2.0 JTDm-2 Lusso 170 5dr Hatchback

Good car but build quality could be better.

I was attracted to this car as I have had several Alfas in the past and have always liked them. When the opportunity to buy a newer car came up I looked at all of the usual suspects from Ford, VW, BMW etc but it just so happened that a local dealer had a nice Giulietta for sale at a good price. Used prices are a lot cheaper than VW's and BMW's so I was getting a much newer and lower mileage car for my money.
Reliabilty wise so far it has been ok but not great. There are a couple of minor niggles and a couple of more serious ones, it suffers lots of interior rattles, especially in colder weather the odd creak from the seats. The stereo (blue and me) isn't great with a distinct lack of bass and the doors and speakers rattle when the volume is turned up. I have also suffered a failed Daytime running lamp, which due to the design of the lamps required a whole new headlight assembly (£170 ouch!). It has also suffered from a Cracked EGR cooler cover and broken tailgate wiring (both common problems). I have a few interior issues such as broken gear lever top, drooping sunshades and a broken dash top compartment.
The car drives well, it isn't massively fast off of the line due to the engine mapping limiting torque in 1st and 2nd gears to save the front tyres, but once into 3rd gear and above it really flies. I tend to leave the DNA selector in Dynamic mode all of the time as there is much better throttle response and the steering is a bit meatier.
The ride and handling is good but not as good as something like a Ford Focus. The steering is very numb and whilst the car sticks to the road it is very uninvolving.
In normal driving I am averaging 44mpg, but I can get around 50mpg on a run. I think this is very acceptable considering the performance.
I like the Giulietta, but I don't think I would buy another. The way the body and the mechanical parts are put together is excellent. At 10 years old there is no sign of corrosion. The interior quality however is poor with lots of cheap plastics everywhere which are not very well put together. The other main gripe is the noise from the engine. Compared to a BMW or VAG diesel is is loud and it can be heard in the cabin most of the time.

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