually criticizing the placement, color, and luminosity of the warnings themselves. Hey, critics are going to critique. But still, it indicates a familiarity with warnings, both false and true, that is pretty shameful.
We've documented plenty of sightings of the "check engine" and "service electronic throttle" warnings. So much so, in fact, that they no longer spike our heart rate. Since we last updated you on the Giulia, the electronic-throttle warning popped up once (at about 34,000 miles). The dealer discovered a connector wasn't seated and replaced it. That seems to have solved the problem, so far.
About 3000 miles earlier, during a long highway slog, one editor noticed a "low engine oil" warning, but only after cycling the ignition following a stop for gas. A text appeared between the gauges alerting us to the issue. Had the warning been on earlier in the drive and gone unnoticed? Maybe, our staffer thought, the light being relatively dim and blending in with the rest of the instrument readouts. No harm, though. A check of the dipstick confirmed that the warning light wasn't just dim, it was also dimwitted. The oil level was fine. We took the Giulia to our dealer, where it spent about a week and a half while technicians fumbled with it. First, they reflashed the system, which didn't work. Next, they replaced the oil-level sensor, which also didn't work. Then the techs brought out an engineer with a fresh software update, which finally solved the problem. It cost us no money, but we spent a great deal of time and nearly ran out of patience.
A few thousand miles before that, one Giulia driver was greeted to a festival of lights and sounds that would do a carnival fairway proud. Following a morning carwash, the Giulia warned of an open rear door and an inoperative turn signal. The incessant attention tones mingled unhappily and were joined by the warning beeps of the malfunctioning parking sensors whenever the car's speed dropped below their activation threshold. It's a soundtrack that might be useful in CIA black-site interrogations. And then, it stopped and has yet to come back. Not even after repeated trips to the carwash and some 8000 miles.
We also had a windshield stone chip filled for $50. We went back to the dealer that performed our 20K-mile service but failed to swap out the cabin and engine air filters. The new ones added up to $162. The 30,000-mile service ran a staggering $786 for the usual oil, oil filter, and inspections, plus six new spark plugs. Each of those spark plugs cost $49. Oh, we also ran the Giulia into the back of another car at very low speed and into a raccoon at somewhat higher speed. We're taking the car in for an estimate as we write this. It's been a tough run lately.
It's sad that electronic freakouts and service woes have come to dominate our time with the Giulia. When it's working properly, it's such a pleasure to drive. It's the most rewarding and thrilling sedan on the market today. But it's wearing us down, and we can't in good conscience recommend that anyone buy one. Leasing could be another story.
Months in Fleet: 13 months Current Mileage: 35,142 miles
Average Fuel Economy: 19 mpg
Fuel Tank Size: 15.3 gal Observed Fuel Range: 290 miles
Service: $1340 Normal Wear: $757 Repair: $0
Damage and Destruction: $1534
20,000-Mile Update
WHAT WE LIKE: We like when our lovely Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio is not spending extended periods of time in the dealership service bay. And, will wonders never cease, that hasn't happened recently—just some quick visits, both scheduled and unscheduled. See below for more details on the unscheduled visits since our last update 15,000 miles ago. As for scheduled, well, we had our dealer perform the 20,000-mile service, amounting to an oil change and inspections, for $223. As ever, we like the Giulia's surprisingly supple ride quality (for its performance capabilities). We also like road-tripping the Giulia much more than we ever expected we would. Yes, its super-quick steering makes it slightly darty, but long-haul drives are unexpectedly calming given how tightly strung it seems at first blush. Blasting by laggards, with the exhaust firing out a healthy "Blat!" on upshifts, is another of our favorite activities.
WHAT WE DON'T LIKE: Look, we didn't want to say this, but we're pretty sure that the Giulia has become a hypochondriac. Sometimes traumatic events, particularly those involving catastrophic health scares, can push even an otherwise stable vehicle into a cycle of anxiety-related maladies. See below if you're interested in what it is we're going on about here. Other things we do not like about the Giulia: the same old touchy brake pedal, with which not one staffer has mastered consistent, smooth stops around town. And we weren't exactly happy about having to replace the rear tires at 14,000 miles. They were down to the cords by the time we swapped on a new pair for $757. But, given the Pirelli P Zero Corsa's treadwear rating of only 60 and the Alfa's tremendous power, we weren't surprised by their brief life span, either. We're considering swapping out the Corsas for something a little less sticky come summer 2019. For the next few months, the QF will continue to ride on Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 winter tires.
