[wingler]

100%. But the reason I posted in this forum is because I would like to hear everyones thought process in purchasing the Giulia. I know what A4 owners will say and I used to own an Audi so I know Audi's very well but I want to hear from Giulia owners how they decided that although Audi has better tech, smoother ride, better reliability history, they chose the Giulia. That's all ?.

Once again, as a previous A4 owner (2015 MY), I don’t agree the A4 has a smoother ride. I have the Ti model with 18 inch wheels which I believe is every bit as smooth as my Audi. No discernible difference from my perspective on ride quality, backroads or highway. Now my wife’s 3.2L Q5 is a much better highway cruiser than either, but that’s a different discussion.

 

[lockem]

Years ago Cadillac did some tests and determined that most people confuse ride quality and road noise.

Giulia's ride is pretty smooth, at least if you have the adaptive suspension in soft mode. However, the car does telegraph quite a bit of road noise, especially if you have the Pirelli Cinturato RFTs inflated fully to the recommended pressure. The noise will likely be worse if the tires are over inflated to the delivery pressure. There may be some variability from car to car also. For example the Giulia I test drove had a lot more road noise than the car I ordered and bought, even though the equipment was nearly identical--or maybe the sunroof that was on the test drive car increased noise a lot.

 

[Swissalfa]

Years ago Cadillac did some tests and determined that most people confuse ride quality and road noise.

Giulia's ride is pretty smooth, at least if you have the adaptive suspension in soft mode. However, the car does telegraph quite a bit of road noise, especially if you have the Pirelli Cinturato RFTs inflated fully to the recommended pressure. The noise will likely be worse if the tires are over inflated to the delivery pressure. There may be some variability from car to car also. For example the Giulia I test drove had a lot more road noise than the car I ordered and bought, even though the equipment was nearly identical--or maybe the sunroof that was on the test drive car increased noise a lot.

I would have thought road noise would be related mostly to the tires (and the road surface) and wind noise the aerodynamics of the car.

When I was shopping around for my previous car I test drive an A4. I found the ride generally ok however there was a lot of thump from the rear when going over expansion joints. I ended up going for a Bmw 435 instead.

 

[Greg Stidsen]

My wife has a 2009 A4 Avant Quattro with the 2.0 turbo. It now has 135k miles and has been mostly reliable except for blowing a rear main seal and needing a new cam variator (common problem) after 100k. The current models are basically the same chassis and engine, except the 6 speed auto is replaced by a 7 speed DCT and the steering is now electric instead of hydraulic. We drove the 2017 Audi A4 and Giulia back to back the same day. After driving the Giulia the Audi felt like a truck! In fact both my wife and I found the new Audi to be worse than the 2009 we still own! The steering is completely dead and the transmission is jerky. Seats were hard and the ride was worse (this is the crossroads model, you can't get a normal Avant in the US any more). Handling, power, sound, interior and exterior design, and build quality were all superior in the Alfa in our opinion.

 

[jonatanpadan]

We drove the 2017 Audi A4 and Giulia back to back the same day. After driving the Giulia the Audi felt like a truck! In fact both my wife and I found the new Audi to be worse than the 2009 we still own! The steering is completely dead and the transmission is jerky. Seats were hard and the ride was worse (this is the crossroads model, you can't get a normal Avant in the US any more). Handling, power, sound, interior and exterior design, and build quality were all superior in the Alfa in our opinion.

Funny you say that. My wife has a 2018 traverse and after driving the Audi I was thinking man, this traverse is like the Audi. Comfortable, quiet, lol. The Alfa is so much more fun. But.... The tech, the luxury, it's a luxury car after all you want all the bells and whistles. That's where the decision gets hard. The drive, feel, no questions asked Alfa wins. But it just feels like you're in a better quality car sitting in the Audi that's why it's such a hard decision.

On another note, my wife is 5'8" and she had a hard time sitting in the passenger side because it felt like she was too tall her head was almost at the roof. Anyone have any issues with passengers?

 

[LuxuryAutoSpa]

Depends what you like. If you like the boredom of a front wheel drive biased Quattro system, the vague steering wheel feeling and a mediocre DSG transmission, by all means get the A4.

However, if you enjoy a car with a perfectly balanced chassis, rear wheel biased traction, a razor sharp steering and a mind reader German built but Italian tuned shifter, then you need a Giulia.

La meccanica delle emozioni is not just a slogan.

So much passion and meaning in this statement right here.

 

[Martyn]

Another thing beyond the ride, the comfort, the performance, handling, etc., would be to consider the long-term cost of ownership. Maybe if you're going to lease, no problem, but if you buy it, it's another factor.

