Enter the 2022 Alfa Romeo Giulia, a small luxury sedan with distinctive styling, athletic reflexes, and an interior that feels like a tailored suit for the driver.
Compared to something like an Audi A4 or BMW 3 Series, the 2022 Alfa Romeo Giulia stands out in the crowd. Giulia sales are comparatively small too, furthering the car’s exclusive vibe.
The base Giulia comes with a 280-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder engine and is fun and lively to drive. And if you want to take that special feeling to the next level, there’s the top-of-the-line Quadrifoglio, with its 505-horsepower V6.
The 2022 Alfa Romeo Giulia isn’t without its faults — take a look at our Expert Rating to read our in-depth analysis — but its personality is a perfect antidote to small luxury sedan blandness.
Last year’s Ti Sport trim has been renamed Veloce for 2022, and a host of new standard features can be found throughout the Giulia lineup.
Its infotainment system now benefits from standard navigation and a wireless phone charger, while an auto-dimming rearview mirror, front, and rear heated seats, and an air-quality system round out the changes to the convenience features.
Newly standard driver-assistance tech includes blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning, automatic high-beam headlamps, and front and rear parking sensors.
Engine, Transmission, and Performance
The Giulia’s turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder makes 280 horsepower, sounds intoxicating, and feels gutsy when driven hard. The 2022 Alfa Romeo Giulia pulls away from stoplights with zeal while singing soaring Italian arias.
Our rear-wheel-drive test car’s 5.7-second zero-to-60-mph time and an all-wheel-drive model’s time of 5.5 seconds places the Giulia mid-pack in its segment in our acceleration testing; the Audi A4 did it in 5.2 seconds and the four-cylinder BMW 330i managed 5.4 seconds despite that both cars have less horsepower than the Alfa.
All Giulias come with a drive-mode selector with three unique settings: Dynamic, Natural, and Advanced Efficiency—cleverly making the acronym DNA—each of which alters the car’s transmission, engine management, and steering feel. Agile and lively at all times, the Giulia is a driving enthusiast’s sports sedan.
The front tires are very responsive to driver inputs and speak clearly to the driver through the leather-wrapped steering wheel. Body roll is well controlled, and in hard corners, the Giulia remains flat and predictable. It’s easy to drive quickly and aggressively, but it’s equally comfortable when driven sedately.
Fuel Economy and Real-World MPG
Among its turbocharged four-cylinder rivals, the 2022 Alfa Romeo Giulia has competitive fuel-efficiency numbers from the EPA, just shy of class-leading. Rear-wheel-drive models are rated at 24 mpg city and 33 mpg highway.
All-wheel-drive models see a slight deficit at 23 mpg city and 31 mpg highway, but that’s common in this class. In our real-world highway fuel-economy test, our rear-wheel-drive Ti test vehicle nearly delivered on its EPA number with a 32-mpg result. For more information about the 2022 Alfa Romeo Giulia‘s fuel economy, visit the EPA’s website.
Interior, Comfort, and Cargo
The interior of the 2022 Alfa Romeo Giulia features soft-touch plastics, fine leather, and either textured metallic or genuine wood trimmings. It’s an elegantly styled cabin, with a wide, sweeping dashboard that acts as a visor to shade the integrated infotainment screen from the sun.
The seats are comfortable and well-bolstered, especially the optional sports seats. Pack your sunnies, though: The Giulia’s sun visors are laughably small and ineffective when driving head-on into the sun. The 2022 Alfa Romeo Giulia managed to fit five of our carry-on cases inside its trunk; with its rear seats folded, it managed 14, lagging segment leaders by one carry-on.
Infotainment and Connectivity
All Giulias feature Alfa Romeo’s 8.8-inch touchscreen infotainment system tucked in between the dashtop and the central climate-control vents. Three USB ports, an auxiliary input jack, in-dash navigation, and Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity are all standards.
The infotainment interface is relatively intuitive and offers customization options, but we found the navigation to be occasionally slow to update at crucial times during turn-by-turn directions and several of the on-screen icons are small and difficult to activate while driving.
In addition to touchscreen commands, users can also interact with the system using an auxiliary rotary knob controller on the center console. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration are standard and a 14-speaker Harman/Kardon audio system is optional.
Safety and Driver-Assistance Features
Alfa has included several driver-assistance features as standard, but those seeking more advanced semi-autonomous tech will find it requires an option package.
For more information about the 2022 Alfa Romeo Giulia’s crash-test results, visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) websites.
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Full Specifications
2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia
VEHICLE TYPE
front-engine, rear- or all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
BASE PRICE (C/D EST)
$41,500
ENGINE TYPE
turbocharged and intercooled SOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injection
Displacement
122 cu in, 1993 cc
Power
280 hp @ 5200 rpm
Torque
306 lb-ft @ 2000 rpm
TRANSMISSION
8-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 111.0 in
Length: 182.8 in
Width: 73.2 in
Height: 56.5–57.1 in
Passenger volume: 94 cu ft
Trunk volume: 13 cu ft
Curb weight (C/D est): 3650–3700 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 5.4–5.6 sec
100 mph: 14.0–14.6 sec
¼-mile: 14.0–14.2 sec
Top speed: 149 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/city/highway: 26–27/23–24/31–33 mpg
