The Alfa Romeo Giulia hit the U.S. market back in 2017 and garnered some great reviews at the time. It was praised for its sporty yet compliant driving dynamics, its unique aesthetics, and mainly the twin-turbo V6 that powers the top-trim Quadrifoglio. And while car reviewers and consumers that purchased the car at the time sang its praises, we had to wonder how the Giulia has held up in the past three years and, more importantly, if it’s worth it to buy one.

A tempting proposition

On paper, the Alfa Romeo seems like it has the luxurious touches of an Italian car, the stout performance of a German car, and the value packaging of a Japanese car. The exterior of the car is subtle and smooth, almost as if the whole car was molded out of a single block of clay.

And on the inside, the interior is laid out well and simple, complete with leather seating surfaces and wood or carbon fiber trim peppered in. Under the hood, there’s a choice of engines: a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder or a 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6.

The smaller engine, found in the all of the lower Giulia trim levels, produces 280 horsepower and 306 lb-ft of torque, while stepping up to the bigger engine in the Quadrifoglio will give you a staggering 505 horsepower and 443 lb-ft of torque on tap.

The lower trim Giulia’s can get to 60 mph in about 5.5 seconds, while the Quadrifoglio will do it in about 3.9 seconds. As you can imagine, whichever trim level you go with, you’re getting a fun car to drive.

The fun can run out

Now that the Giulia is three years old, they are popping up on the used market at an affordable price point. This might get your salivary glands going, but don’t get too excited.

While stellar driving dynamics and potent engines might enough appease the driving enthusiast in anyone, always remember to check out the reliability ratings.

While Consumer Reports did give the 2017 Giulia high marks when it came to performance, safety, and comfort (as did regular consumers), however, they gave it low marks for reliability.

They pointed out that the trouble spots were in the body hardware, power equipment, and the climate and fuel systems.

On top of that, there are currently three recalls out for the Giulia; one is for brake fluid potentially leaking into the exhaust, another for overheated wiring that can cause a fire, and one more for the inability to deactivate adaptive cruise control.

Buyer beware

In reality, the Giulia’s reliability claims are a mixed bag. Current owners seem to love them and not have many if any, issues since 2017. However, Car and Driver ran into a host of issues with their long-term Quadrifoglio during their 40,000 miles of long-term testing.

So in general, as with any other car, you never really know what you’re getting. However, if we were to believe professionals like the Consumer Reports, we would advise being wary. As we stated before, Italian cars aren’t known for their reliability, and parts and repairs can be costly.

But if you have your heart set on buying an Alfa Romeo Giulia, then we would recommend looking into leasing a new one as opposed to purchasing a used one.