I don't know what that would be for the Giulia 2.0, but the A4 came in as the 8th most expensive in this list: https://www.autoguide.com/auto-news...sive-cars-to-maintain-over-10-years.html?utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=exchange

It was beaten (as in even more expensive to maintain) by a BMW 328i which came in second place :surprise:

 

[Rutlefan]

I don't have much personal experience with Audi though I did take an S3 for a test drive a couple years ago. I thought it a fine car, no bad feelings, but it didn't excite me either. Drove a Panamera right after that; same experience. Those cars at least didn't leave a negative impression, unlike the recent MY BMWs I've driven (numb). The Giulia is the only contemporary sedan which I think is fun and would make me look forward to my commute, which for me is the paramount consideration, as I spend a lot of time in cars commuting. I also far far prefer both the exterior and interior styling of the Giulia to the Germans, as tasteful and handsome as Audi's cars tend to be.

Re reliability, there's plenty of data from Europe over the last ten to fifteen years that puts Alfa on par or even slightly ahead of the Germans. There was nothing wrong with the 159 and the Giulia is better yet. Don't believe the hype.

 

[jonatanpadan]

. The Giulia is the only contemporary sedan which I think is fun and would make me look forward to my commute, which for me is the paramount consideration, as I spend a lot of time in cars commuting. .

So would you say the Giulia is more comfortable/same/less comfortable then the Audi? And same for the road noise. If I'm going to be doing a lot of highway driving is the noise/fun ride going to get old and become loud and annoying? ?

 

[devsalvi]

A professional comparison between A4 and Giulia.
https://youtu.be/WV5ltdDAWY4

 

[Meegs]

We drove the 2017 Audi A4 and Giulia back to back the same day. After driving the Giulia the Audi felt like a truck! In fact both my wife and I found the new Audi to be worse than the 2009 we still own! The steering is completely dead and the transmission is jerky. Seats were hard and the ride was worse (this is the crossroads model, you can't get a normal Avant in the US any more). Handling, power, sound, interior and exterior design, and build quality were all superior in the Alfa in our opinion.

Funny you say that. My wife has a 2018 traverse and after driving the Audi I was thinking man, this traverse is like the Audi. Comfortable, quiet, lol. The Alfa is so much more fun. But.... The tech, the luxury, it's a luxury car after all you want all the bells and whistles. That's where the decision gets hard. The drive, feel, no questions asked Alfa wins. But it just feels like you're in a better quality car sitting in the Audi that's why it's such a hard decision.

On another note, my wife is 5'8" and she had a hard time sitting in the passenger side because it felt like she was too tall her head was almost at the roof. Anyone have any issues with passengers?

Did it have a sunroof?

 

[jonatanpadan]

Did it have a sunroof?

Yes

 

[Offtask]

I don't know about the rest of y'all, but I don't have too much time to play with the infotainment system while I'm driving. I get my "technofix" when the Alfa perfectly rotates around a decreasing radius off ramp at 30 over the limit.

 

[Alfissimo]

Everyone will tell you the Alfa. Try posting in an Audi forum and they will all tell you the Audi.

I'd post it on the Grand national forum for an unbiased result! haha!

 

[Meegs]

Yes

That could be why the headroom was too low

 

[wingler]

No issues with headroom on driver or passenger side and I’m 6ft and have a sunroof. Maybe she had the seat too high.

 

[Alan]

For me the test drive gives me a glimpse of not only the car but the dealership when I see how much driving they let me do. For my area Jaguar was the best right off the bat when the gave me some keys and told me to bring it back when I felt I had covered enough miles. Audi was worst with the dealer doing most of the driving and only letting me cover a few miles. Also I know a lot of people rave about the Audi virtual cockpit but I hated it and it ended up being one the reasons I didn’t get an A4.

If the fun of driving matters to you and as others have pointed out it may not and that’s OK, but if it does you should drive both the AWD and RWD Giulias if possible, ditto with and without paddles. Hope you find the car that really works for you.

 

[Max Tenet]

Personal preference is what it’s all about. If you like vanilla ice cream, get the Audi. Everyone likes vanilla. If you like pistachio gelato, get the Alfa. Both great cars but I have had many German cars and am now enjoying my Alfa. Don’t think Ill go German again.

Max Tenet

 

[JerryIII]

If you want to see yourself coming and going then get the Audi. If you want a great driving experience and drive something that people will break their necks looking at get the Giulia.

 

[JMody]

I owned an A4 and let me say this about what I remember (it got totaled out from under me in 2012, so it's been a while):
1. Very comfy - more adjustability in the seats than the Giulia. But to say the Giulia sport seats are NOT comfy is a lie.
2. Very quick - but the Giulia is faster.
3. I had the FWD with CVT, and I found that could do almost anything I wanted a car to do in terms of drivability, road-holding, spirited driving, etc. The Alfa does it better.
4. The Audi sunroof started popping off its little shoes that slide in the roof at about 50,000 miles. The little parts are not sold, only the full sunroof assembly.
5. The Audi interior adhesives started giving up the ghost at about 30,000/two years in the desert sun. That did NOT inspire confidence regarding the use of adhesives in their structure.

Bottom line -- I dropped $50k on a car 18 months ago, and it doesn't have four interlocking rings on it, it has St. George's cross and a biscione.