Volkswagen Polo vs Alfa Romeo Giulietta

What's the difference?

The Polo has always been a desirable, high-quality, small car option. Effectively moving it to a more premium positioning by aligning its specification with what the market has been buying is a bold move. But this mid-life upgrade has given the Polo the extra safety tech and digital sophistication it needs to substantiate the shift.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with meals provided.

So much right and some things not quite right – the Giulietta has the Alfa Romeo mix of highs and lows which the brand is famous for. There’s no mistaking that this is a unique and sexy looking car, with the practicality of a five-door hatch plus impressive handling and performance.  More heart than head decision here though it seems, but romantic Alfa enthusiasts should adore it.

It’ll take a sharp eye to spot the external differences between this upgraded Polo and its predecessor. 

The car’s compact, tightly wrapped body and finely chiselled lines are unchanged, the only differences being reshaped (body-coloured) bumpers front and rear, a new headlight signature, with LED units now standard across the range, and remodelled LED tail-lights.

And after dark car-spotters should look out for the Style’s standard ‘IQ.LIGHT’ LED matrix headlights adding a continuous LED strip across the nose.

Inside things have shifted further, most notably in the entry-level Life, which now boasts the sleek digital instrument display, previously reserved for higher grades, as well as a neatly integrated 8.0-inch multimedia touchscreen above the centre stack.

The rest of the interior is relatively understated in typical VW style (no pun intended), the neatly sculpted seats trimmed with a mix of textured and smooth cloth on both models.

Alfa Romeo couldn't design a boring car even if it was handed a picture of a Toyota Camry and told to copy it or else. The Giulietta is no exception.

There's the deep 'V' grille shared with the new Giulia sedan and 4C sports cars that make up the current Alfa model line-up. There's the bug-eye headlights with pretty inset LEDs and the chiselled bonnet, a side profile which looks like that of a mini Porsche Cayenne and a cute-but-tough bottom with its elegant taillights and twin exhausts.

The latest update brought a honeycomb mesh grille and a slightly different design to the headlight and LED foglight surrounds. The tail pipes were also given a styling tweak, so too were the alloy wheels.

Despite its coupe looks it's actually a five-door hatch with ‘hidden' handles for the rear doors.

The cabin saw new materials and finishes added. The Veloce had the Alfa Romeo logo stitched into the integrated headrests, shiny sports pedals, and lashings of faux carbon fibre trim on the doors and dash.

You can tell a Veloce from the outside by the red Brembo brake calipers behind the front wheels, 18-inch alloys, its chunkier exhaust tips poking out of the diffuser, red pin-striping to the front and rear bumpers, and the black window surrounds.

Okay, how big or small is it? Here's some dimensions for you. The Guilietta is 4351mm long, 1798mm wide, 1465mm tall and the Veloce with its sports suspension is 9mm lower than the others with 102mm of ground clearance.

Compared to say a Mazda3 hatch the Giulietta is 109mm shorter end-to-end and only 3mm wider. But if you're considering an Giulietta why are you looking at the Mazda3 anyway? That would be sensible - Like comparing Cancer Council hats to top hats.

Volkswagen has developed the Polo over six generations (the first appearing in 1975) and its packaging and space-efficiency game has been honed to a fine point.

This car measures just under 4.1 metres end-to-end, yet the wheelbase is close to 2.6m, which isn’t a million miles away from the Golf. Well, actually, it’s 72mm shorter, but still pretty impressive.

And it shows in terms of interior space. The driver and front passenger have plenty of breathing room, and the rear is remarkable.

At 183cm, sitting behind the driver’s seat set to my position, I enjoyed ample legroom, and more than enough headroom. 

Width is another story, because while two grown-ups will be fine in the back, there isn’t enough space for three to sit in comfort for any length of time. You need to be realistic about what to expect from a city-sized car.

Storage options in the front include a small lidded box between the seats (which doubles as an adjustable armrest), two cupholders and various oddments spaces in the centre console, as well as the wireless charging bay in front of the gearshift. 

There are also pockets in the doors with room for (medium) bottles, a decent glove box, a shallow drawer under the passenger seat, and an overhead drop-down tray for glasses.

Map pockets on the front seat backrests, and small bins in the doors add extra practicality, but there’s no fold-down centre armrest or individual ventilation control for rear seaters. 

For connectivity and power, there are two USB-C ports in the front, plus another two in the rear, as well as a 12-volt socket in the front centre console.

Boot space is 351 litres (VDA) with the 60/40 split-folding rear seats upright, which is impressive for a car of this size, that number growing to 1125L with them folded down. You can also change the floor level when you’re making a call between maximum volume and ease of loading.

Tie down anchors are handy for strapping loose loads, while shopping bag hooks help keep smaller bundles under control. And all this efficiency is even more impressive given the spare is a 15-inch steel rim.

