Shopping for a car is hard, even for those who live and breathe automobiles. Those of you reading these pages on the day of publication are the ones I’m talking about - you have a compulsion to consume media about your favorite four-wheel contraptions and discuss said contraptions down in the comments. Most of you have opinions on brands and models and often have experience with them to back up those opinions. 

Imagine, however, being someone who simply needs a car, but doesn’t really give a damn about cars. How do those people figure out what to buy? Those folks, if they’re reading these pages, have stumbled here via a search engine months down the line. These buyers have a monstrous task ahead of them, winnowing and sorting all sorts of data and opinions into a buying decision. 

How does a brand like Alfa Romeo target either of these buyers? Most of the enthusiasts in my first paragraph have opinions on a sports sedan like the 2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia you see before you based either upon a historical impression of an automaker that left these shores before the O.J. Simpson trial was decided, or perhaps a few of you have sampled the current incarnation. The other buyer, without automotive enthusiasm whatsoever, likely knows little to nothing of the marque or model at all. How is a car like this going to manifest its way into either of these buyer’s garages, especially in an era where we can actually foresee the end of gasoline-powered vehicles?

I mention this as the writing is on the wall for the Giulia and the related Stelvio crossover, at least in this form. These basic vehicles appeared here in 2016, and I last sampled a Giulia in 2017. The 2024 model here is substantially similar, with a 280-horsepower, turbocharged-four powering an eight-speed automatic transmission driving either the rear or all four wheels. But Alfa Romeo is going all-in on electrification, having released the hybrid Tonale earlier this year and having announced that the next generations of Giulia/Stelvio will be electric. If you want the opportunity to own the last gas Alfa, this is it.

My feelings about the Giulia, more than half a decade on from last driving it, remain much the same. It is a marvelous driving experience, much more engaging than similarly priced and sized cars from Germany. My time with the car was brief, as Alfa Romeo invited journalists to a full-line event at the M1 Concourse facility north of Detroit. A couple of laps around the tight track were available in the stupendous twin-turbo Quadrifoglio alongside street drives of the Stelvio, Tonale, and Giulia. To be fair, it’s not quite enough time to get fully acquainted with the nuances and quirks of a vehicle, but simply a reminder of what the car is all about.

And the Giulia I drove, a four-cylinder Giulia Veloce RWD with an as-delivered price of $54,550, is all about enjoyment behind the wheel. Yes, it’s a competent small sedan for the typical commute. The infotainment system, while mildly improved from the glitchy unit I experienced back in the day, is still less sophisticated than the best ones out there. Heck, I’m still astonished that Alfa Romeo hasn’t figured out how to put the corporate Stellantis UConnect 5 screen in there, but as long as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (wired for both in this case) are available, I can get by.

But this car isn’t about the 8.8-inch touchscreen for the audio system, nor the 12.3-inch TFT display for the gauges that Alfa Romeo is touting in press releases. It’s about what you see in the big glass display right in front of your face - the road ahead. The competition has doubled down on in-car entertainment options, with bigger screens, fewer buttons to control the essential functions of a car, and more insulation from the outside world. Driving enthusiasts know that proper in-car entertainment is controlled with pedals on the floor and a chunky wheel in front of the driver. Save the comment about a third pedal - modern automatics are damned good and it’s incredibly hard for any automaker to justify the minimal sales of a manual.

Sadly, nobody seems to be getting the message about the brand. Glancing at sales trends of the Giulia and the standard-bearer of premium sports sedans, Alfa Romeo has moved 2,694 units this year through the end of the third quarter. In that same time, BMW has sold 23,268 of the 3-series sedan. 

But when was the last time you looked at a modern 3-series in traffic or the parking lot and let the image fester in your mind for more than a moment? The 2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia is an unusual sight in any context, a beautifully styled sports sedan that begs to be driven. The others may have flashy screens and ways to interact with your phone. This car encourages you to tuck the phone in a glovebox (like you should be doing anyhow) and enjoy the drive.

[Images: © 2023 Chris Tonn/TTAC.com]

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