2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Driven

Story and photos by Sean Smith

So if it’s too cold to take out your 8C 2300… or the snow is too deep for your GTV… and your two cases of Chianti just won’t fit in your TZ, but you have that deep-down urge to be looking at a steering wheel with a cross and serpent on it, just grab the proximity key to the Stelvio and be off!

The Stelvio is another of Alfa’s warriors in the battle for America’s hearts and minds. There were murmurs that a shooting brake/station wagon might be in the offering, but that was a bit too much of an outlier for a company such as Alfa trying to establish a beachhead in the USA. Better to stick with the more acceptable (in this day and age) crossover/SUV.

The Stelvio is based on the already award-winning Giulia platform; in fact, if you were not so far off the ground, you would swear you were in a Giulia, as the interiors are pretty much twins.

Even though you’re a fair distance off the ground, you don’t lose out on handling. The 9,000 foot Stelvio Mountain with its 48 hairpin turns is thought to be one of the great driving roads in the world; to have that named attached to it, this Italian crossover better be special. (It is noted that Bugatti too, before the War, had a model named Stelvio after the same road.)

Alfa’s SUV has a magical suspension. It’s light and responsive, making for a very agile machine. The springs are longer than in the Giulia—stiffer as well, to help deal with the extra height. But with near perfect 50/50 weight distribution over the axles, an 8 speed gearbox, and 280 direct-injected turbo charged horses, when you find yourself on your own version of Mt. Stelvio, you’ll find yourself in an SUV that really thinks it’s a sports car.

Like its Giulia counterpart, you can go all-in with the Quadrifoglio model’s 505 HP—or you can get yourself the TI version with the sports package and still not feel like you’re missing out. You may not have that tire-melting power, but you’ll still have a Sport Utility Vehicle that you’ll enjoy on a day-to-day basis.

In TI trim you’ll get a clean, elegant interior with 12 way adjustable heated seats and steering wheel and a well-integrated infotainment system. Add the performance package: a set of large paddles find their way behind the wheel and a limited slip differential finds its way underneath, along with active suspension.

You also have a choice of adding things like adaptive cruise control, automatic high beam headlight control, blind-spot and cross-path detection and lane departure warning. This way you’re able to customize the level of electronic reminders you want looking over your shoulder. The start/stop function can be turned off—a good thing, because it is disconcertingly slow in starting up again after you take your foot off the brake at a light.

Interestingly the Stelvio sounds better than the Giulia with the same power plant. There are Brembo brakes at all four corners, but as with the sedan, the brake-by-wire takes a bit of getting used to. It would give a more sporting feel if the engine was a bit more free-revving and not red lining at 5,500 RPM. Still, its zero-to-60 numbers are a few tenths better than the Giulia.

Like other like SUV’s, another premium is space. You are not going to fit your weekend handyman materials from Home Depot in the back, and the rear seats might be a bit tight for larger passengers, but four standard-size folks fit perfectly. And what are SUVs used for mostly these days, anyway? They’re not doing major off-roading or hauling home 4X8 plywood. They’re dragging the kids and the dog around to all the day-to-day events that hang over our lives. There are lots of times you need a bit more than a sedan; and you know you want to be a whole lot hipper than those other girls seated behind the wheel of a mini-mommy van. Let’s face it; the mommies don’t actually want to be seen in them. They want something with a bit of an edge; something that is both Sporty and Sexy. That’s where these Sport-Utes come in.

The Stelvio has some big names to contend with, like the Jaguar F-Pace. It has two more cylinders, but the ride and interior don’t equal the Alfa. The Porsche Macan is a close contender, but you’ll pay a lot more for options to bring it in line with the Stelvio; and there is still that Battlestar Galactica center console to overcome. Then there’s the Audi Q5; the standard understated Teutonic vibe just doesn’t quite give you the eye candy the Alfa does. The main reason? It’s just not Italian! And it is lighter than all of them; so maybe a bit better fuel economy, and it might just be a little more nimble.

The trick is, when you get in the Stelvio, you still feel like you’re in a driver’s car, not just a family-mover. Alfa’s chief engineer wanted the SUV to drive just like the Giulia, and he’s done his job very well indeed. The steering is fast, it doesn’t get unsettled in turns, and there’s negligible body roll. You never feel like you’re in a large vehicle; the Stelvio magically seems to shrink to sports car size when you make it do sports car things. The Q4 four wheel drive system sends power to the rear wheels for traction and no torque steer, but will seamlessly send the power forward if it senses a loss of grip at the front. Even though there is no third pedal you remain engaged, running through the gears with your good friends the chrome paddle shifters connecting you to the ZF gearbox. The side bolsters on the seats keep that sporty feeling going as they hold on tight to you, so you feel one with this Sporty Utility Vehicle.

No one vehicle does everything. It always seems like they fall short in one way or another, but the Stelvio seems to check an awful lot of boxes on the plus side. We just need to see how it does in the long run. For now, grab yourself a Stelvio and have a hell of a good time; but you may want to lease your first one while you try it on for long-term size.