Jeremy Clarkson: "To lift my spirits, I spent a few days with Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, and something changed"

There was a time when all you had to do was say two words - Alfa Romeo - for Jeremy Clarkson to transform himself into a lyrical, almost sentimental automotive critic. A time when certain cars would, in his words, "melt" even the most cynical car journalists. But in 2026, Clarkson is no longer in a romantic mood. And the Giulia Quadrifoglio, once one of his favorites, is paying the price.

The modern automobile: driving under surveillance

In his essay published in The Times, Clarkson begins with a stark observation: there is no new car today that he would buy. The reason? The massive, compulsory introduction of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), which have been mandatory in Europe and the UK since 2022. Incessant beeping, sanctimonious alerts, automatic braking sometimes as abrupt as it is unjustified... For Clarkson, these devices turn every journey into a civics lesson. Worse still, the law forbids any permanent deactivation. At every stop, the ritual has to be repeated, to the point where he leaves the engine running at the service station to avoid having to dive back into the menus. According to him, no brand has been spared: Ferrari, Aston Martin, Maserati... all "ruined" by what he describes as a nanny state embedded in the glove compartment. The automobile, once synonymous with freedom and escape, has become an object under permanent control.

When driving is no longer a pleasure

This constant surveillance would not be insignificant if it were not accompanied by another phenomenon: the slow but certain disappearance of the pleasure of driving. Clarkson broadens his subject to include the 20mph (30km/h) speed limits imposed in British villages, the guilt-inducing rhetoric about ecology, and the exorbitant costs of the modern automobile. The result? An entire generation is turning away from the driving license. Not out of militancy, but out of lack of interest. Why go to so much trouble to be reprimanded by your own car? It's against this gloomy backdrop that Clarkson attempts one last great escape.

A last dance with the Giulia Quadrifoglio

To lift his spirits, he settled behind the wheel of an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, 510 horsepower, rear-wheel drive, V6 engine and promise intact on paper. When it was launched in 2016, Clarkson loved it, going so far as to prefer it to a BMW M3. The badge, the sound, the character... it was all there. In 2026, the magic is still partially at work. Admittedly, the Giulia does not escape the ADAS, and also imposes its share of manipulations before each departure. But once it's underway, it's always possible to "make up for lost time", provided you know where the speed cameras are and the road conditions. In the Cotswolds, Clarkson is on conquered ground.

Something has changed... and not for the better

Enthusiasm soon wanes, however. Where the Giulia Quadrifoglio once shone with a rare compromise between sportiness and comfort, Clarkson discovered an unrecognizable car. The suspension, officially unchanged according to Alfa Romeo, seemed much firmer. Too firm. On a trivial stretch of the A40, the car became so uncomfortable that his passenger asked him to slow down to 50 mph (50 km/h) to make the journey bearable. Clarkson doesn't mince his words: he compares the experience to falling down a flight of stairs, considered almost more comfortable. It may be an isolated case, he concedes, but there's no denying it for the example he tried out.

An icon always desirable... on one condition

In the end, Jeremy Clarkson identifies two major reasons not to buy this new Giulia Quadrifoglio: the omnipresent ADAS and a noticeable deterioration in comfort. But all is not lost for true Alfa Romeo enthusiasts. The solution is simple: go back in time. Turn to a pre-2022 model, spared the noise alerts and endowed with the roadholding he so loved. These versions hold their value well, but it's still possible to find a beautiful, low-mileage example for less than £45,000 (€52,000). A strong temptation, almost an act of resistance, before the automobile definitively becomes a sanitized, controlled and soulless object.

We'd like to share with you his test drive of the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio several years ago.