Alfa Romeo Giulia vs Peugeot Boxer

What's the difference?

The Giulia is a love letter to the increasingly lost art of the sporty executive sedan. As refined as it is beautiful and oh-so elegant to drive, it’s a reminder of why we always love Alfa Romeo, even when the odds are against it.

Emotional cars like this are hard to come by and they will soon be gone, replaced by something new. The future is not necessarily worse, but it will be different, so if a sporty European sedan with a combustion engine is calling out to you don’t miss your opportunity to drive the Giulia while it still exists in this form.

It has its faults like any vehicle but it’s a competent all-rounder, that combines sub-$50K pricing with a big payload capacity, mostly user-friendly design, improved safety and a compelling warranty. It also faces stiff competition in the 3501-8000kg GVM class, particularly from rivals with an automatic option. 

Like any good Alfa Romeo should be, the Giulia is a work of art. It’s sleek, sharp, and immaculately proportioned.

This most recent update has artfully refined a formula too good-looking to mess with. The increasingly dorky headlamps from the previous car have been swapped out for a more contemporary all-LED set, with a three-bar DRL pattern.

The grille has also been tweaked for this update for a more modern style, and the Veloce is now graced with the iconic and more aggressive sport two-tone alloy wheels in the traditional five-hole 'tele-dial' style.

It’s effortlessly attractive, and instantly recognisable as an Alfa on the road. I can’t think of a better way to stand out in today’s executive sedan landscape.

The interior has received less of an upgrade for the 2024 model year, with the same core parts. The major change is the old-school analogue instrument cluster being swapped out for a slick 12.3-inch digital unit.

The puzzling thing about this is the 8.8-inch central multimedia screen hasn’t been upgraded in-kind, making a strange contrast between the sharp and fast digital instruments, and the laggy and dull multimedia panel.

At least it effortlessly sits behind the curvaceous design of the dash as to not interrupt a good shape.

There are of course plenty of other touches which I love. The leather seats look and feel the part, as do the real metal paddle shifters which float behind the simple yet refined and sporty steering wheel.

The push-to-start button on the wheel is reminiscent of other Italian sports machines, while the tasteful smattering of leather, gloss plastic, and textured surfaces keep the premium feel on-track.

Some areas I’m not so keen about: Some of the interior plastics, particularly for buttons and toggles, feel cheaper than they should, and the door cards are oddly basic considering how much attention has been given to every other part of this car’s look and feel.

It comes ready for work with hard-wearing black plastic in the most vulnerable places for scrapes and dents, including the front and rear bumpers and down the sides. The same black finish can be found on the window surrounds, door handles, huge door mirrors (which would not look out of place on a Kenworth) and the housing for the high-mounted third brake light.

It’s a large vehicle measuring 5413mm long, 2050mm wide and, thanks to the conspicuously high roof line, stands 2522mm tall. So, like numerous rivals in this weight class, it can’t access most shopping centre and underground carparks.

The front-wheel drive chassis, with its 3450mm wheelbase and 12.6-metre turning circle, features a simple and rugged combination of coil-spring strut front suspension, four-wheel disc brakes, power-assisted rack and pinion steering and single-leaf/solid beam rear suspension. Long rubber bump-stop cones, attached to the underfloor above each end of the rear axle, provide extra support when the springs compress under heavy loads.

The steel bulkhead, which separates the cabin from the cargo bay, insulates the driver/passenger from cargo bay noise and doubles as a robust cargo barrier. Its window is large enough to allow the driver to make a quick over-shoulder glance at any time to check the load is secure.

Criticisms? The relatively small 5.0-inch media screen can make the reversing camera’s vision difficult to see in detail. The height adjustment on the driver’s seat, using two levers on the lower right side, is clunky to operate. And although the rear barn-door windows are heated, there are no wiper/washers, which we didn’t get to test in wet conditions, which is most unusual for Melbourne.

The Giulia is an old-school low-slung sports sedan. Many will prefer the SUV sensibilities of the Stelvio, with its bigger hatch-opening boot, and its higher ride height can better accommodate less mobile passengers, and makes it easier to fit child seats and the like.

For those willing to trade those things away for a superior drive experience, the Giulia is still solid to live with every day, but has a few drawbacks.

For example, those strangely basic door cards offer only a tiny map pocket with a nook I’d hardly describe as a bottle holder.

The centre console offers two larger bottle holders with variable edges, but there’s also not much else in the way of storage in the cabin aside from a smaller-than-average glove box and armrest console box.

The big win for me is the physical dial set and shortcut buttons for all the key climate functions, making it easy to operate while you’re concentrating on driving.

At least the seats are well bolstered, and front passengers are treated to plenty of adjustability. Visibility is okay, and it was easy for me to find a comfortable driving position at 182cm tall.

The rear seat is a similar story. It’s tighter, and you have to duck down below the roofline to get into it.

Once inside, I was pleasantly surprised to find enough room for my knees and somewhere for my feet to slide behind my own driving position, although the centre position is all but useless thanks to an enormous raise for the driveshaft.

