Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio review

Few car manufacturers possess a name and performance motif as evocative as Alfa Romeo’s four-leaf clover. It’s affixed to only the firm’s most potent models, and the Giulia Quadrifoglio (Quadrifoglio being the Italian for four-leaf clover, in case you were wondering) more than proves the value of its historic name.

It’s built on the same lightweight, rear-wheel-drive underpinnings as the regular Giulia executive saloon, but the Quadrifoglio version comes fitted with a staggeringly powerful 503bhp turbocharged 2.9-litre V6 petrol engine. That means it’s good for 0-62mph in just 3.9sec and a downright crazy top speed of 190mph. To put all that power to good use, it gets bespoke suspension and quicker steering, as well as larger brakes to make sure it stops as well as it goes.

Oh, and did we mention that the Quadrifoglio was tuned by none other than one Roberto Fedeli, whose CV includes such exotica as Ferrari's 599, F12 and 458 Speciale? As Ferrari’s former chief engineer, he ought to know a thing or two about setting a sporty car up.  

That said, the Quadrifoglio faces some stiff competition from some extremely well rounded and established performance cars, including the Audi RS4 Avant, BMW M3 and Mercedes-AMG C63. All of these offer similar power to the Quadrifoglio, promise an equally thrilling driving experience and benefit from wider, more purposeful bodies than the executive models on which they’re based. And better yet, the Audi and Mercedes come in estate form, so you can take your dog along for the ride, too – if you want a similar level of practicality in Alfa form, you’ll need to take a look at our Stelvio Quadrifoglio review here. 

So, does the Giulia possess the performance and handling to take them on and beat them? Read on to find out. And, whichever performance car you settle on, make sure to check out our New Car Buying service for huge savings on hundreds of new cars.