>>28664715
>Fuel-guzzling
I get 27mpg around town and 37mpg on the highway.
>This is a 2018 model. Is there any ADAS other than the tiny rearview camera?
My '17 has adaptive cruise (comes to a full stop, works in stop/go traffic), lane departure, auto brake + collision detection, blind spot warnings and all the shit that I really don't care about and leave disabled (cruise is nice).
Parts range from dirt cheap to about the same as BMW/Mercedes if you come from owning those. Labor is also cheap if you know where to look, many are scared to work on these (despite the 2.0T being similar to that of the Wrangler), but as a 'worst case' example for $2k-2500 at most I can have the entire engine swapped with a very low mileage, newer unit (including engine + labor).
>there are 2017 and 2018s running around with a radiator that has a known manufacturer defect that Alfa Romeo won't recall for replacement
Alfa replaced mine under warranty in like ~2019, I don't know if it was a recall or not but it was likely done under warranty for most. Still, for the cost of replacing the radiator you'll be paying about half the price as a newer one, which, as you already allude to, is going to look and drive mostly the same aside from a few small updates mostly in the interior (losing the analog gauges for digital, SGW added to the OBD system making tuning/diagnostics more difficult, gaining carplay which can be added to a '17/'18, different shaped center console etc).
The cracks on the lower of the dash screen suck, I've got them too, but most equivalent age BMWs have fucked up looking screens as well. The cracks can be filled in with certain trim restorers/polishes as well, although still a bandaid. The pano roof does suck on the earlier models however, and will break if it doesn't have updated guides/tubes. Relays/wastegate arm and battery are the rest of the maintenance I've had to do.
