Photo: Guido ten Brink / SB-Medien
Following the Giulia, Alfa Romeo’s renaissance continues with the Stelvio compact luxury SUV. Having made its world debut in November last year at the Los Angeles Auto Show in Quadrifoglio attire, the Stelvio has now landed in Geneva for the European market, lesser powertrain options included.
From a design standpoint, some might be tempted to call the Stelvio a Giulia on stilts. Looking at it up close and personal reveals exactly the opposite. Sure the front grille, air intakes, and taillights are pretty close between one another, but the headlights give the Stelvio a completely different look. Then there’s the profile of the thing, which is giving the impression of an elongated hatchback with added Italian styling cues.
And that’s the thing about how Alfa Romeo’s SUV looks in real life. It attracts the beholder with its prettiness instead of demanding respect through off-road innuendos like other sport utility vehicles do. Another SUV that can pull the same trick is the Maserati Levante, which is one segment above the Stelvio and round about 20 grand more expensive.
An area where the Stelvio fails to differentiate itself from the Giulia is, drum roll please, the interior. It’s not bad at all in terms of ergonomics, quality, and design, but the truth of the matter is it’s too similar to the Stelvio’s sedan counterpart. Heck, even the air vents have the same motif, but once again, that’s not exactly a problem if you think about it.
Then there’s the trunk. How’s this for a comparison: Giulia boasts 480 liters of cargo capacity, the Stelvio ups the ante to 525 liters. If you’re curious about how it fares against the Porsche Macan, that would be a 25-liter difference in the Stelvio’s favor. Speaking of Porsche’s smallest SUV, can the Stelvio hold its own as far as performance is concerned?
To put it bluntly, yes! Be it the 2.0-liter turbo with 280 PS or the 2.2-liter diesel with 210 PS, Alfa’s ticket to the sport utility vehicle realm impresses on paper. Less powerful versions of the 2.0- and 2.2-liter four-bangers will follow in due time, as well as a RWD 2.2 variant.
The party piece of the Stelvio, however, is the Quadrifoglio model. 510 PS rampaging Italian stallions and 600 Nm of torque are only the start, though. The 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 powerhouse also sounds as good as a V6 can in this day and age, and it’s no wonder why. After all, the six-cylinder engine is closely related to Ferrari’s F154 V8.
And that’s the thing about how Alfa Romeo’s SUV looks in real life. It attracts the beholder with its prettiness instead of demanding respect through off-road innuendos like other sport utility vehicles do. Another SUV that can pull the same trick is the Maserati Levante, which is one segment above the Stelvio and round about 20 grand more expensive.
An area where the Stelvio fails to differentiate itself from the Giulia is, drum roll please, the interior. It’s not bad at all in terms of ergonomics, quality, and design, but the truth of the matter is it’s too similar to the Stelvio’s sedan counterpart. Heck, even the air vents have the same motif, but once again, that’s not exactly a problem if you think about it.
Then there’s the trunk. How’s this for a comparison: Giulia boasts 480 liters of cargo capacity, the Stelvio ups the ante to 525 liters. If you’re curious about how it fares against the Porsche Macan, that would be a 25-liter difference in the Stelvio’s favor. Speaking of Porsche’s smallest SUV, can the Stelvio hold its own as far as performance is concerned?
To put it bluntly, yes! Be it the 2.0-liter turbo with 280 PS or the 2.2-liter diesel with 210 PS, Alfa’s ticket to the sport utility vehicle realm impresses on paper. Less powerful versions of the 2.0- and 2.2-liter four-bangers will follow in due time, as well as a RWD 2.2 variant.
The party piece of the Stelvio, however, is the Quadrifoglio model. 510 PS rampaging Italian stallions and 600 Nm of torque are only the start, though. The 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 powerhouse also sounds as good as a V6 can in this day and age, and it’s no wonder why. After all, the six-cylinder engine is closely related to Ferrari’s F154 V8.
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