Beautiful things tend to favour form over function. The Giuletta tries to do both and succeeds…but also fails in places.

Successes first: despite its coupe looks it's actually a five-door hatch with ‘hidden' handles for the rear doors placed up at window level near the C-pillar. So good is the two-door disguise that our photographer climbed into the back seat through the front door.

Rear legroom is a bit tight back there and at 191cm I can sit behind my driving position but I'd hate for me to be sitting behind me because my knees are digging hard into the seat back.

Headroom isn't much chop either and I literally can't sit in the back seat and hold my head high – a combination of that sloping roofline and the optional double sunroof reduces the head space.

A major practicality fail is the lack of storage throughout the cabin.

Ordering drive-thru is possibly out of the question.

My wife's phone kept mysteriously appearing in the footwell every time we left it in the glove box, like there was a tear in the time-space fabric, but then we realised it was slipping through a gap.

There's no centre armrest storage bin in the front – actually there's no centre armrest. There is a pop-up hidey-hole on the dash but with only enough room for a pair of sunglasses.

The two cup holders in the front are small. It's safe to say that unless you have somebody with hands at the ready, ordering drive-thru is possibly out of the question.

Or if you have long arms and can reach the fold down armrest in the back there are two decent sized cup holders along with a small storage space. There are no bottle holders any of the doors, but there is fortunately room for a phone and wallet because there isn't space for them anywhere else.

But wait, the Giulietta is saved from a total storage fail by a large-for-the-class 350-litre boot. That's 70 litres bigger than a Toyota Corolla's and only 14 litres less than the Mazda3.  We could fit the pram, the shopping and the rest of the gear which goes with a military operation such as a trip to the park with a toddler in there.

The 2016 update saw the Giulietta variants renamed. There's the entry grade $29,990 Super Manual which has a six-speed manual gearbox, then buyers can step up to the Super TCT with a six-speed dual clutch automatic transmission for $34,900 and then there's our test car – the Veloce for $41,990. There's 10 paint colours at your disposal from the colour of our car (Alfa Red) to Perla Moonlight. Only Alfa White comes at no extra cost, the rest are a $500 option.

The Veloce collects the same features as the Super TCT such as a 6.5-inch touch screen, with sat nav, front and rear parking sensors, three drive modes and then adds bi-xenon headlights, 18-inch alloys, leather and Alcantara seats, a flat-bottomed steering wheel, the big exhaust tips and the sports diffuser, tinted rear glass and then less cosmetic features such as sports suspension and launch control.

There's no reversing camera which is disappointing, considering they come standard on some cars half the price.

At this price you'd shop the Veloce against a BMW 120i hatch for $41,900, a Volkswagen Golf GTI for $43,490 or possibly a high-end Mazda3 SP 25 Astina for $37,040.

The Polo is powered by Volkswagen’s 1.0-litre (EA211) three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, driving the front wheels through either a five-speed manual gearbox (yep, five-speed) or seven-speed dual-clutch auto in the Life, or auto only in the Style.

Important to note the all-alloy triple is tuned to produce 70kW/175Nm in the Life manual, those numbers jumping to 85kW/200Nm in the Life auto and Style.

No matter the output, maximum torque is available from 2000-3500rpm, with peak power arriving from 5000-5500rpm.

The Giulietta Veloce has a 1.75-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine which produce 177kW of power and 340Nm of torque. It's a great engine that lets loose a wonderful scream when pushed hard and the little grunts it makes when it changes gear when driving around normally sound like a giant enjoying his food.

The transmission is a dual-clutch auto which Alfa calls a TCT or twin-clutch transmission. I'm not a fan of them regardless of the brand of car they're in but the Alfa version is better than most of the others in its smoothness at lower speeds and decisiveness.

There's so much potential here for a great driving experience.

What about the Giulietta's reliability over time? This version of the car is less than two months old so we can only comment on what it offers as a brand-new vehicle, but you'll find good context in our used review of the earlier 2011-2014 Giulietta.

If VW’s aim in turning the wick down on the manual Polo is improved fuel-efficiency it’s a dubious move with both versions of the 1.0L three-cylinder engine returning an official fuel economy figure of 5.4L/100km on the combined (ADR 81/02 - urban, extra-urban) cycle.

And the environment is ultimately the (not so big) loser, the 70kW manual producing 124g/km of CO2, while the 85kW auto trims that to 123g/km.

Minimum fuel recommendation is 95 RON premium unleaded, although you’ll need just 40 litres of it to brim the tank. Using the official consumption figure that translates to a range of 740km. 

Alfa Romeo says you should see your Veloce drink at a rate of 6.8L/100km during combined driving, but the dash showed more than double that during mainly urban driving while  channelling  Enzo Ferrari.

