Scene Lift—Head 2 Head: the Alfa Romeo Giulia vs. Jaguar XE SV Project 8

MotorTrend

Two super-sedans

Transcript

00:00 Let's see what these cars are like on the road at semi-sensible speeds.

00:22 Once again, Johnny's problem with driving and speaking is coming to the fore.

00:26 If he could speak, he'd probably be saying how hooked up the Jag feels.

00:30 Fantastic turning, total traction.

00:32 The only real letdown is the gearbox is a bit slow.

00:35 Terrific brakes too.

00:36 And at these speeds, none of the turning over steer that Randy found on track.

00:40 I'm supposed to be talking to camera, but this is just nuts.

00:47 Total concentration.

00:48 Don't hit the squirrels, don't hit the boulders, don't hit the lizards or the tree or jump

00:52 off the cliff.

00:53 Plus, no matter what I do, Jethro's going to crush me.

00:57 Shift gears, make sure you shift the gears.

01:02 You're alive!

01:15 I think I only killed two squirrels.

01:17 Oh, at least you're alive.

01:18 That was good.

01:19 How was it?

01:20 It was awesome.

01:21 What a dangerous course.

01:22 I know, but it's so much fun to do.

01:24 How do you not see your children's face?

01:28 Just death is in every turn.

01:29 Is this that bit where there's the big drop?

01:30 I didn't like that bit.

01:31 That doesn't bother me at all.

01:32 For me, it's the boulders.

01:33 Oh, okay.

01:34 You know, when you're like apexing, apexing, and you know that boulder is sitting there.

01:38 It's coming, it's coming.

01:39 No, that's cool.

01:40 Good.

01:41 We survived.

01:42 That's two down, one to go.

01:43 Yeah, I survived.

01:44 You could still die.

01:45 Oh, thanks.

01:46 Nice to know.

01:47 Hey, I was stoked with my car and my time.

01:50 One minute, 41 seconds, quicker than I thought I'd go.

01:53 Remember, the crazed cat did a 7.23 at the ring, so once again, the Sandschleife shows

01:59 a surprisingly consistent equivalency.

02:02 Now it's Death Row's turn in the Ford Cheeser.

02:04 Oh, no launch control because I don't know how to do it.

02:07 Now I've got to run this car in race mode, which is good for engine response, good for

02:17 power, but it means I have no traction control whatsoever, which is less good.

02:29 Obviously it feels way slower than the Lambo, way softer, and I'm worried about the rear

02:41 end, which is much more in this car than it was in the Lambo.

02:48 160 or so down the straight.

02:51 That's a bit slow in there, but that's okay.

02:56 So, yeah, box is good, brakes feel up to it.

03:00 Yeah.

03:02 It's just that first response that you get from the front end, it just can't quite match

03:11 it in the middle of the corner.

03:13 Bit slow, but it's so dusty in there.

03:19 Like I say, without any traction to lean on, I just want to be a bit careful on the dust.

03:29 So much fun, though.

03:32 This is nuts that we can do this.

03:35 Ooh, bit greedy.

03:37 Too much on the way in.

03:40 This is where it's sandy, dangerous.

03:43 Yeah, rear's just starting to get hot.

03:48 Four-wheel drive.

03:50 So sandy.

03:53 Whoa.

03:57 Bit greedy.

03:59 Carried away.

04:01 This is the end, yes.

04:09 Woo-hoo!

04:11 Woo!

04:13 [laughter]

04:16 What was that?

04:17 Shaking a little bit.

04:19 You went for it, right?

04:20 It was fun, yeah.

04:21 I went for it on the bits that I could remember.

04:23 Because you did a really good time.

04:25 Yeah, you'll beat me by one second.

04:27 I was hoping like nine minutes.

04:29 But no, it's good.

04:30 The thing is the back tires start to go off at the end.

04:33 Like feel the heat.

04:35 They're proper hot.

04:36 So this last slalom section is just like...

04:41 Look at your brakes, though.

04:42 I mean, that's proper smoking tire fire, brake fire.

04:46 I really, really, really wanted to beat your time.

04:48 And I'm pleased to report that I did.

04:51 The Alfa managed a pretty stunning seven minutes, seven seconds.

04:55 And although it was a busy ride towards the top when the tires started to overheat,

04:59 I adore its agility and its tendency towards oversteer.

05:03 It is a proper Italian extrovert.

05:06 [Music]

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