Alfa Romeo's first introduction into the world of high-performance, modern SUVs seems to be highly successful. The new Stelvio is both a mix of classic Italian design and styling with modern technological innovation.
This makes the new Stelvio one of the most interesting cars to come from Alfa as it manages to cover so much ground despite being inexpensive and for once in Alfas history, a car which is as practical as it is cool. This is a refreshing offering from Alfa Romeo, and it manages this all whilst being relatively inexpensive. Below are some of its coolest features.
10 Alfa's First SUV
Despite Alfa Romeo's long-running history in the car industry, they have never actually produced what could be specifically called an SUV. Their market is more for providing people with cool hatchbacks and sports saloons.
This is an interesting step towards the future of Alfa as most car manufacturers are beginning to produce some cool sports SUVs. Take Lamborghini and Aston Martin, for example, creating the Urus and the DBX respectively. Alfa has some great sports sedans in their line-up, so taking the basic design of one of those and enlarging it opens up the possibility to sell a new customer.
9 Named After the Stelvio Pass
Alfa has a reputation for creating some of the coolest and most desired sports cars in recent years. This new model, despite not being the typical Alfa form, still has some of that Alfa sports DNA. This is most evident in its name.
It's named after the Stelvio Pass, a mountain pass in northern Italy which borders Switzerland and has an elevation of 2,757 m above sea level. It's also the highest paved mountain pass in the Eastern Alps. This should indicate that this isn't just a typical SUV and Alfa intend for this car to be driven fast and to handle well.
8 Special Editions
A few special edition Stelvios have even been created in line with the standard versions. Some of these take inspiration from famous Alfas in the past, this even includes an Alfa Romeo Formula One car.
The Quadrifoglio NRING edition is given carbon-ceramic brakes, carbon-fiber interior trim, Sparco seats, and a Mopar-branded gear shifter and floor mats. The cars are also given exterior NRING badges as well as carbon-fiber mirror caps and side skirts. Some equipment upgrades include adaptive cruise control and a premium sound system. The Nero Edizione Package for the Stelvio has blacked out wheels, badging, and some other touches. An Alfa Romeo Racing limited edition was introduced and has exclusive paintwork, as a tribute to the Alfa Romeo Racing C38 Formula 1 car.
7 BMW X3 Competitor
For those who are looking to buy a new SUV, Alfa's Stelvio is a great option. It's most comparable to the BMW X3 and perhaps the Audi Q5. These manufacturers have almost cornered the SUV market completely but the Stelvio seems to be a genuine competitor.
The Alfa averages around 17 MPG for city driving, compared to the X3's 14 MPG. It also starts at a slightly lower price at around $42,350 compared to $43,000 for the X3. It's even cheaper than the Jaguar F-Pace, the Mercedes GLC-Class, the Porsche Macan, and the Audi Q5. The only car from this list that beats the Alfa's average MPG is the Audi Q5, but it's only by 1 MPG and the Q5 is a touch more expensive.
6 Improved Interior
Alfas have never been particularly known for their interiors. However, it's fairly obvious that Alfa gave the Stelvio fair treatment this time around and this shows as the quality of the interior easily surpasses the Alfas that came before.
The flowing curves are much more interesting than the straight lines of the BMW and Audi rivals. The cylindrical shrouds of the dials also show some inspiration from the 60s Alfas. Front electric seats are now standard with a reasonable amount of storage space too, both up front and in the back. Quality materials are used throughout and are near in line with that of its German competitors.
5 Impressive Styling
Alfas are known probably more for their styling than anything else, the Stelvio is no exception. As far as the first attempt at an SUV goes, the Stelvio looks extraordinary. It looks great when compared to its competitors and even current-day Alfas.
It keeps the front bumper from other models in Alfas catalogue, it can be directly compared to the Giulia Quadrifoglio. It has an aggressive look that manufacturers like BMW and Audi perhaps don't capture as well as the Stelvio and proves that SUVs can still look cool and provide functionality.
4 Cool Tech
Further adding to the credibility of the Alfas modern interior is the tech on display. Alfa Romeos have always been a bit of a throwback, even the more modern models. It's nice to see that the Stelvio is given some modern-day upgrades, as well as keeping with an almost classic feel.
The touchscreen can be set up to show multiple things on one display, ranging from performance graphs and gauges all the way to music and other personal apps. Alfa Romeo’s advanced driving assistance system named ADAS brings with it a number of safety and driver convenience technology too. Features of the ADAS include highway and traffic jam assists, lane keep assist, driver attention alerts, traffic sign recognition, and active blind-spot monitoring.
3 Different Variants
There are many different variations for the Stelvio. These include everything from changes to power, engine size, and drivetrain types, all the way to things like interior and exterior trims and exclusive sports packages.
The base variant has a 2.0-liter inline-4 engine producing 197 HP. Some of the more expensive variants include the Sport trim which has privacy glass on all windows and tinted windshield glass. There also gloss black roof rails and power-folding heated mirrors. The Ti, which is only available in AWD comes with a performance package that includes active suspension, aluminum paddle shifters, and a limited-slip differential.
2 Available Quadrifoglio Edition
However, the most impressive version of the Stelvio is the Quadrifoglio Edition. Anyone who knows about the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio should be aware of how much of an improvement that is over the standard car, and it's the same story here.
The Stelvio Quadrifoglio actually has the same engine as the Giulia Quadrifoglio which means it has an upgrade from a 2.0-liter inline-4 all the way to a 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6. This change of engine also means the increase in horsepower is almost tripled taking it to 513 HP from 197 HP originally. The Quadrifoglio is also only available as AWD and has a Quadrifoglio fender badge and grille.
1 Was The World's Fastest SUV
One of the most impressive accolades the Stelvio could boast about was that it held the title of the world's fastest SUV. This is especially impressive given some of the competition from the likes of Audi, BMW, Jaguar, and even Porsche.
The Stelvio Quadrifoglio lapped the Nürburgring in a record breaking 7 minutes 51.7 seconds. The previous production SUV record was eight seconds slower than this. An outstanding achievement and this record owe its success partly to its AWD system and that Ferrari developed 2.9-liter V6 as spoken about earlier. Since then, it has been bested by a few other SUVs, most notably another Italian — the Lamborghini Urus, which is in a completely different price bracket.