245 HP Golf GTI Compared to Alfa Giulietta Veloce by Harry Metcalfe and Son

No, not the Giulia sedan that everybody knows, the Giulietta hatchback that they forgot about. It's a car that some credit with the demise of the Alfa Romeo brand. So it's surprising to see it picked over the Civic Type R or Focus ST.

Like the Golf GTI, the Giulietta has been around for a long time. The only problem is the Italians never changed the body, which dates back to 2010.

If we remember correctly, the model with 240 horsepower used to be called Giulietta QV, while the Veloce was a watered down version with a 170 horsepower 1.4-liter... if we remember correctly. But Alfa decided to keep the QV for its hardcore BMW M-rivalling cars.

Harry walks us around the Giulietta hot hatch, pointing out that it's cheaper than the Golf GTI. It comes with nice bucket seats, a sort of satin grey paint option and flamboyant styling.

While you'd expect the newer Golf GTI to be better at everything, that's not the case. Metcalfe notes that the steering feels much sharper, you sit lower and enjoy fruitier exhaust in the Alfa Romeo. There's the Italian spirit for you.

Unfortunately, the experience is somewhat dulled by the fact that you can only have it with a DCT twin-clutch, just like the 4C sports car. Alfa has also polished the chassis to be both more compliant and dynamic. That's the stuff we never hear about because the Giulietta is such a rare item. The downside is that it doesn't have the polish and toys of the GTI.