Why Mopar Fans Should Be Excited For Alfa Romeo!

Our forum moderator Ryan, has this to say about why Mopar fans should be excited about the Alfa Romeo.

Between the constant whining about FCA’s decisions on other sites and the hopeful discussion of upcoming products, there is a topic I have not seen addressed: Alfa Romeo’s influence on the future of the Mopar brands.

I got an opportunity to briefly drive a Giulia yesterday. It was a very quick drive and I was behind the wheel for maybe fifteen minutes, but I came away impressed. Around town, the steering is sharp and the ride is comfortable, but the highway is where it comes alive. Even on the base 2.0 model, acceleration feels extremely fast and smooth. A bit of turbo lag is there, but not in a problematic way. It’s really shocking how much power it has.

I also had to check to see whether the build quality was up to par. I felt ridiculous, but I pressed around all over the interior panels to see how tight everything felt, and there were no squeaks to be found. The interior is almost as great as the performance characteristics of this car with the infotainment system being the only real source of (minor) frustration.

The main problem with the Giulia is perception. A handful of sites nag the car and the Alfa Romeo brand because it took quite a while to make it to production. However, anyone who gets a chance to actually drive the car will see just how much time was spent fine-tuning the performance aspects. I’ve heard the Stelvio is just as wonderful to drive, though I haven’t driven one myself. Despite the great fuss that has been made of Alfa’s recalls and reports of quality problems, that noise has lessened in recent months as they get the initial production bugs worked out and more people experience how fun these vehicles are.

So what does this have to do with the Mopar brands? Well, considering future Dodge and Jeep models will be sharing technologies and some engineering with these cars, they are indicative of the future of the Mopar brands. Although there have been a few delays on the Mopar side of the house, the timeline for important models (Grand Cherokee, Wagoneer, Durango, Charger, and Challenger) seems to have solidified. If the Giulia is any indication, those cars will also reap the benefits of the additional engineering time allotted to them.

Mopar fans have a lot to be excited about right now. Alfa Romeo has proven that FCA has the capability to build fantastic new vehicles from the ground up. Although there will always be people who complain and groan about every decision, probably for reasons that aren’t related to cars at all, the true Mopar fans among us need only to look at the Giulia (and 2019 Ram) for an indication of what FCA is capable of when working on ground-up vehicle redesigns. Even through the delays and recalls, they have still managed to create a class leading vehicle that leaves me hopeful and excited for the next wave of Mopar vehicles that are soon to arrive. It’s a wonderful time to be a Mopar fan.