Geneva Motor Show 2016: Revised Alfa Romeo Giulietta hits the stands

The mildest of facelifts for the Alfa Romeo Giulietta sees the hatchback get a smiley new front apron and a new engine/gearbox combination. It goes on sale April 1 and, unusually, Alfa Romeo hasn’t taken the opportunity to lift the prices, keeping the starting point at £18,450.

That gets a 120PS 1.4-litre petrol model in base trim, called Giulietta, and standard kit including an updated Uconnect touchscreen media setup, 16-inch wheels, air conditioning, Bluetooth and a leather steering wheel. It’s all you need.

The rest of the trim range is simplified, with the current seven-strong and arbitrarily named line-up replaced by a five-strong and slightly less arbitrarily named one: Guilietta, Super, Tecnica, Speciale and Veloce. 

There’s a Lusso pack for Super versions too, which adds leather and a bigger touchscreen for Uconnect. Super itself includes dual zone climate, sportier chairs and front fog lights, but you’ll have to go to Tecnica for bigger 18-inch rims, as well as sat nav and parking sensors.

Speciale and Veloce are the sporty versions, each with sports suspension, figure-hugging seats, a flat-bottomed steering wheel, and bigger Brembo brakes. The latter model comes only with the 240PS 1.75-litre engine found in the Alfa Romeo 4C.

Engines are largely as before, with the 1.6-litre 120PS JTDm diesel offering 74.3mpg and 99g/km CO2, and 150PS 2.0-litre diesel still averaging 67.3mpg. A TCT twin-clutch auto is available with both, in the former case a new development with this facelift.

The remaining two options are versions of the 1.4-litre MultiAir petrol engine, with 120PS or 150PS.