motoring 61
Test drive – Alfa Romeo Giulietta Business Edition
I have always had a soft spot for Alfa Romeo, writes David Murray, ever since I saw a photo of an Alfa Tipo 33 being driven on mountain roads in Sicily in the legendary Targa Florio. You can google it
Nowadays, of course, Alfa is less about seat-of- the-pants derring-do in world championship sportscar racing, and more about producing road cars of character that can hope to compete with the volume sales of the highly successful marques such as Audi and BMW.
The business market is not an easy one to crack, especially with a small car like the Giulietta, but Alfa has produced a neat model that couples generous trim levels with a frugal engine. With fuel and tax savings for reduced whole-life costs, Alfa thinks it’s on to a winner here.
Courtesy of Alfa Romeo in Slough, I was loaned a Giulietta S1 Business Edition JTDm 105bhp 1598 TD 5Dr H/Back Manual 6sp. Fortunately it didn’t have all those letters plastered over its rear, but it was worth knowing all the detail of what I was getting myself into for the week.
What caught my eye immediately was 105bhp. It seemed hardly enough power to hurry a skateboard along, but in truth it’s all about power-to-weight and just how the engine and transmission handle that output. More of that later.
Once sitting in the car, the most striking aspect is the specification. The Business Edition comes with a 6.5-inch colour touchscreen with satellite navigation, Bluetooth and DAB radio, cruise control and dual zone climate control, front and rear parking sensors, a driving mode selector, and metallic paint.
That is genuinely a lot of spec, fully justifying the Alfa tag-line of “More than Meets the Eye” in its Giulietta advertising.
And once you start driving the car, the next most apparent aspect is how it cleverly marries fuel economy – up to 74.3mpg for goodness sake – with performance.
You would think that a six-speed box is a little over the top, but if you use it with verve, it really helps push this little car along. It becomes apparent after just a few miles on the Berkshire country roads that this is a wonderfully sporty, nippy Alfa, which should give its driver many hours of pleasure. Top speed is 121mph which is more than enough if you decide to take it around Silverstone…
Handling is spot-on. There’s nothing loose or wallowing about the Giulietta in the corners, and it sticks to the tarmac in a very assured way.
But the main reason company car drivers and fleet managers will take notice of this car is its fantastic fuel consumption and low CO2 emissions. From £19,080 on-the-road it is certain to make its mark in the very competitive fleet market. Now might be the time to ‘go small’ and choose a Giulietta.
Details:
www.thamessloughalfaromeo.co.uk SMMT reports steady growth for new car registrations
New car registrations saw steady growth in July, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). 178,420 cars were registered – an uplift of 3.2% on the same month last year – while registrations in 2015 so far have risen 6.5% to surpass 1.5 million.
The UK new car market has seen consistent, strong growth since early 2012, with July marking the 41st consecutive month of increases thanks to prevailing economic confidence combined with low interest rates and attractive finance deals.
While the first six months of 2015 represented an all-time record high for registrations, the more modest increase in July is suggestive of a more stable second half of the year as demand levels.
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – SEPTEMBER 2015
The top-selling segments so far this year have been supermini, lower medium (small family cars) and dual purpose (SUVs and crossovers). Volume growth in all three segments reflects a shift in buying habits over the past decade, with the supermini and dual purpose segments enjoying the biggest gains.
'While more moderate than in recent months, July’s rise in new car registrations is good news, and indicative of what we expect for the remainder of 2015'
In particular, demand for superminis has grown 22.7% since 2005 – a result
of consumers downsizing to smaller cars that offer significantly improved refinement, comfort and specification than their equivalents a decade ago. The market for dual purpose vehicles, meanwhile, has seen a staggering 88.5% leap over the past decade as manufacturers have introduced new models to cater for buyers seeking more versatility.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “While more moderate than in recent months, July’s rise in new car registrations is good news, and indicative of what we expect for the remainder of 2015. With demand having reached a record high in the first half of the year, we anticipate more stable growth in the coming months.”
www.businessmag.co.uk
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