Styling
The Intensa is based on a 2024MY-facelift Giulia, so it has the distinctive triple-light signature at the front. It also still looks superb, the Alfa styling ageing well as it nears a decade of familiarity on our roads. However, this newcomer doesn't have any external badging which marks it out as an Intensa (not even on the front wing, where previous models said 'Veloce' and 'Competizione'). Therefore, your 'spotters' guide' to this newcomer is to note that its exquisite 19-inch Dark Petal design alloy wheels are gold-tinged, while there are discreet Italian
tricolore flags on the door mirrors. But that's about it. Oh, and Etna Red paint looks truly spectacular, yet it will set you back £2,500.
Interior
While there are still areas of the Giulia's cabin which aren't top-notch, like the main infotainment screen (which is OK, just not brilliant), the material finishing and design of it is very elegant. The Intensa does at least wear its colours more clearly in the cabin too, or colour, we should say - note the tan stitching and tan leather grip holders on the steering wheel. There's also an 'Intensa' legend embossed into the central armrest, which is a nice touch. And coming back to both the instrument cluster and that central touchscreen, they both work well and look fine enough from a graphical perspective; but we also actually like that Alfa doesn't detract from the way the car drives with needlessly showy tech. The cabin is, as a result, an appealing blend of traditional and modern.
Practicality
Space in the back of the Giulia has never been overly generous but, by the same token, it's not tragically constricted back there so considering the Alfa as a genuine four-seater seems plausible. A 480-litre boot is a bonus on a saloon too, and with a neat wireless charging pad for smartphones up front and some useful other storage solutions throughout the cabin, the Intensa is suitably practical for this class of car.
Performance
We have always really admired this 2.0-litre 280hp drivetrain, because it sits in the sizeable shadow of the almighty 2.9 biturbo V6 you'd get in a Giulia Quad... and yet it doesn't feel completely lost in such context. The inability to completely disable traction control on the four-pot Alfa continues to be a minor annoyance, but otherwise the sharpness of the drivetrain and the slickness of the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, controlled by those utterly glorious paddle shifters that remain the very best in the business, allows you to regularly exploit the Intensa's substantial turn of speed. It's maybe not the most tuneful turbo four in history, but there's no artificiality about its voice nor harshness at higher revs, so it delivers punchy performance with no real drawbacks. And across 382 miles of driving, it managed to return a decent 35.6mpg, so it won't break the bank to run the Giulia Intensa.
Ride & Handling
The Intensa has switchable damping, like the Competizione before it, but something seems to have changed in terms of the delectable balance of ride comfort and rolling refinement, traded off against its 50:50 weight balance and rear-driven clarity of purpose. On a motorway, this Intensa is imperious. You hear next to nothing of tyre roar nor wind noise, and the supple, controlled way it soaks up bumps at high speeds - giving it a luxurious sensation of rock-steady, big-car stability - is a genuine delight.
Yet with that glorious steering and impeccable distribution of mass, the Giulia remains a glorious thing to hustle down the right sort of roads. It's not a showy, extrovert driver's car, like its famed Quadrifoglio stablemate. But it's so fluid and agile and controllable that you soon forgive it the lack of dynamic histrionics, and instead revel in the sort of straightforward sports saloon that will soon be impossible to replicate in an era of heavyweight four-door electric vehicles. At a smidge over 1.4 tonnes as tested, that one stat alone tells you everything about how fabulous the Giulia Intensa is to drive: it's agile, it's biddable, and it's deeply rewarding.
Value
If you focus on the list price of the Giulia Intensa, you might be tempted to chalk it off as a failure. You see, in 2018, the Veloce model - with the same 280hp engine and a similar, if not quite as well-finished cabin - started from £38,260. And you could easily get them out of the showroom for less than 40 grand in a tasteful spec.
Whereas this venerable four-door four-pot is now £56,900 with a few choice options bolted onto it. But to frame that more clearly, a Quadrifoglio used to be £61,595 in the UK. It now kicks off at £86,885, so even with some desirable bits and pieces fitted, this Intensa is £30,000 less than the V6 model. And a
BMW M340i begins at £61,250, although the German admittedly now has 392hp to go with its four-wheel drive, so it's a good chunk quicker than the Alfa. Yet we'd counter again and say the 280hp Giulia delivers the purer, sweeter drive than the Beemer, so we'd sacrifice outright straight-line speed for better dynamics and a few grand in our pockets, in this instance.
Verdict
The Alfa Romeo Giulia Intensa is essentially a rebadged Veloce or Competizione, costing more than £56,000 as tested, for a vehicle which is inherently nine years old, and showing its advancing years in both the standard of its onboard technology and the space it affords passengers in the rear seats. But that's the pessimist's view of this Italian vehicle - and if you assess it more evenly, you realise this is a stunning sports four-door that still looks great, goes rapidly whether the roads in front of its nose are straight or littered with technically challenging corners, and which isn't actually outrageously expensive in the framework of present-day new-car prices. That it also seems more refined and classier than either of its two four-pot predecessors is just the icing on a particularly tasty cake, in the Intensa's case.
