Good evening, folks.
Saturday 9/21 marked the 1 year anniversary of taking home this Italian beauty. In that time I've racked up slightly over 17k miles of year-round daily driving usage. I wanted to share my experience thus far for anyone who may be in the market. Vehicle in question is an '18 Giulia Ti Sport Q4 w/ Performance Package. For a complete write up please check out my 5k mile review
here. Nothing has changed regarding driving dynamics, looks, etc. So this will be short and sweet.
In 1 year the Giulia has seen the dealer 5 times. Twice for a passenger side door rattle, once for a recall and free oil change, once for a recall/oil maintenance light reset (after DIY change) and once for a valve stem replacement. That's it. No doom and gloom stories from me on this one. Total maintenance costs have been $164.28. $78.78 for the oil and filter and $85.50 for them to reset the oil light. Yes, you read that correctly. They charged 1/2 an hour of labor to reset the oil light. While there have been some, I repeat
some, horror stories of Alfa ownership. Most board members seem to have similar experiences to what I've shared. One or two initial growing pains then smooth sailing from there. One of the things that attracted me to this car was the efficiency to power ratio if you will. She's a great performer and will put down power when you need it, while also delivering a 24.1 lifetime mpg average. Considering I have a 50 mile daily commute of suburban stop & go traffic, I truly can't ask for more.
Positives
- Undeniably beautiful
- Powerful yet efficient
- Comfortable seating
- Unique cabin
- Smooth and adjustable suspension
Negatives
- For the love of God give owners access/ability to clear codes and reset maintenance lights
- Harmon Kardon is simply subpar for the cost
- No spare tire (an un-patchable nail resulted in an $1,100 bill for a new set, while this isn't really an Alfa issue, it's an annoyance that modern AWD vehicles bring)