WHAT WENT WRONG: At least a couple of things went wrong since our last update. And yet, nothing at all went wrong. That's because every time the Giulia Quadrifoglio has recently indicated something is wrong, there's nothing wrong. This behavior is, well, wrong. Let us explain. At 18,486 miles, our Giulia warned us that it was low on oil. But it wasn't. A dealership technician told us the sensor just needed to be recalibrated. And that non-problem problem has never recurred. But at 23,673 miles, our old nemesis, the "service electronic throttle control" message, lit up again. The car seemed to be fully operational but, given our previous experiences with that particular warning, we felt compelled to take it seriously. At the dealership, the light went away and the techs could find no errors. Another problem solved by not actually being a problem. If this were our personal car, we would be in a constant state of high anxiety. And that is a variety of excitement, just not the kind we crave out of a 505-hp sports sedan.
WHERE WE WENT: The Giulia's earlier problems, as well as its more recent feints, have shaken our faith in the car. But, somehow, that didn't stop many staffers from taking long road trips in the QF. In the past 15,000 or so miles, the Giulia has visited places as far afield as Boston, Chicago, and New York, along with treks to Ohio, Tennessee, and northern Michigan. Tellingly, each road tripper felt compelled to note in the Alfa's notebook that the car made it all the way to his destination and back without stranding him. That's good news. And that it is news at all is also kind of bad news, right?
Months in Fleet: 10 months Current Mileage: 26,709 miles
Average Fuel Economy: 19 mpg
Fuel Tank Size: 15.3 gal Observed Fuel Range: 290 miles
Service: $392 Normal Wear: $757 Repair: $0
Damage and Destruction: $1484
10,000-Mile Update
WHAT WE LIKE: What we like is driving the Giulia Quadrifoglio, something we’re doing a lot less of than we would prefer. More on that below. When our Alfa Romeo is up and running, there are few sedans on the market that can match its emotional engagement and its visceral appeal. Heck, there aren’t many vehicles of any configuration that offer the Giulia QF’s single-minded sporting focus. That it delivers those thrills while offering the size and ride quality to comfortably accommodate several full-size humans is impressive. Among its strongest draws: Light, quick, and high-fidelity steering that makes this sedan feel as if it’s shrink-wrapped around your body. A beguiling engine note with a trombone-undertone blat. The ZF eight-speed automatic that snaps off shifts like the best dual-clutch gearboxes.
WHAT WE DON’T LIKE: What we don't like is driving a loaner Chrysler 300 for a month while our Alfa is in the shop. But again, more on that below. Even when the Alfa is running properly, it’s not perfect. We have yet to find a driver who likes this car's brake-pedal feel. Stomp on the pedal during aggressive driving and the Giulia delivers impressive stopping force and no complaints. Unfortunately, most of the time we spend in the car is at a more moderate pace, where it's almost impossible to modulate braking force as you go about your daily commute. It requires serious focus just to achieve an only moderately jerky stop. Passengers begin quietly judging you. Also, the hyper-aggressive Pirelli P Zero Corsa summer tires (treadwear rating: 60) don't much like rain. On one memorable commute over a freshly paved section of expressway in moderate rain, the Giulia got "very spooky in a straight line, as if it was on marbles." On a dry skidpad, they deliver an impressive 0.98 g of stick, though.
WHAT WENT WRONG: Okay, here we go. So, our couple of bouts with electronic-throttle and check-engine lights, which we addressed in the introduction story for the Giulia, appear to have been solved. Our dealer replaced the fuel pump under warranty at 5040 miles, and we haven't had that problem since. That's the good news. The bad news is that when we took the Giulia in for its first regular service (oil change and routine inspections) at 10,021 miles, we ended up leaving it there for a month. We'd been hearing some whining from our car's rear end and asked the dealership techs to check it out. They diagnosed the sound as bearing noise from the differential. Okay. The solution, after the dealer consulted with Alfa corporate support, was to replace the whole diff. But it would have to be ordered. Further delaying the dealership (and us) was that it has only one Alfa Romeo technician, and he is apparently a very busy man. We called around to other area dealers to see if we could sneak in for quicker service elsewhere. No dice; all booked up. So, we waited and made jokes about our white Chrysler 300 loaner that were not just unfunny but also sad. The Giulia was out of commission from July 10 to August 10, a full month during prime driving season. As much as we love to drive the Giulia QF, this—combined with the earlier lengthy dealership stays—is really inexcusable for a modern car. By the way, that 10K service cost $169; the diff was covered under warranty at no cost.
Also, a few thousand miles before the diff debacle, we noticed a bubbled sidewall on the right-front tire. A fresh Pirelli tire set us back $275. Sometime later, a rock strike cracked the windshield. A new one cost us $1209.
WHERE WE WENT: To the dealer, of course. But in the glory days between the fuel-pump replacement and the differential replacement, we managed to sneak in a trip to Virginia International Raceway for our annual Lightning Lap event (no, we didn't lap the Giulia). Otherwise, we've been staying pretty close to home. Our confidence in our kick-ass sports sedan is, predictably, a little shaken. We're going to try to trust again, but it might take some time.