The Polo’s launch drive program covered around 150km of city, suburban and freeway running from inner Sydney, through twisting B-roads to the city’s south, and sprawling semi-rural areas further west.

We sampled the Life and Style, both in 85kW seven-speed auto form, and first impressions are dominated by how refined this little car feels in terms of ride quality and noise suppression. 

Typically throaty three-cylinder engine and exhaust noise is there under load, but it’s relatively low-key. And even on coarse secondary roads the Polo remains quiet and composed.

Zero to 100km/h comes up in around 10.5 seconds, which isn’t going to rewrite the class record books, but with seven ratios to play with the engine stays in its 2000-3500rpm sweet spot most of the time.

There’s more than enough pulling power for safe highway overtaking, and cruising at 100-110km/h is easy. You don’t have to mash the accelerator to maintain a comfortable pace.

Suspension is strut front, torsion beam rear, and if you’re inclined towards a cheeky fang through your favourite set of corners, the Polo is heaps of fun. At a fraction over 1.1 tonnes it’s light but feels planted and stable on twisty sections.

The steering’s nicely weighted and road feel is good, plus the front seats are supportive and comfortable over long stints behind the wheel.

Not surprisingly, parking is stress-free thanks to the Polo’s compact dimensions and good visibility.

Braking is progressive and reassuringly firm, but, although we didn’t drive the Life manual at launch, be aware its back brakes are drums, a ‘technology’ largely unknown beyond base utes in 2022.

Nothing wrong with an efficient drum set-up on a light-weight car, but let’s just say it’ll be interesting to drive that variant and see how it pulls up under pressure.   

Under the heading of random thoughts, the combination of on-screen touch controls, and physical dials for the multi-media system is welcome. And the connection for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is wired or wireless which is handy for those who prefer the surety of a wired connection or the flexibility of one less cable in their life.

There's so much potential here for a great driving experience such as the accurate and direct steering and great suspension which provides a comfortable ride and great handling, only for all to be let down by turbo lag which kills the responsiveness in the car.

Of the three steering modes: Dynamic, Natural and All Weather, the Dynamic setting was kept on almost always with the other two just feeling too lethargic.

The Giulietta is front-wheel drive and there's a lot of torque being sent to those wheels, but unlike a stack of Alfas in the past there's next to no torque steer. That said, our hill start test on a wet night saw those front wheels scrambling for traction as it accelerated up the slope. Cornering grip from the tyres is excellent, however.

There's some Alfa Romeo ergonomic issues in the cabin we've gotten used to over the years, but just because you're accustomed to something doesn't mean it's okay. For example, the cramped driver's footwell with the brake and accelerator pedals so close that it's easy to hit both at the same time.

Such is the intensity of the spray from both the window washer and the headlight washers it's like you're captaining a fishing trawler that's hit a massive wave at sea.

The indicator and wiper stalks are also so far from the steering wheel rim that they're almost out of reach – I don't think I have small hands, nobody's ever pointed them out or laughed at them.

And speaking of wipers, the Giulietta is obsessed with keeping itself clean. Pull the wiper stalk towards you to clean the windows and such is the intensity of the spray from both the window washer and the headlight washers it's like you're captaining a fishing trawler that's hit a massive wave at sea. Put the car into reverse and the rear wiper starts squirting and washing.

For Christmas I want Alfa to upgrade their media unit or bin it – the UConnect system disconnected my phone without prompting and isn't intuitive to use.

The Alfa Romeo Giulietta has been given the maximum five-star ANCAP rating. It doesn't have the advanced safety technology such as AEB and lane keeping assistance which is now standard on any small hatches for a lot less money.

For child and baby seats there's two top tether and two ISIOFIX points in the back seat.

Volkswagen Australia covers the Polo with a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, which is now the volume market standard.

The paint is warranted for three years/unlimited kilometres, “Through Corrosion” is covered for 12 years/unlimited kilometres, and 12 months roadside assistance is included.

Servicing is required every 12 months or 15,000km, with prices over the first five years for the Life manual (70kW) ranging from a low of $413 to a high of $929, the average per service coming out at $560, bumping up to $580 for the Life auto and Style (85kW).

Capped price servicing is available, however, over five- and three-year plans. Paying up-front for five years results in a $664 saving over pay-as-you-go for the Life manual, and $716 for the Life auto and Style.

A compelling side benefit is the ability to fold servicing costs into the vehicle’s financing at the time of purchase, and the plan is transferable if you decide to sell the car before the five or three years is up.

The Giulietta is covered by Alfa Romeo's three year/150,000km warranty. Servicing is recommended at 12month/15,000km intervals with a major service every two years. Alfa Romeo doesn't have capped price servicing but there is Mopar Vehicle Protection which customers can purchase with the vehicle for $1995.