test drove an Alfa romeo giulietta... slow?

Diagro

Diagro

Diagro

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just test drove an Alfa romeo giulietta 2.0 170 lusso.

but it felt very sluggish vs my clio sport 172... or was it just me? Am I too used to petrol engines?


It's £5500 for a 2011 plate, 95k miles on the clock, couple of dents but easy to get them removed.

should I have it run on a dyno to see if it's making correct power? Will a dealer actually entertain this request? Dynodaze is 2 mins drive from then and it's £30 to run it.
 
It's a larger heavier car...course it's going to feel sluggish Vs a clio sport. It weighs about 400kg more, that's 40% more than the clio...
 
Check somewhere else. The model of Guilietta you're looking at is the heaviest at 1390kg.

Clio is 1021.
 
I found the 1.4 Petrol 170bhp model quite satisfying from low speed, but lacking on the motorway. Why are you looking at a diesel for kicks?

Also the ergonomics are a mess, and the steering is numb, I couldn't live with one.
 
The mk2 clio is 1110kg.
so it's 280kg more heavy.

looking at the diesel because it will save me £800 - £1000 a year in fuel
 
Diagro said:
The mk2 clio is 1110kg.
so it's 280kg more heavy.

looking at the diesel because it will save me £800 - £1000 a year in fuel
Click to expand...

Based on Alfa's figures? Or the real world? As diesels go, the FIAT ones in the Alfas are among the more optimistic with the figures.

Servicing on that is actually cheaper than the turbo petrol models, so while in warranty, the diesel shouldn't have a higher TCO.

I guess from your saving you're doing something like 15-20k p/a, likely some regular decent trips so it should keep the DPF clean.
 
Its going to be slow compared to a NA 2.0 Petrol, not just down to the weight difference of the cars, though that will contribute, as will refinement which will make it feel slower than a lightweight scrabbly Renault, big engine in little car is always a good recipe, the Giulietta is a turbo charged diesel, so there is lag to go with that diesel engine in comparison, even when comparing my turbo petrol with my NA MX5 it can feel unresponsive and a bit tardy but that is because the MX5 feels very responsive with its 2.0 NA engine, still the MX5 is the slower car, its just the lag and refinement of the Abarth that makes it feel initially slow.

All told the Guilietta should have some decent shove, these cars have a DNA switch for engine modes, did you put it in D for Dynamic, tends to give you more aggressive engine setting.

May also have a clogged DPF.

Economy wise they should be fine, I had one as a loaner and it barely touched the fuel on the motorway. I have had a couple of older Fiat diesels, the 1.9s, economy was a strong point actually, though the computer would be overly optimistic, brim to brim measures were always good.
 
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Diagro said:
The mk2 clio is 1110kg.
so it's 280kg more heavy.

looking at the diesel because it will save me £800 - £1000 a year in fuel
Click to expand...

I removed around that from my M3 and the difference it made to acceleration was night and day.

It is very noticeable is weight especially on acceleration between 30-100mph.
 
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