Goodbye BMW, Hello Alfa Romeo

After spending what felt like way too much money over the last few months maintaining my 2008 BMW 335i, I finally decided it was time to replace it.  My search criteria was very similar to when I bought the BMW in the first place - 4 seats, 4 doors, comfortable enough for commuting duty but fun enough for the occasional twisty back road or possible autocross day.  Surely, I figured, this is what the BMW 3 series is made for.  I test drove a couple cars, and they seemed fine, but it's hard to tell much from a short spin around the block with a salesman.  Then, with my list of used F30-generation 330i's and 340i's researched and ready to check out - probably less than 24 hours away from owning another BMW - I started reading the reviews.

It started with https://www.motortrend.com/cars/bmw/3-series/2017/2017-bmw-330i-first-test-review/, which talked about the comfortable ride but a distinct lack of driving enjoyment.  A couple of the most damning quotes were that "the driver is no longer the focus. They've lost the plot," and "it's time to kill the 'Ultimate Driving Machine' association with this brand."  Maybe BMW wasn't the no-brainer I thought it was.  But if not a 3 series, then what?

Some searching on 2017-era comparison tests (where used cars in this segment fit nicely in my price range) yielded https://www.motortrend.com/cars/alfa-romeo/giulia/2017/alfa-romeo-giulia-bmw-330i-audi-a4-mercedes-benz-c300-cadillac-ats-jaguar-xe-lexus-is-200t-volvo-s60-comparison/ and https://www.cars.com/articles/luxury-sports-sedan-challenge-is-the-bmw-3-series-still-best-1420695984144/.  The Alfa Romeo Giulia, which I shamefully admit I had never even heard of before now, was listed as the best driver's car in the bunch.  Instead of spending the next day choosing from a long list of available used BMWs, I drove over 100 miles all over Maryland just to test drive two of the incredibly few used Giulias in the area.

Thankfully, it was a quick search.  Driving the Giulia confirmed everything I had read about it being a great driver's car.  Surprisingly, it even seems to handle the bumps with more poise than my BMW did - a relief since I was worried that I'd be sacrificing a lot of commuting comfort in the name of driving excitement.  The salesman at Criswell Alfa Romeo Maserati was great to deal with and the car they had, while not a perfect match for every option I might have wanted, was close enough to go ahead and pull the trigger.

In the week since I purchased the car, I couldn't be happier.  It's plenty comfortable enough for commuting duty, but then flip the switch to "dynamic" mode and the thing comes to life and is just an absolute joy to drive.  It's also fun having such a unique and interesting car.  The design inside and out, while not sports-car awesome, is still so much neater than the other small luxury sports sedan options.  And - I own a car made in Italy!  How cool is that!

If there's one potential fly in the ointment, it's the concern about future reliability.  Some people in online forums have posted about their "love-hate relationship" with their Giulias and talked about how frequently they've had to bring their cars in for fixing various things that keep breaking.  There are even certain features of the entertainment system that just don't work and so far have no fix from Alfa Romeo.  I suppose some of these are just the quirks that you sign up for when buying a low-volume Italian car instead of something from BMW or Audi or Mercedes.  I picture this as being similar to choosing a classic car.  Only time will tell just how much my patience for these quirks and (hopefully) minor issues will get tested over my time with the Giulia.

For now, I'm loving having an Alfa Romeo and having a car that's unique and fun to drive.  I can't remember the last time I wanted to jump in my car and go find a back road somewhere.  It's great having that joy for driving back and I'm excited to see where the next several years with this car take me.