Alfa Romeo Giulia. The public’s first impressions

Photo by: omniauto.it

Photo by: omniauto.it

Before I write about the Giulia I want to share you the quick sentiment I got from analyzing more than 1400 comments in 3 different Facebook pages: Alfa Romeo official page, Quattroruote and AlVolante. The first conclusion is that it is certainly a hot topic in the web with many conversations in every single automotive webpage. The sample includes 3 popular Italian sites where users use to leave their impressions on any new car that is presented. These are the main findings:

The analyzed comments came from the Facebook pages of Alfa Romeo, Quattroruote and AlVolante

The analyzed comments came from the Facebook pages of Alfa Romeo, Quattroruote and AlVolante

  1. Hot topic: the hashtag #AlfaRomeoGiulia became one of the top 10 most popular in Italy during the presentation day. This means that people were talking a lot about this reveal and it generated many conversations in the social networks (Facebook and Twitter) and in the car sites (Quattroruote, AlVolante, Omniauto in Italy, but also in France, the UK, Germany, Spain and the USA. No matter what the sentiment was, to generate such amount of discussions is a good sign (specially for the US, where the brand awareness is still low).
  2. 81% of the positive comments were related to the way the new Giulia looks.

    81% of the positive comments were related to the way the new Giulia looks.

    Most of the people like the new car. They like it because it looks nice (design, shapes, dimensions, details), and many think it is a real Alfa Romeo with a design that is often described as fantastic, emotional and gorgeous. Based on its shapes and color, it is even sexy for some people. People like the headlights, the side view and the stop lights, whereas the rims got more negative than positive comments.

  3. Some others wrote good things about the brand (even if the very few comments about the logo were mostly negative). Some others took a positive position regarding the specifications which included the impressive engine and the fantastic performance. Many of them were shocked with these features. Only a small part of the positive comments were related to a comparison with its rivals: some people considered that the Alfa Giulia is better than any other competitor.
  4. Many users compared the new Giulia to its rivals and complained about the fact that the new Alfa looks quite similar to the A4, A5, and 3-Series. They just don't like that. Others believe the Giulia isn't a beautiful car and is not original.

    Many users compared the new Giulia to its rivals and complained about the fact that the new Alfa looks quite similar to the A4, A5, and 3-Series. They just don’t like that. Others believe the Giulia isn’t a beautiful car and is not original.

    In the other hand the negative comments include those complaining about its look which was considered to close to the Audi A4/A5, BMW 3/4 Series, Mercedes C-Class, Skoda Superb, Tesla Model S, Jaguar XE or even the Infiniti Q50, Seat Toledo. Many comments indicated some angry or frustration about the fact that the long wait didn’t deserve “an ugly copy of the Audi”. There was also room for bad comments regarding the design (without any comparison): “ugly”, “boring”, or “nothing new”.

Some comments taken from the analysis. Source: Facebook pages of Alfa Romeo, Quattroruote and AlVolante

Some comments taken from the analysis. Source: Facebook pages of Alfa Romeo, Quattroruote and AlVolante

Ford and Mercedes were part of the discussion too…

Ford

Translation: When I see and Alfa go by, I tip my hat, used to say Henry Ford. Welcome #AlfaRomeoGiulia, see you in the track

Mercedes

Translation: Finally we’re racing again. Welcome back @alfa_romeo! #AlfaRomeoGiulia

Coming soon: my own impressions

15 thoughts on “Alfa Romeo Giulia. The public’s first impressions

  1. Oh Alfa/Fiat. After such a long wait this car needed to be heart stopping and sporty / elegant. I am not convinced by this dumpy thing at this time. :o(

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  2. Looks great, but lacking the wow factor. It should do well though,as most people who currently buy BMW, Audi & MB are a bit conservative, they will like it and that is where the market is. Let’s hope Alfa puts the wow into the low volume specialist models like the Spyder!

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  3. A very interesting sentiment analysis.
    Have you analyzed any other launch of new car, so to make a comparison?
    P.S. My sentiment on Giulia is strongly positive 🙂

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    • Ciao Davide,
      I have done some other sentiment analysis at work: Jeep Renegade, Fiat 500X, Jeep Cherokee. This quick analysis could be improved adding the sentiment coming from US sites.

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  4. Hi, Felipe. Great job. I think the people had great expectations. I particularly frustrated me. Much Chinese. I expected a Giulia more 4c.

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  5. I have some sketches. Sooner or later i’ll release it in some of my accounts. But now i dont’ want spoil Giulia party. Because: i like new Giu; maybe my sketches will prevent sales, at least for some future buyers. Respect, senior Juan, you created excellent blog

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  6. Hola Juan
    I think much of the Giulia’s design is dictated by the desire to maximise the performance and passenger space, so that greatly influences its proportions. The BMW M3 is regarded as the best handling saloon and much of it due to its 50:50 F/R weight balance, so it stands to reason that the Giulia will have a similar profile if it also is to have perfect 50:50 weight distribution. The front and rear look of the QV version, excluding the shape of the lights, have been designed to maximise performance, so aerodynamics and engine cooling dictate design. I expect that the mainstream models will tone down the aggressive features on the front and rear and give a more ‘sophisticated’ looking car. The side panels have been kept fairly basic and in many ways reflect the simplicity of the Alfa GT (2000s version). In fact, the side rear of the car is very reminiscent of the GT.
    I think the car looks fine and if it’s true to other Alfas, the subtleties of the curves in the body aren’t picked up in photos and it will be much more appreciated when seen in the metal.

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  7. Pingback: Lancia updates the Ypsilon. What’s the people’s opinion? | Fiat Group's World

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