THERE were a number of times in the last week where I’ve seen people gazing at my car and just itching to have a conversation about it.

With its classic Italian good looks, quality and charisma, the Alfa Romeo Giulietta tends to do this to people, so I was happy to indulge, although in the end had to confess that the car was only mine for just a few short days. But I enjoyed pretending it was mine.

Originally launched in 2010, the Giulietta remains the most eye-catching and attractive car and in its segment and its mini revamp has included a cool new front grille design; the front foglights now have new bezels and there are new designs of alloy wheels across a range of sizes.

Inside features a redesigned dashboard and every model comes with Alfa’s Uconnect system which provides Bluetooth, voice control, DAB radio, music streaming and SMS reading, while models with sat nav have a larger screen. There is also a new steering wheel, revised seats and my car had a striking red leather interior.

Four trim levels are available - Progression, Distinctive, Exclusive and Sportiva Nav. I drove the Exclusive trim and the new 2.0 rather punchy engine, with sharp steering and thoroughly enjoyable ride quality.

It has new 17-inch alloy wheels and leather and micro-fibre upholstery, rain-sensing wipers; automatic headlights; dark tinted windows; an electro-chromatic rear-view mirror; a rear arm-rest and electric front-seat lumbar support.

Exclusive models are also equipped with a sports suspension; sports leather steering wheel with red stitching; aluminium sports pedals and kick-plates; darkened headlight clusters; satin-effect mirror covers and side body skirts.

The Giulietta is also one of the safest cars on the road. In addition to VDC, six airbags, three-point seat belts with double pre-tensioner and an anti-whiplash system, it is fitted with the Alfa DNA driving selector, electronic Q2 differential and a Pre-fill system which arms the brakes for emergency braking situations when it senses the driver may be losing control. A tyre pressure monitoring system is also now standard across the range.

Insurance is reasonable, fuel economy is better than expected and I also liked the Giulietta’s individuality – you don’t see many of these cars on the roads so it tends to stand out in a crowd.

Factfile
Car:
Alfa Romeo Giulietta 2.0
Price: £23,470
Top speed: 135mph
0-62mph: 7.8 seconds
Fuel: 64mpg
CO2 emissions: 116g/km