I had the afternoon to test drive two cars today: (1) Giulia Ti and (2) MINI JCW Clubman.
First stop was the MINI store in Sterling, VA and (lucky for me) they had 1 in stock. I was very impressed with the MINI's build quality. The doors and rear barn doors close with a nice solid "thunk" sound. The JCW interior is nice - the layout is a bit cluttered but I like the toggle Start/Stop button. Visibility in this car is not very good and the split rear hatch takes some getting use to. At start-up the exhaust sounds great! I was very impressed with the way the JCW Clubman drove - much quicker than I thought and the steering response was excellent.
Next I was off to the Alfa Romeo dealership that's practically next door. I waited 20 minutes until someone even greeted me and the initial getting with the sales advisor was very terse. I asked if the navigation screen was the larger unit and he argued with me that they're all the same size (true for the Ti's but I could not tell if we were in a Base or Ti model). He also told me that there is no staggered wheel set-up available on the Ti model (only on the QV). The test drive itself was ok but too short to really discern anything. When I suggested the exact route I just took the MINI on (about a 10-12 minute loop) he argued and told me to turn much sooner - I think the entire route was about 4 miles (I can't even test drive a bicycle within that distance). The drive itself was good. The car is much quieter than I'd hoped. Perhaps this was due to the fact I was just out of the JCW screamer? The exhaust note seemed to pick up a bit when I selected the Dynamic mode. The transmission seemed very good. The acceleration was good but no better than the JCW (seat of my pants estimate).
After the test drive we sat in his office and I showed him the 225/255 wheel option and he just sat there speechless so I grabbed his business card and left.
The entire experience left me quite confused. I do love the way the Ti looks but I really wish I could have had a more knowledgeable sales person walk me through all the features (and want to talk about the car). On the other hand I really loved the JCW - what a great little car.
First stop was the MINI store in Sterling, VA and (lucky for me) they had 1 in stock. I was very impressed with the MINI's build quality. The doors and rear barn doors close with a nice solid "thunk" sound. The JCW interior is nice - the layout is a bit cluttered but I like the toggle Start/Stop button. Visibility in this car is not very good and the split rear hatch takes some getting use to. At start-up the exhaust sounds great! I was very impressed with the way the JCW Clubman drove - much quicker than I thought and the steering response was excellent.
Next I was off to the Alfa Romeo dealership that's practically next door. I waited 20 minutes until someone even greeted me and the initial getting with the sales advisor was very terse. I asked if the navigation screen was the larger unit and he argued with me that they're all the same size (true for the Ti's but I could not tell if we were in a Base or Ti model). He also told me that there is no staggered wheel set-up available on the Ti model (only on the QV). The test drive itself was ok but too short to really discern anything. When I suggested the exact route I just took the MINI on (about a 10-12 minute loop) he argued and told me to turn much sooner - I think the entire route was about 4 miles (I can't even test drive a bicycle within that distance). The drive itself was good. The car is much quieter than I'd hoped. Perhaps this was due to the fact I was just out of the JCW screamer? The exhaust note seemed to pick up a bit when I selected the Dynamic mode. The transmission seemed very good. The acceleration was good but no better than the JCW (seat of my pants estimate).
After the test drive we sat in his office and I showed him the 225/255 wheel option and he just sat there speechless so I grabbed his business card and left.
The entire experience left me quite confused. I do love the way the Ti looks but I really wish I could have had a more knowledgeable sales person walk me through all the features (and want to talk about the car). On the other hand I really loved the JCW - what a great little car.
. 
