There comes a time in the life of almost all cars when they’re just not very good any more. They lack the technological and engineering advances of their younger replacements and rivals but are not yet nearly old enough to have attracted any of the charm usually accorded to cars attaining what we’ll loosely call ‘classic’ status.
But of late I’ve become less sure of that guiding principle that has proven so reliable for so long. Because too often I’ve driven an all-new car and really rather wondered whether I preferred it to its predecessor at all. And there have been times when I’ve found myself behind the wheel of a car that is, in many ways, completely out of date and liked it not despite the age of its design, but because of it. Take as a case in point the VW Polo GTI we recently tested against an Alpine A290 GTS. The current generation Polo is now in its tenth season, so positively ancient for that kind of car, and I revelled in the fact it was so easy to use because the infotainment system was simple, straightforward and effective. It even had a handbrake.
Which is one reason why, after the 997-series Porsche 911 GT3 RS, I wanted an Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglio to be the second car in this series of ‘A Month In The Life Of’ stories whose purpose needs no further explaining. It’s even older than the Polo, having made its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2015. In car years, that’s telegram from the King territory.
