Giulietta Progression

[colcol]

From DRIVE, AGE car magazine.
The price $29,450, plus on road and Dealer costs.
Vital statistics, 1.4 litre 4 cylinder turbo petrol, 125 kw, 250nm, 6sp dual clutch auto, 5.2 l/100km and 121g/kmCO, Front wheel drive.
The Tester Stephen Ottley.
Why we are driving it, Alfa Romeo has adjusted the Guilietta range, by adding two new, cheaper models, this is the more expensive of the two, called Progression.
LIKES Stylish design inside and out. The engine is nice, has good pulling power from down low, a decent mid range punch and sounds nice. Fuel consumption is reasonably impressive. The suspension is well sorted. The steering is nicely weighted and direct. Alfa's DNA system, which allows you to switch from Dynamic, Natural and All Weather modes for engine response and stability control sensitivity, is standard.
DISLIKES The gearbox is a letdown. The gear shifts are clunky at low speed and it is slow to react to shifts, via the steering wheel mounted paddles in Dynamic mode. The stop-start is slow to refire the engine.
WOULD I BUY ONE The gearbox is a big turnoff, but the style and driving experience make up for it in some way.
From The AGE June 8th, Colin.

[Sheldon McIntosh]

http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-news/first-drive-review-alfa-romeo-giulietta-20130610-2nzp6.html

[oz3litre]

Can you disable the stop start function? I have often wondered if it inhibits take off at the lights. I think it would drive me nuts if it was as slow as the reviewer says. What happens when the spark plugs and things start playing up?

[aggie57]

Normally you can disable stop/start systems with a simple button push or such like.  I'm thinking current BMW and Audi when I say this.

Anyway, as first owner with warranty reckon it would pretty much be NMP... 

[Victor Lee]

Merc's got this disable feature also. 

But regardless of the make, the technology for regular start/stops is impressive.  Years ago, it was not a good feeling when the Alfa's engine stopped unexpectedly at the traffic lights! 

[oz3litre]

Years ago, it was not a good feeling when the Alfa's engine stopped unexpectedly at the traffic lights! 

I remember that feeling with my hot Beetle with the dual webers on short manifolds and K & Ns. It used to run slower and slower at idle, due to sucking in hot air. The manifolds used to get hot and it would sometimes stop if you didn't keep it revving. There was very limited space to design a cold air system and I didn't know as much about that in those days. It would certainly take me a while to get used to an engine that stopped at the lights.

[colcol]

I borrowed a MiTo from Lance Dixon Alfa in Doncaster Victoria last year and it had the stop-start feature, you can turn it off, by pushing a button for 5 seconds or so and then it disables it until the car is started again, it saves a bit of petrol and cuts down on emmisions, it won't send the battery flat or stop the aircondition working, when the battery falls below a certain voltage or the air gets too hot the motor starts, didn't like it at first, but got used to it, polorises people, some people don't like and some don't care, i was pulling up at traffic lights at night, with the lights on and the air going and motor would stay off for the duration of the traffic light, when you stop the car and let the clutch out the engine stops, push the clutch in and by the time the clutch pedal hits the floor the engine has fired up, the new Lamborghini's and Porsche's amongst others have stop start as well, Colin.

[jayarr]

After a couple of weeks of ownership I got used to it (in a Mito). Don't know what the reviewer is complaining about regarding slow starts, the engine always starts smartly for me.

[colcol]

And in a few years when the battery's start to get a bit tired on stop - start cars, you will find that they will switch off less often as the battery won't have oodles of volts to keep starting it all the time, and the stop - start battery's are different to normal batteries, so don't replace it with one that fits, the technology for stop - start is different, Colin.