Months in Fleet: 5 months Current Mileage: 11,204 miles
Average Fuel Economy: 19 mpg
Fuel Tank Size: 15.3 gal Observed Fuel Range: 290 miles
Service: $169 Normal Wear: $0 Repair: $0
Damage and Destruction: $1484
Introduction
Say what you will about the reliability of Alfa Romeo’s cars, but know that our new long-term test vehicle, a blood-red Giulia Quadrifoglio, made it well past its engine break-in period before it needed to pay an unscheduled visit to the service department.
In fact, we could have broken in two of the 505-hp twin-turbo 2.9-liter V-6s in the time before the “service electronic throttle control” warning light first lit at just less than 2400 miles, followed by a “service engine” light. This was on a 650-mile road trip, and the editor at the wheel claimed the warning popped up while he was just trundling along on the expressway with the cruise control set to 78 mph. Power seemed diminished, and he was unable to select different driving modes, but the car made it safely back to our Michigan home base.
The car spent a week in the shop, but the technicians could find no cause for the warning lights, which were now extinguished. While they were crawling around our new hotness, though, they found a small coolant leak. Tightening a loose hose clamp stemmed the flow. We were sent on our way.
The ordeal delayed our initial testing of the Quad, so, with a clean bill of health, we headed out to the test track with about 4100 miles on the odometer and posted commendable numbers: 3.6 seconds to 60 mph, 11.8 seconds at 122 mph through the quarter-mile, and then . . . “service electronic throttle control,” diminished power, so forth and so on. It wasn’t just the second time we’d seen the warning. True, it was twice for our long-termer before the 5000-mile mark, but we’d also experienced it testing a Giulia Quadrifoglio on short-term loan to us. That experience matched our latest one, having occurred at full throttle during acceleration runs. Our test driver is convinced that the car had at least another tenth in it—but not in its present condition. Either way, the acceleration matched what we’d seen with previous Quads.
Hello Alfa dealer, it’s us again. This time the dealer told us we needed a new fuel pump (after reading a code for low pressure at the fuel rail) and that it would take a couple of weeks to get one.
We have never gotten an explanation for why the car’s interior smells like it does. It has been described as “some kid is doing a wood-burning craft in the back seat” and “the Louisville Slugger factory.” Eventually, you get used to it, in part because it appears there is no other choice.
Believe us, we really didn’t want to start this story this way. We love the Giulia and the stomping Quadrifoglio in particular (note the models’ presence on our 2018 10Best Cars list). There’s no denying that this has been an ominous beginning to a 40,000-mile test of an Italian car. For now, hope springs eternal. We’re hoping this fuel-pump issue is just the Quadrifoglio’s way of clearing its throat, not a harbinger of coming doom. We’ll see.
This early stumble hasn’t (yet) extinguished the affection we have for our ass-kicking—and pretty—sports sedan. We ordered our car covered in $2200 of Rosso Competizione paint; bolted on dark-finish, five-hole 19-inch wheels for $500; paid $400 for a steering wheel with carbon-fiber trim; and added $1200 worth of driver-assist systems (lane-departure warning, adaptive cruise control, and automatic high-beam headlamps). Tack on the destination charge, and the car totaled $79,595.
We passed on the $3500 carbon-fiber-back Sparco racing buckets and the $8000 carbon-ceramic brake rotors, because the car sits and stops just fine as is. Well, the standard front seats have come in for kudos for comfort and support. The brakes, however, have received a few raspberries for a pedal that is nearly impossible to modulate around town, leading to herky, jerky stops and squealing pads. The brake-by-wire system isn’t the only rude part of the Quadrifoglio. The V-6’s idle is lumpy. The shift paddles for the eight-speed automatic are so huge that they block the left and right stalks. And you might not want to drive the Quadrifoglio during allergy season, because the steering is so quick that one sneeze while behind the wheel might immediately transport you to a roadside drainage ditch.
But we love it. We can’t help it. Apart from the inconsistent brake pedal, we’re willing to accept all of the above drivability shortcomings as the tiny price one has to pay for a car as single-mindedly focused on performance as the Quadrifoglio. There are precious few cars like it. Its steering is sublime. Perfectly weighted and quick, but you have to pay attention. And its engine is a boot to the ass of day-to-day driving. Its rush is pharmaceutical grade. Its ride quality is amazingly supple for a car with such tremendous body control. And it looks so good.
But, let’s face it, if anything is going to be this car’s undoing, we’re guessing it won’t be its driving character. This should be an exciting ride, in all regards.
Months in Fleet: 3 months Current Mileage: 5191 miles
Average Fuel Economy: 19 mpg
Fuel Tank Size: 15.3 gal Fuel Range: 290 miles
Service: $0 Normal Wear: $0 Repair: $0
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