Headroom is passable, but you wouldn’t want to be much taller than me. 

There are, again, tiny bottle holders in the doors, and a further two in the drop-down armrest. Rear seat passengers get dual adjustable air vents on the back of the centre console, one USB 2.0 outlet, and elastic nets on the backs of the front seats.

The boot measures 480 litres which is up there with a lot of mid-size SUVs, but because it’s a sedan, access is more limited, and it won’t accommodate as many awkwardly-shaped objects.

The Boxer 160’s 1865kg tare weight and 3510kg GVM results in a sizeable 1645kg payload rating. However, we always quote kerb weights (full tank of fuel) rather than tare weights (10 litres of fuel) to keep things consistent.

So, in this case, adding the missing 80 litres of diesel (67kg) results in a kerb weight of 1932kg, which reduces the payload by the same amount to 1578kg. That’s still almost 1.6 tonnes which is more than ample for this category. It's also rated to tow up to 2500kg of braked trailer and, based on European figures at least, can do this with a full payload.

The cargo bay provides a competitive 11.5 cubic metres of load volume and 10 sturdy load-anchorage points. Its floor, which is 3120mm long and 1870mm wide with 1420mm between the wheel housings, can  accommodate two 1165mm-square standard Aussie pallets or three 1200 x 800mm Euro pallets. There’s ample forklift access through the rear barn-doors with full 270-degree openings or sliding side doors with their big 1250mm openings.

The high roof cavity means even tall adults can stand inside with headroom to spare. It also provides a large and very useful open storage area over the driver’s cabin, which is ideal for storing ropes, straps, load-padding and any other gear a hard-working van might need.

Although the side doors and barn-doors are lined to mid-height, the cargo bay walls are unlined which leaves numerous cavities exposed that could make small items like pens, keys, phones etc disappear if they were dropped. The load floor is also unprotected.

Cabin storage options include upper and lower bins in each door, with the lower bins being wide and deep enough to hold several large bottles. There’s also a full-width map shelf that sits about forehead height for tall drivers, which is easy to access and can hold heaps of stuff.

The dashboard also has numerous storage choices including open shelves to the right of the steering column and underneath it, cup/small-bottle holders in the centre of the dash and on top a fixed clipboard with spring-loaded clamp. There’s also a glovebox with another large open storage bin below it plus even more storage, about the size of a baking tray, under the driver’s seat.

The Boxer 160 (which denotes its European horsepower or ‘PS’ rating) is available only with a 2.0 litre turbo-diesel engine and six-speed manual transmission, plus a choice of 4035mm long wheelbase or 3450mm standard wheelbase like our test vehicle, for a list price of $47,490.

It comes equipped with 15-inch steel wheels and 215/70 R15C tyres with a full-size spare, plus cargo bay bulkhead, hard-wearing rubber floor, 12-volt accessory socket and USB ports, height/reach adjustable steering wheel, two bucket seats with fold-down inboard armrests and lumbar adjustment and multimedia system with 5.0-inch touchscreen and sat-nav plus ample storage and more. There’s also AEB on the upgraded safety menu.

The only options available are three paint colours (Imperial Blue, Red and Aluminium Grey) in addition to our test vehicle’s standard Bianca White.

The Veloce might not pack a Ferrari-derived six-cylinder engine like the Quadrofoglio, but its smaller 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine hardly wants for power.

Packing 206kW/400Nm it outpunches six cylinders of old easily, and is still capable of sprinting to 100km/h in a hot-hatch baiting 5.7 seconds to a Vmax of 240km/h.

It even sounds fantastic, as it flies up the rev-range living up to every bit of the Alfa promise. Peak power arrives at 5250rpm, but peak torque hits at 2250rpm.

Smooth shifts are provided courtesy of an eight-speed traditional torque converter automatic transmission.

The 2.0-litre Blue HDI four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, which meets the toughest Euro 6 emissions standard using AdBlue, produces peak values of 120kW at 3500rpm and 310Nm of torque at 1500rpm.

Peugeot claims this engine was tested for more than 10,000 hours, subjected to more than 1.3 million km of drive-testing and 16,000 thermal shock cycles (cold starting and accelerations), corresponding to 15 years of intensive use. In short, it should be tough enough. Transmission is a sweet-shifting six-speed manual.

The 2.0L turbocharged engine has an official combined cycle fuel consumption figure of just 6.1L/100km, although I saw 9.0L/100km in my time with it.

I’ll admit it was being enthusiastically driven, and treated to lots of urban commuting.

The Giulia has a 58-litre fuel tank and requires mid-shelf 95 RON premium unleaded fuel. Its approximate range on a full tank at the official consumption is 951km.

Peugeot’s official combined average is a fanciful 6.4L/100km. The dash readout was claiming a more realistic 9.0L/100km when we filled the tank after 282km of testing, which included more than a third of that distance lugging its maximum payload.

However, our own figure calculated from fuel bowser and tripmeter readings came in at 9.9L, which is more than 3.0L/100km above the official figure. Even so, sub-10L economy is very efficient  for a vehicle of this size, so based on our figures you could expect an excellent real-world driving range of around 900km from its big 90-litre tank.

