Feels like a tale as old as time, doesn’t it? A glorious new Alfa Romeo concept car, a reinvention of the brand, a new path to lead the Milanese marque to success. That’s certainly the mood music surrounding the Cuorerosso, a four-door GT concept powered by a hybrid V6 engine, that was unveiled at this year’s Paris Motor Show.
Few car manufacturers inspire the same level of passion and fanaticism as Alfa Romeo. It’s a marque shot through with racing DNA, renowned for producing cars imbued with all the passion and excitement that comes from a 116-year heritage: much of it spent on and around the racetrack.
Yet on the road, Alfa Romeo’s products have always struggled to achieve the same level of penetration as the German premium rivals they were pitched against.
That lack of interest can work to used car buyers’ advantage, though. It means residual values are soft, and that means smart buyers can pick up a prime example of the breed that can combine the emotion of an Alfa Romeo with the mod cons we’ve come to expect from a recent model.
Buying an Alfa is far less of a risk than it used to be, too. Alfa Romeo consistently finishes highly in the What Car? Reliability Survey; it came 4th this year, with an average rating across all of its models of 94 per cent.
Take the Giulia. Easily one of the most stylish executive saloons around, it’s as exciting to drive as the badge suggests, and it finished at the top of its class in the survey in 2025, beating rivals like the BMW 3 Series and Audi A4.
How about a Giulia Veloce, like the one I’ve unearthed? This model sits close to the top of the Giulia pecking order, in the shadow of the fire-breathing Quadrifoglio. Yet for my money it’s the best Giulia there is on a smiles-per-pound basis.
Roughly equivalent to a BMW M340i, the Veloce gives you 276bhp driving the rear wheels through a chassis that does a terrific job of blending ride quality and handling, and a gorgeous leather-lined interior with beautiful aluminium detailing, not to mention a generous slew of equipment.
Yet this 2020 example comes in at just £18,988, having just had £500 slashed from its price, and that’s despite there being only 44,000 miles on the clock. It also means that it’s for sale at £1,886 less than its CarGurus Instant Market Value (or IMV, which is the amount our clever algorithm says it’s really worth, based on the values of other similar cars in the classifieds).
What if you need something more practical? Well, then there’s Alfa Romeo’s first SUV, the Stelvio. Despite its size, the Stelvio is just as involving to drive as you’d expect an Alfa Romeo to be, and its curvy, flowing looks mean it’s nowhere near as bluff or boxy as most of its rivals.
This one’s a 2019 2.0 Turbo Super, equipped with a punchy 197bhp petrol engine and the smallest wheels available on a Stelvio, which will keep the ride quality nice and smooth.
It’s done a very reasonable 70,000 miles, has had just two owners, and comes with a full year’s MOT. Yet it’ll cost you just £12,494, a whopping £1,924 less than its IMV. That feels like a huge amount of car for the money.
What if your budget can’t stretch that far, though? Well, not to worry, because there are plenty of cracking deals on Alfa Romeos at the other end of the price spectrum. How about a 2014 Giulietta, Alfa Romeo’s family hatchback?
This one’s a bit special, because it’s the high-spec Sportiva Nav model, with a gutsy 2.0-litre diesel engine that kicks out 172bhp, married to a snappy dual-clutch automatic gearbox.
Giuliettas in this specification don’t come up often, so the fact that this one’s on sale for £946 less than it’s worth, at £3,250, makes it pretty tempting.
The mileage is on the high side, at 131,000, but in an Alfa Romeo, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. After all, it’s a good sign that its previous owners have found it dependable enough to be able to count on it for lots of longer trips.
And let’s face it: this is a much more interesting way to get around than your common-or-garden Golf GTD.
But if you’re truly buying on a shoestring, I can go one better. How about a cute Alfa Romeo hatchback with smart styling, alloy wheels, and a full service history, all for less than £1,500? That’s what you’ll get with the MiTo I came across.
A very tidy looking 2011 example of Alfa Romeo’s three-door supermini, with a frugal 1.4-litre petrol engine and in high-spec Distinctive trim. It’s done just 81,000 miles, yet it’s on for just £1,495, which is £1,260 below its IMV.
That’s almost banger pricing territory, for a chic Alfa Romeo hatchback with neat handling and compact, town-friendly dimensions, making this a car that looks far more expensive than it actually is.
See what I mean? With deals like these, why wait?
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