Look, it’s a gorgeous car. Whether you’re maneuvering through stop-and-go traffic on the bridge or tunnel or sprinting across wide stretches of open highway, the 2018 Giulia will carry you with gusto and verve—and it’ll turn heads while doing it. But unfortunately, it’s also got a reputation for turning heads in a different way: according to real customer reviews, it is unforgivably unreliable.

If you’re eyeing a 2018 Alfa Romeo purchase,

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How reliable is the 2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia?

The sad truth is that the 2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia is not very reliable at all. In fact, its record of unexplained failures and frequent shop visits is one of the strongest counts against what’s otherwise a miraculously delightful driving machine.

U.S. News reports a JD Power rating of 3.5/5.0, which is slightly above average. But customer reviews and other reliability experts tell a different story.

The 2018 Giulia has been recalled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) no less than five times—and many of those recalls were for some pretty serious problems:

A caused the fuel level to read as higher than it was, causing cars to run out of fuel unexpectedly

The adaptive cruise control system would not shut off, leading to crashes

Leaks in the brake lines increased the risk of a vehicle fire

Heat damage to engine components increased the risks of engine stalling and fires

Contaminated brake fuel reduced brake efficiency

And those were only the issues that resulted in a formal recall. Complaints from real drivers, including the Car and Driver test drive team, reveal that the issues with the 2018 Alfa Romeo go much, much deeper. Dashboard lights go on and off seemingly at random; mysterious noises stop and start without leading mechanics to a resolution; sometimes the car just doesn't feel like turning on.

There’s a common refrain among these reviews: the 2018 Giulia drives like a dream—but it spends nearly as much time in the shop as on the road.

Consumer Reports

confirms these woes, concluding that the 2018 Giulia is “much less reliable than other new cars.”

The bottom line

The 2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia gets almost universal low marks for reliability, with some drivers describing it as one of the worst cars they’ve ever driven in spite of its stunning looks and thrilling on-road behavior. If you do drive a 2018 Giulia, it’s definitely worth adding

rental reimbursement coverage

to your insurance policy to help cover the cost of the loaner cars you’re likely to spend a lot of time in.

MORE:

How to check and decode an Alfa Romeo VIN

Optimize your insurance for the 2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia

A car as unique (and temperamental) as the 2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia demands a specialized insurance policy. To get the right coverage, all you need to do is download the

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