Built on the same platform as the sensational Giulia, the Stelvio is Alfa Romeo’s answer to the likes of the Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class, Jaguar F-Pace, and BMW X3. And just like the F-Pace, the Alfa Romeo Stelvio is a luxury crossover SUV that has been made to appease the more enthusiastic of SUV buyers. I know, that sounds kind of silly, but it’s nothing out of the norm in the current automotive landscape. It was named so after the famous Stelvio Pass in Italy - the country’s highest stretch of concretized pavement. Since its official unveiling at the LA Auto Show in 2016, the Alfa Romeo Stelvio has gone on to beat sales records for the niche carmaker - shifting over 60,000 units by 2018.
Exterior
Typically an Alfa Romeo by design, there’s no mistaking the Stelvio for anything else on the road. It’s also not as long as some of its rivals neither does it have the best wheelbase, and seems to be more compact than some of them as well. However, none of that really matters if you’ve set your mind on buying it. It really does look quite spectacular - for a high-riding Alfa SUV, at least. The front gets a neatly sculpted hood, the Alfa signature mesh grille, sweptback headlamps with LED runners, and a well-contoured bumper with twin large air dams. The haunched front & rear portions above the huge 20-inch wheels ooze muscularity and poise, while the dropping roofline and chrome window surrounds portray a sense of elegance.
At the back of the Stelvio, you find two shiny exhaust outlets and a neat air diffuser that’s well integrated into the rear bumper. Meanwhile, the trendy LED taillights, large spoiler, and a beautifully-carved tailgate complete the whole walk-around. The Alfa Romeo Stelvio stands at 4.68 meters in length, 2.16 meters in width, 1.67 meters in height, and the gap between the front and rear wheels measures just over 2.8 meters. The Stelvio’s aggressive rear-end styling and less-than-ideal internal packaging means the total boot capacity is only 525 liters - less than all of its competitors.
Interior
The Alfa Romeo Stelvio wouldn’t be the last word when it comes to having a spacious cabin. The rear bench is far from accommodating, and the sloping roof eats into the headroom. The sports seats, however, do a brilliant job of holding the driver in place while carving corners. And Alfa have also been improving their build quality and finish of their cars’ interiors - this one’s not shabby. The Quadrifoglio also comes with carbon fiber, Alcantara, and hand-stitched leather surfaces which look and feel amazing.
Alfa Romeo will also offer equipment such as adaptive suspension, radar-guided cruise control, automatic LED headlights, power tailgate, head-up display, driving modes, multi-zone climate control, ventilated front seats, a 14-speaker Harman-Kardon sound system, an 8.8-inch touch-multimedia head unit with built-in navigation and smartphone connectivity etc. There’s also forward collision warning, autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, active torque vectoring, integrated brake system, and a full complement of airbags.
Engine and performance
The most potent Stelvio comes with a 2.9-liter, twin-turbocharged V6 that meats out 510 hp and 600 Nm. It drives all four corners via an 8-speed automatic that can shift between cogs in just 150 milliseconds. The snappy gearbox along with the Stelvio’s perfect 50/50 weight distribution, adaptive AWD system and torque vectoring result in a naught to 100 km/h sprint time of just 3.8 seconds! Push it to the hilt, and you’d be blitzing past stationary objects at 283 km/h.
Verdict
The Alfa Romeo Stelvio can set you back between AED 211,900 and AED 408,500. Meanwhile, financing options for this Alfa open up from AED 3,303.
