I finally got around to ordering a Giulia today. The dealer (Niello Maserati of Sacramento) was nicely set up and I was able to make some observations and measurements that I could not make at other dealers:
GROUND CLEARANCE
The bottom of the car is remarkably flat, with less than 1/4 inch variability. The fender skirts appear to be the lowest point, making it relatively easy to measure the ground clearance.
Note that Alfa states that the QV has 100mm = 4" of ground clearance. No QV was available to measure.
Q4 front fender skirt behind the front wheel is 6" off the ground.
Q4 rear fender skirt in front of the rear wheel is 7" off the ground.
The panels under the car are slightly higher than the fender skirts.
Q2 front fender skirt behind the front wheel is 5" off the ground.
Q2 rear fender skirt in front of the rear wheel is 6.5" off the ground.
The front fascia is about 1" higher than the fender skirts.
EXTRA VENTS THAT COME WITH THE SPORT PACKAGE
These are in the front grill. They do not vent to the engine compartment. Instead they are ducted to the front fender well and are apparently for brake cooling.
WHAT I ORDERED
Ti Q4 Trofeo White, 19" sport package, Red interior, Red calipers.
Ti Performance package.
High performance headlamps.
Ti leather package (the test drive car had red stitching and red interior--VERY nice).
Forward collision warning, both driver assist packages.
Niello likes to install LoJack on all of their cars. It seemed rather overpriced ($995) and not necessarily very useful given where I intend to drive the car; unless it gets me a substantial discount on insurance. It is not optional on cars purchased from the lot (already installed) but may be avoided with an ordered car. What do y'all think?
Last week Niello had a Trofeo white Giulia in stock, but it was sold before I arrived. I sure hope it is worth the extra cost.
I ordered the high performance headlights on the assumption that they are an improvement over the standard headlights. I have not had any chance to try out either type of headlight.
I am also hoping for an insurance discount for the driver assist packages. I will probably turn them down (or off) as much as possible in use, at least when I am driving.
Niello had about 15 Giulias in stock as well as two 4Cs.
The Q4 with 19" sport package that they had available to test drive (Black, with all options) drove well. I found several of the often complained about features to be very nicely done, including start/stop, courtesy seat back, and the feel of the brakes. The A/C did not shut off with the engine, I presume because liquid refrigerant is stored in an accumulator. The steering is precise, although a bit softer than ideal. A mode makes the engine rumble like a big V8 and still allows big downshifts if you hit the accelerator hard; I did not find it sluggish. I did not try any fast starts. The engine is very quiet and the transmission is silent. I never heard any wind noise. Road/tire noise was similar to my Protege, in spite of the low profile run-flat tires. The only chance to test cornering was a freeway on ramp; this executed well but there was no chance to push the limits of the car or evaluate body roll. I did not observe any bounciness or wallowing. The tires were at about 36psi--a little high but much lower than the shipping pressure. Road noise would probably be lower with the correct inflation pressure.
The only real problem that I observed is that the camera/sensor pod on the windshield restricts forward visibility more than I would like. This can potentially be a problem in sharp right hand turns with an upward slope change. The view through the center rear view mirror is rather limited, I guess you are not supposed to need to look for what is behind you.
GROUND CLEARANCE
The bottom of the car is remarkably flat, with less than 1/4 inch variability. The fender skirts appear to be the lowest point, making it relatively easy to measure the ground clearance.
Note that Alfa states that the QV has 100mm = 4" of ground clearance. No QV was available to measure.
Q4 front fender skirt behind the front wheel is 6" off the ground.
Q4 rear fender skirt in front of the rear wheel is 7" off the ground.
The panels under the car are slightly higher than the fender skirts.
Q2 front fender skirt behind the front wheel is 5" off the ground.
Q2 rear fender skirt in front of the rear wheel is 6.5" off the ground.
The front fascia is about 1" higher than the fender skirts.
EXTRA VENTS THAT COME WITH THE SPORT PACKAGE
These are in the front grill. They do not vent to the engine compartment. Instead they are ducted to the front fender well and are apparently for brake cooling.
WHAT I ORDERED
Ti Q4 Trofeo White, 19" sport package, Red interior, Red calipers.
Ti Performance package.
High performance headlamps.
Ti leather package (the test drive car had red stitching and red interior--VERY nice).
Forward collision warning, both driver assist packages.
Niello likes to install LoJack on all of their cars. It seemed rather overpriced ($995) and not necessarily very useful given where I intend to drive the car; unless it gets me a substantial discount on insurance. It is not optional on cars purchased from the lot (already installed) but may be avoided with an ordered car. What do y'all think?
Last week Niello had a Trofeo white Giulia in stock, but it was sold before I arrived. I sure hope it is worth the extra cost.
I ordered the high performance headlights on the assumption that they are an improvement over the standard headlights. I have not had any chance to try out either type of headlight.
I am also hoping for an insurance discount for the driver assist packages. I will probably turn them down (or off) as much as possible in use, at least when I am driving.
Niello had about 15 Giulias in stock as well as two 4Cs.
The Q4 with 19" sport package that they had available to test drive (Black, with all options) drove well. I found several of the often complained about features to be very nicely done, including start/stop, courtesy seat back, and the feel of the brakes. The A/C did not shut off with the engine, I presume because liquid refrigerant is stored in an accumulator. The steering is precise, although a bit softer than ideal. A mode makes the engine rumble like a big V8 and still allows big downshifts if you hit the accelerator hard; I did not find it sluggish. I did not try any fast starts. The engine is very quiet and the transmission is silent. I never heard any wind noise. Road/tire noise was similar to my Protege, in spite of the low profile run-flat tires. The only chance to test cornering was a freeway on ramp; this executed well but there was no chance to push the limits of the car or evaluate body roll. I did not observe any bounciness or wallowing. The tires were at about 36psi--a little high but much lower than the shipping pressure. Road noise would probably be lower with the correct inflation pressure.
The only real problem that I observed is that the camera/sensor pod on the windshield restricts forward visibility more than I would like. This can potentially be a problem in sharp right hand turns with an upward slope change. The view through the center rear view mirror is rather limited, I guess you are not supposed to need to look for what is behind you.
