Fashionably late on the bandwagon, Alfa Romeo’s barnstorming Stelvio Quadrifoglio high performance SUV debutante is worth the wait. Stylish, practical and fast, its combination of brute power and handling ability leaves old hand SUVs in its wake. And hot on the tail of its Giulia Quadrifoglio sister’s saloon car record, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio proved its point with a 7-minute, 51.7-second world’s fastest SUV Nurburgring Nordschleife time last September.
Named after the historic Mille Miglia race’s swerving Stelvio Pass mountain stage and bearing Alfa Romeo’s four-leaf clover good luck charm, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio channels and reinterprets the 108-year old Italian auto maker’s motorsport heritage as a modern super SUV. Taut, jutting and eager, the Quadrifoglio’s shield-like honeycomb grille, hungry intakes, large staggered alloys, prominent rear spoiler and big bore quad tailpipes are telltale signs of its staggering performance.
Powered by a twin-turbocharged 2.9-litre V6 engine specially developed by Ferrari, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio produces 510HP at 6500rpm and 600 Nm of torque throughout a broad and accessible 2500-5000rpm band. Positioned between cylinder banks for short gas flow paths, its twin IHI single-scroll turbos are responsive off the mark. And with thick tires and four-wheel-drive, it bolts, supercar-like, from standstill to 100km/h in just 3.8-seconds, and tops out at 283km/h.
Growling and snarling, the Quadrifoglio is willing from low-end, versatile in mid-range, and viciously eager towards its 7400rpm limit. Driving rear wheels by default, power is re-apportioned frontwards and side-to-side along the rear axle for agility, balance, and vice-like road holding when necessary. Firing off cog changes succinctly, its 8-speed automatic gearbox, throttle response, damper firmness, and exhaust note adopt a sportier and more focused profile in Dynamic driving mode.
Driven at Alfa Romeo’s sprawling Balocco proving grounds, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio proved particularly adept on the narrow, winding and fast Langhe circuit. Exacting and eager into corners, its steering is precise, quick and communicative for an SUV. Settled and confident through steeply dipping corners followed by sharp inclines, the Quadrifoglio’s masterful suspension set-up makes it feel like a smaller, lower and leaner car, with taut lateral and vertical control.
Agile, tidy and buttoned down through Langhe, the Quadrifoglio could be induced to kick its tail wide in Race mode, and to avoid understeer, tighter, flatter corners were best taken by pivoting weight to the rear and outside. Stable and refined at speed, its luxuriously sporty leather and carbon-fibre swathed cabin features an alert, versatile driving position, and unexpectedly good practicality and headroom – front and rear – without the optional sunroof.
Pros:
- Performance
- Handling
- Practicality
Cons:
- Sunroof reduces generous headroom
- Not as pretty as the Giulia Quadrifoglio
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