Put simply: The Giulia is a celebration of Alfa Romeo. Yes. Even with a humble 2.0-litre turbocharged engine and an automatic transmission, this is a deeply emotional car. A riveting experience from behind the wheel.

Fly round corners, your eyes wide, exclaiming ‘magnifico!’ as the Giulia gracefully leans in, the rear LSD, sporty tyres, and wonderfully tight steering working together in harmony as you eke out just a smidge of tyre roar.

Laugh out loud to yourself, as you plant the accelerator, hear the muted rumble of the surprisingly angry little engine, and feel the turbocharger kick in half a second later as you power out.

‘Eccezionale!’ You’ll think, as you feel the click of the immensely satisfying metal paddle-shifters, and the transmission responds in-kind, the engine roaring up the revolutions with enthusiasm.

Sure, the Veloce grade is not as raw, or as wild, or near as fast as the top-grade Quadrofoglio, but all of the exciting spirit of  that car is still here, and at a little over half the price, too. The Veloce is an absolute delight to drive.

It has such poise, makes such a fine sound, and does it all so gracefully. This is how you make a car feel as one with the driver.

Even the ride is deeply impressive. It’s not too harsh or noisy, while gifting the chassis just the right amount of lean in the corners and allowing enough play for it to remain controlled over bumps.

Not only does it work well when you’re driving as it's clearly intended to be driven, but around town it’s quiet and refined inside, living up to the promise of a luxury sedan.

The seats and bolstering are great, the visibility isn’t too bad, and while I’ll complain about the slightly laggy software on the multimedia screen, the digital dash is responsive and the physical climate controls are welcome.

It’s not all perfect. If it were, I think it might cease to be an Alfa Romeo and start sprouting BMW badges.

For example, our test car, with less than 2000km on the odometer, had various inconsistent rattles emanating from the plastic garnish around the digital dash, and somewhere behind the back seat.

Regardless, driving this car has made me a little sad Alfa will be putting this wonderful platform behind it in pursuit of more electrified goals.

I can only hope wherever the Giulia nameplate goes next, it retains the spirit of this version.

You sit up high with the huge windscreen providing a commanding view of the road ahead. Clear eye-lines to the large door mirrors (with wide-angle mirrors in their lower thirds) provide ample coverage of side and rear traffic.

Vision through the central rear-view mirror is also relatively clear compared to the cluttered views found in numerous rivals we’ve tested. The join of the barn-doors obscures the mirror’s central portion, but the driver still has a good view of what’s behind.

The fold-down inboard arm-rests combined with the door contours provide balanced support for arms and elbows to reduce strain on neck and shoulders. This support is particularly good for the driver, as it also allows your hands to rest comfortably on the steering wheel.

There’s negligible cargo bay noise thanks to the bulkhead. However, engine noise is noticeable and tyre noise can be quite intrusive, particularly at highway speeds on coarse bitumen surfaces. Cruising in top gear results in a fairly relaxed 2100rpm at 100km/h and 2300rpm at 110km/h.

The engine, with maximum torque at 1500rpm, has good all-round performance and pulling power under heavy loads, but lacks the sharper throttle response of some rivals. Even so, the manual gearshift has a light but well-defined action combined with a light clutch pedal weight.

Steering is nicely weighted and the quartet of disc brakes have plenty of bite. Handling and stability are also good regardless of load. The rear suspension tuning is commendable when running without loads on bumpy roads, providing a surprisingly smooth ride given spring rates that are designed to cope with 1.5 tonne-plus payloads.

Our only gripes are that the driver’s seat’s adjustable lumbar support presses too firmly against the spine for our liking, even on its softest setting. We also detected a couple of rattles and squeaks on bumpy roads, which sounded like they were coming from the dashboard area.

There’s no ANCAP for this vehicle segment but the Boxer would probably score well if there was thanks to the latest features like video autonomous emergency braking, forward collision warning, lane-departure warning, LED daytime running lights, reversing camera, rear parking sensors and more. There’s also driver and passenger front and side-curtain airbags.

Alfa finally updated its warranty to a more industry-standard five-years and unlimited kilometres in 2022.

Service intervals occur at 12 monthly or 15,000km intervals for the 2.0-litre turbocharged variants. Pricing was not available for the model year 2024 version yet in the brand’s online calculator, but to give you an idea for the pre-facelift version, pricing came in between $345 and $1065 per visit, averaging $573 per year for the first five years of ownership. Not cheap, but not as expensive to run as you might expect.

One thing you might want to keep in mind is depreciation. Boring, I know, but even late model examples of the Giulia and Stelvio have been hit particularly hard by the depreciation stick according to residual values we searched up on Autotrader.

For reference, the Genesis G70 and BMW 3 Series have both fared much better in equivalent 2.0-litre turbo forms.

The Boxer is covered by Peugeot's five years/200,000km warranty and scheduled service intervals of 12 months/20,000km, whichever occurs first. Capped-price servicing applies for the first five scheduled services with a total cost of $3445 valid until June 30, 2020.