Alfa Romeo hasn’t offered a sedan in the U.S. market since 1995, the final year its 164 was sold on these shores. Though the brand has offered niche-market sports cars to American customers (on and off) since 2008, it’s been slow to market a mainstream vehicle on these shores. In the words of Alfa Romeo’s Berj Alexanian, “We knew we had just one chance to get it right with the Giulia sedan,” which launched in late 2016. At Amelia Island, we had a chance to (briefly) drive the range-topping Giulia Quadrifoglio; did Alfa Romeo get it right?

According to the manufacturer, the Giulia model “reflects a 55-year heritage of Alfa Romeo’s lightweight, performance sedan tradition,” along with “over 105 years of brand history.” That’s a lot for anything to carry on its shoulders, or in the case of the Giulia, on its fenders. Worse, perhaps, the Giulia is designed and priced to go head to head against class leaders like the BMW 3 Series and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

The shamrock-badged carmaker from Italy is back in the United States. Was it worth the wait?