2016 Alfa Romeo Giulia and Quadrifoglio Review

The fire-breather has a four-leaf clover on its sides and has the range to challenge German midsize sedans.

It's nice to meet a car that has a name, not a designation.

The Alfa Romeo contender for the BMW M3 and Mercedes-Benz C63 S has two of them - Giulia and Quadrifoglio (QV), which means "four-leaf clover" in Italian.

It also has a sparkling personality to go with the romantic Italian moniker.

The character of the car becomes apparent as soon as you step into the heavily padded, stitched and quilted leather seats. Press the red button on the steering wheel - just like in a Ferrari - and the pleasant-sounding twin-turbo V6 wakes up with a spit and a growl.

Step on the accelerator and you're hurtling in a puff of steaming rubber on your way to 100 km/h in what Alfa claims is neck-breaking 3.9 seconds.

We didn't put a stopwatch on it, but from the looks of it, this car seems to be not only very fast, but also a potential competitor to the benchmark German sports sedans.

Initial impressions are heightened at the first corner of Alfa Romeo's test track at Balocco near Milan in Italy. The brakes bite hard and the QV changes direction with the zeal and confidence you'd expect from an M3 or C63S.

it's clear the latest Alfa has the track ability to match its rich racing pedigree.

It seems the secret to fighting the heavyweights of the division is to be a lightweight. QV weighs 1524kg thanks to the use of aluminum and carbon fiber in the body and legs.

Two former Ferrari engineers led the development of the car from scratch, and although they deny that the car was borrowed from Ferrari, there are Maranello-inspired elements.

The steering is very direct and quick - a little unnerving at first - and the carbon fiber front splitter opens up during braking and cornering to improve downforce, in tandem with a rear trunk lid-mounted spoiler.

The driveshaft is carbon fiber, the rear wheels are torque vectored for improved grip and cornering, and the weight is 50-50 front to back.

After eight laps of the smooth track, it's clear that the newest Alfa has the track ability to match its rich racing pedigree.

In Quadrifoglio, the driver selects economical, normal, dynamic and track driving modes by changing the car's throttle response, suspension, steering and brake feel. In other options, the track setting is not available.

But you would expect a car worth around $150,000 to be special. The key to success in the prestigious medium-sized market is how garden varieties look and feel.

For the QV, the starting price will be somewhere between the C63 S and the M3 (roughly $140,000 to $150,000).

The range will start with a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder with 147 kW and a cost of approximately $60,000, which is in line with the entry-level Benz and Jaguar XE. This engine will also be available in an improved "super" version, along with a 2.2-liter turbodiesel.

The 205 kW petrol turbo is expected to be available in the more expensive model, with the Quadrifoglio heading the range.

All of them are combined with an eight-speed automatic.

We have driven the base petrol and diesel and have been impressed with the performance of both. The diesel has plenty of traction at low revs and was quiet enough, even though our ride consisted mostly of freeways and country roads.

However, 2.0 is more in line with the character of the car. It's a live machine that loves revs and makes a sporty growl when pressed. The automatic assists with intuitive and quick shifts.

The seats have good lateral support and you sit low in the seat, which helps create a sporty look.

Both cars felt nimble through the corners and comfortable, while still handling bumps with ease, though most of the way was on level roads. We will postpone the final decision until early next year.

The steering is sharp and precise, although it lacks the weight and feedback of the 3 Series.

Driving pleasure is enhanced by a cabin that envelops the driver. The seats have good lateral support and you sit low in the seat, which helps create a sporty look.

The flat bottom of the steering wheel is a good size, and the minimalist approach to knobs and buttons is welcome. The on-screen menus are controlled by a rotary knob and the menus are logical and easy to navigate.

Passengers aren't forgotten either, thanks to decent rear legroom and a separate rear hatch.

The car isn't perfect though. The quality of the seat upholstery and door trim is on par with the Germans, but some of the switches and knobs feel a little cheap, while the center screen is small and lacks the clarity of its German rivals - in particular, the rearview camera is too small.

The air conditioning in both cars we tested felt like it couldn't handle the demands of the Australian summer. We've had both in a setting that would have caused a blizzard in a Toyota. There were also a few issues with fit and finish.

Overall, though, this is an impressive car. It looks stylish inside and out, is fun to drive, and has some smart technology in it.

The cruel Quadrifoglio may turn out to be Alpha's good luck charm.

Skunkworks brings success

Alfa Giulia is a car born of desperation and irritation.

Alfa originally planned to release a new mid-size sedan in 2012, but Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne pulled the pin - he intuitively felt the car didn't fit.

The design and engineering team went back to the drawing board and Alfa Romeo's future looked bleak.

In 2013, Marchionne began mobilizing troops from the wider Fiat group, including two key Ferrari employees, in an effort to break into the ultra-competitive midsize sedan market dominated by the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

A skunkworks-style brigade was assembled and fenced off from the rest of the Fiat - they even had unique passes. They had three years to develop a completely new platform.

Working unconventionally, the group started with the top-notch fire-breathing Quadrifoglio and moved on to a culinary variety of models to wear off the fairy dust.

In typical Ferrari style, they started with lap time as their initial goal: to go around enemy territory, Germany's famed Nürburgring, in less than 7 minutes 40 seconds.

The car was supposed to have best-in-class fuel efficiency. He also had to defeat the quality gremlins that plagued the earlier iterations of the brand.

Last year, another hurdle arose and the project was delayed for another six months. Earlier this year in Geneva, Marchionnet said he had decided to delay the release of the car because the project was "technically immature."

With the bugs fixed and the pre-launch excitement subsided, it is now up to the market to decide if there is a future for one of the most legendary brands in the world.

Click here for more pricing and specs for the 2016 Alfa Romeo Giulia.