Alfa's old smoothie is ageing gracefully

It may be a decade old but the Giulia's revamped petrol classic still turns heads

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ALFA Romeo is a car-marker focusing more on its electric future with the launch of its Junior crossover and Tonale plugin hybrid SUV. Despite this, the Italian firm is still offering petrol-powered models.

The Giulia, for example, has been on sale since 2016 and is a four-door compact executive saloon to rival the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-Class. Now Alfa has given the car some minor tweaks to add even more style.

So is the Giulia a competitive alternative or is it time Alfa threw in the towel?

The only differences are tweaks to the car's trim level with an "Intensa" replacing the old "Veloce", now positioned at the cheaper end of the Giulia range.

The Intensa receives gold accents on the wheels, Italian flag logos on the mirrors and centre console, as well as tan accents on the steering wheel and seats.

Lurking under that pretty bonnet is a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine that develops 276bhp and 400Nm of torque. It can take the car to 60mph in 5.5 seconds and the car will continue to accelerate up to a top speed of 149mph.