We Beseech You: Do Not Lease an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, at Least Not Yet

MSRPs aren’t meaningless.

Okay, sometimes they’re meaningless. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price — dealer may sell for less, or more — is just one element of a new vehicle acquisition’s true cost. For most vehicles, the MSRP is just the starting point for negotiations, which won’t truly begin until you have a clear idea of the automaker’s incentive load. Employee pricing. Anniversary bonus. Labor Day credits. Red tag deals. Summer clear out. Memorial Day rebates. July 4th blowouts.

Then there’s the interest rate equation, which will change based on credit, term, and numerous other factors. Next, apply unappetizing dealer fees. And now, if you’re considering leasing, throw another whole set of numbers into this kettle of fish.

Out comes a lease payment for the $73,595 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio that’s nearly double the cost of a BMW M3; a lease payment 77-percent higher than on the Cadillac CTS-V, even though the CTS-V’s MSRP is 17-percent higher.

We urge you: please do not lease an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio until terms change.

According to CarsDirect, including the $4,299 due at signing, a 24-month lease (with a 10,000-mile annual allotment) of a 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio has an effective monthly payment of $1,690. CarsDirect’s Alex Bernstein calls this “one of the worst leases imaginable for a non-supercar.”

Considering how much less expensive it can be to lease a more expensive sports sedan, it’s hard to argue with them. The $85,995 Cadillac CTS-V, on similar terms, has an effective monthly lease payment that’s $733 less than the payment on the Giulia Quadrifoglio. Even the $102,000 Mercedes-Benz S550 is $245 less per month to lease.

Fortunately for potential Giulia owners, this is a Quadrifoglio-specific problem. The basic Giulia, CarsDirect says, can be leased over two years with effective monthly payments of $436, very near the lease cost of a Mercedes-Benz CLA250.

But nearly doubling the MSRP from basic Giulia to Giulia Quadrifoglio very nearly quadruples the lease payment. That’s the kind of silliness that gives leasing a bad name, the sort of fuzzy math that will send lease-intending high-performance sedan customers to M and AMG.

The list of reasons to avoid a Giulia Quadrifoglio acquisition was already long enough.

[Images: FCA, Cadillac, BMW, Mercedes-Benz]

Timothy Cain is a contributing analyst at The Truth About Cars and Autofocus.ca and the founder and former editor of GoodCarBadCar.net. Follow on Twitter @timcaincars.