Alfa Romeo Giulia vs Peugeot 408

What's the difference?

Alfa Romeo. A brand with more re-boots than success stories. Yet one which driving enthusiasts the world over can’t seem to shake the allure of.

Of course, these are not cars for just everyone. Most mainstream buyers are scared away by what I like to call the three Rs. Rust. Reliability. Resale.

Alfa’s tumultuous (and often overstated) past is one it has trouble putting behind it. Reputations are hard earned and easily lost, and besides, the majority of the voting public aspire to own something German, which they see a lot more of on the road.

It doesn’t help that Alfa also dragged its feet on committing to a five-year warranty in Australia (in early 2022), hardly a statement of confidence in its product.

You’re probably wondering by now why anyone would buy one, and why it’s the car which most enthusiasts wish they were brave enough to own.

Well the Giulia is the Alfa Romeo. The low-slung, sporty, sexy car which a few of us out there still use as a reference-point for how to make a sedan in 2023 good-looking, and how to make one drive like it has heart.

The brand can throw all the SUVs at us it wants, but for those who see Alfa Romeo for the brand it should be, this car is it.

Parting sorrow, perhaps, the version we’re looking at for this review may be one of the last - under its new Stellantis management, Alfa has said it will leave this fantastic, promising Giorgio platform behind it in a move to be more electrified.

Travel with me, dear reader, as we celebrate a car which is the culmination of Alfa’s past, at a moment before it steps into the future.

Unveiled globally in 2022 before arriving here in late 2024 as a plug-in hybrid GT, the Peugeot 408 has been a niche player for the long-established French brand with less than 100 examples finding homes here last year.

But 2025 marked the transition to a new ‘plug-less’ mild-hybrid powertrain for the mid-size crossover-style SUV with the hope it may take a bigger swing at segment heavyweights.

We spent a week with the current 408 GT Premium Hybrid to see if its efficiency-focused petrol-electric set-up has what it takes to win a spot on your upscale five-seat SUV shopping list.