Alfa unveils facelifted Giulietta 25 | 02 | 2016
ALFA ROMEO HAS revealed its facelifted Giulietta hatchback. The car, which will be unveiled at next week's Geneva Motor Show, will go on sale in Scottish dealerships on April 1, with prices starting at £18,450 for the 118bhp 1.4 petrol in basic Giulietta trim.
The principal tweaks involved in the mild facelift include mild exterios changes, new trim classifications and the introduction of the TCT dual-clutch gearbox as an option for the 1.6 JTDm engine. The auto 'box features steering wheel-mounted paddles as standard.
The main external changes are on the Giulietta's nose which gets a new honeycomb grille, black bumper inserts and very subtle changes to the headlamp and fog light surrounds.
The new look brings the model closer to the styling of the long-awaited Giulia saloon: this is expected to make its first appearance towards the end of the year.
Inside the Giulietta, the facelift improvements are minimal, with just new seats and a matte black dash insert.
Significantly though, where the current range has seven trim levels, the facelifted model will have only the entry-level Giulietta, plus Super, Tecnica, Speciale and Veloce.
Related: New Fiat 500 1.2 Eco on-sale
Across the range, all trims get Alfa's newly upgraded Uconnect infotainment system, which now includes smartphone integration for online services such as music streaming, news, social media and traffic updates for cars equipped with sat-nav.
The entry-level spec now gets a leather steering wheel, while air-con, Bluetooth, Q2 brake-based front differential, and 16in alloys are all carried over from the current base trim.
The Super adds upgraded seats, front fog lights, cruise control and dual-zone climate control. An optional Lusso pack adds leather upholstery, aluminium kick plates and a larger infotainment screen (up from 5.0in to 6.5in) with sat-nav.
Opt for the Tecnica spec, and you get sat-nav and parking sensors at both ends, while the sporty Speciale adds aggressive exterior styling touches, Brembo brakes, stiffer suspension, 18in alloys and sat-nav. Internally, the Speciale benefits from a flat-bottomed steering wheel, plus leather and Alcantara seats.
The most popular engine in the new Giulietta’s range is expected to continue being the 1.6 JTDm. Capable of 74.3mpg on the combined cycle and emitting just 99g/km of CO2 when mated to the standard manual gearbox, the new dual-clutch version matches these figures. However it is 0.2sec slower to 62mph at 10.2sec.
Across the range there three diesel engines and four petrols. The quickest is the Veloce, which is specced similarly Speciale, and which uses the 237bhp 1750 TB engine lifted from the 4C coupe.
Related: Roadtest — Alfa Romeo 4C Coupe
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Jim McGill