When the Alfa Romeo Giulia burst onto the scene last year, it became the new standard in sports sedans as it went head to head with the best from Germany. Its sleek looks, thrill a minute performance and Italian pedigree made this sedan a stand-out machine to the extent that it snatched numerous awards including Motor Trend’s prestigious Car of the Year gong.
Now the Italian brand is back, but this time, it’s attempting to redefine the luxury crossover segment with its first-ever SUV, the Stelvio. Dropped straight onto the Giulia’s platform, the Stelvio picks up where the Giulia left off. This crossover oozes sexiness, is well proportioned and boasts a punchy engine with engaging on-road manners. I got to drive it on the mountain roads around Los Angeles in late 2017 around six months before its introduction into the Japanese market.
With over one in three cars expected to be an SUV inside of five years, the sports utility segment is getting more crowded every year as manufacturers rush to inject their latest SUVs into a hungry market. Into a segment dominated by the BMW X3, Mercedes GLC, Porsche Macan, Jaguar F-Pace, Audi Q5 and Lexus NX, the Stelvio arrives with a gorgeous exterior and stand-out street cred.
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Even though this Italian SUV gains in ride height over the Giulia, it still manages to wear Alfa’s signature grille, perfectly proportioned headlights and sensuous rear curves like a knockout catwalk model from the Milan Spring-Summer Collection.
But the Stelvio is not just a pretty face. It’s fun behind the wheel too. Almost as engaging as the Giulia, this Alfa is a blast to drive with a beefy 4-cylinder engine and involving, nimble handling. Powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter pumping out 280ps and 40.8Nm of torque, the Stelvio can sprint from zero to 100km/h in just 5.7 seconds and keep up with most German competitors. Acceleration is instant and powerful as the Stelvio transfers its horses through an 8-speed automatic gearbox to Alfa’s very efficient 4WD system.
While this setup is biased towards rear-wheel drive in normal driving situations, lose traction on a slippery corner and the Q4 four-wheel-drive system will shift 50% of its power to the front axle to regain control of the car. For a mid-sized SUV, it’s climactic and well-behaved and goosebump invoking all at once, like the climax of Giacomo Puccini’s classic aria Nessun Dorma from the famed opera Turandot.
Drive this SUV at around 20% under its adhesion limits and the Stelvio will resist body roll and corner with purpose and precision. Push it to the max, and you will be forced to experiment with excessive lean and healthy servings of understeer. To generate the car’s sporty ride and keep the body as flat as possible in corners, the Stelvio’s suspension settings are noticeably stiff. And while ride quality is good for the most part, ride is not as compliant as say the BMW X3.
As you’d expect with four-piston Brembo brakes, stopping power delivers sufficient bite and overall good pedal feel. At normal road speeds, wind and road noise are nicely contained while subtle synthetically generated and surprisingly appealing exhaust sounds are piped in through the speakers.
Inside, the Stelvio delivers similar trim and luxury fittings as the Giulia with plenty of leather, a two-toned black and silver steering and dash design and polished paddle shifters that make every gear change a pleasure. Head and legroom might be sufficient for a design-oriented SUV and while the Alfa’s infotainment system is intuitive and easy to use, it’s not the most advanced in the segment.
For Alfa’s first attempt at an SUV, the Stelvio is a winner. It looks sensational on the road, is quick off the mark, changes direction sweetly, offers a luxurious, comfortable interior and employs the same standard package of safety gear that earned a five-star rating in Euro NCAP testing. So in the same way as the Giulia took the game right up to the best German and Japanese sports sedans, the Stelvio’s looks and performance will no doubt generate increased flow through Alfa showroom doors over the next few years. Prices for the Japanese market are not yet available but expect them to be on a par with German rivals.
