The Giulia Quadrifoglio is the car that reminded everyone Alfa Romeo could still build a great chassis, and it did so with an engine that has a very famous secret. The 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 was developed at Alfa with heavy input from Ferrari engineers, shares its 90-degree architecture and bore spacing with Ferrari's F154 V8 family, and is — in the least subtle terms — that engine with two cylinders removed. It makes 505 hp and revs with a hard, metallic urgency no rival four-door matches.

The rest of the car is equally uncompromising. Near-perfect 50:50 weight distribution, a carbon-fibre propshaft, a carbon bonnet and roof, aluminium suspension components, and an active front splitter that deploys at speed. The steering is the quickest of any production saloon at around 11.8:1, which makes the car feel nervous for the first ten minutes and telepathic thereafter. An electronically controlled limited-slip differential and a torque-vectoring rear diff handle the power.

The interior is where the compromises live — Alfa's switchgear and infotainment have never matched Audi's, and reliability reputation has dogged the car.

None of that stops it being the driver's choice in a segment defined by the BMW M3 and Mercedes-AMG C63. It is less capable in absolute terms and more rewarding in every real one, and it is the last of Alfa's Ferrari-adjacent petrol saloons.

03 / How to use

Owner's walkthrough

Practical guide for everything a new owner asks on day one — starting the car, finding the gear selector, drive modes, infotainment, driver aids, and easy-to-miss features.

How to start it

Step on the brake, press the engine start button on the console or steering column; wait for the cluster to confirm ready before shifting out of P.

Where the gear selector is (and how to use it)

Console-mounted shifter with R-N-D-S notches; paddles behind the wheel for manual gear control.

Drive modes

Drive modes are accessed via the DNA rotary selector on the console. Available modes typically include Dynamic, Natural, Advanced Efficiency, Race (QV only). Each mode reshuffles throttle mapping, steering weight, adaptive dampers (if equipped), exhaust valves, and stability-control thresholds. On performance trims, an 'Individual' or 'Custom' slot lets you save your favorite combination so you can recall it with one click instead of nesting through menus.

Cluster & head-up display

The driver display is a 12.3-inch digital cluster (Giulia/Stelvio MY24+). Use the steering-wheel left thumb-pad to cycle layouts (Classic, Sport, Navigation, Minimal). When in Sport / Track mode the cluster automatically swaps to a wide tach with gear indicator and tire-temperature readout. The head-up display brightness, height, and content are configured from Settings → Displays → HUD.

Infotainment & voice control

Infotainment runs on Alfa Connect 8.8-inch with TomTom nav. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard; pair from Settings → Connections the first time, then it auto-connects whenever your phone is in range. Steering-wheel push-to-talk wakes the in-car assistant for nav, climate, calls, and messaging without touching the screen. The main display also hosts vehicle-specific apps: tire pressures, performance data recorder (where fitted), drive-mode customizer, and the camera views.

Driver assistance

Standard driver aids include adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert. Toggle each system individually from the driver-assist menu (steering-wheel left-pad → Assistance). Highway-driving assist (hands-off in marked lanes on supported roads), automatic lane-change on indicator tap, traffic-jam assist for stop-and-go, and a 360° surround camera with transparent-hood mode are all available and worth enabling for the first time before driving in heavy traffic.

Fueling

Premium unleaded (91 or 93 octane) is required on Alfa Romeo performance models — the engine timing is set for it and lower octane causes audible knock and reduced power. Fuel-cap release is a button on the driver door panel; the cap is capless (just push the nozzle in).

Keys & phone-as-key

Beyond the physical key, this car supports Smart key with passive entry. Set up phone-as-key from the Alfa Connect app: it provisions a secure credential to your phone's wallet so a tap on the door handle unlocks the car and placing the phone on the wireless charging pad authorizes ignition. You can also share temporary keys to family members (with optional speed and area limits on performance trims) directly from the app.

First-week tips & easy-to-miss features

A few things every new owner tells us they wish they'd known on day one:

Download the brand app (Alfa Connect) and pair it with your VIN before your first long trip — remote climate, charging/fuel-level checks, and remote lock-status save you walking back to the garage in winter.

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