Alfa Romeo Stelvio Review (2017-present)

What is the Alfa Romeo Stelvio?

Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) have evolved over the years, as they have become more popular and mainstream, but in doing so, they seem to have emphasised the ‘Utility’ part of the name at the expense of the ‘Sports’ bit. Alfa Romeo attempted to address this imbalance with the Stelvio, which is designed to take two of the characteristics that the brand's cars are famous for – design and driving dynamics – and transplant them into the UK’s most popular type of car. We'd say Alfa got the design right. The Stelvio SUV is a good-looking car, with a sleek profile, sharp lines and a stance that shows its SUV nature, but without raising the body so high that it makes it stray into ‘box on wheels’ territory.

The interior is also well designed, with high-quality materials such as aluminium and wood, with tactile finishes. The dashboard is well laid out, with an 8.8-inch infotainment screen in the centre, the functions of which include smartphone connectivity including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The cabin quality isn’t quite up to the standards of the Audi Q5 or the BMW X3, but it’s nonetheless impressive.

Practicality

With such sporty looks, utility and practicality take a bit of a back seat. The sloping roofline limits headroom in the rear, and legroom isn’t as easy to come by as it is in rivals such as the Land Rover Discovery Sport or Volvo XC60. Average-sized adults and children will have enough room in the rear, but taller adults and gangly teenagers might feel restricted.

The Stelvio’s boot capacity of 525 litres (expanding to 1,600 litres when the rear seats are folded down) is slightly smaller than in the Q5 or the X3, but more than in the XC60. It should comfortably swallow luggage for a family of four.

What's it Like to Drive?

The Stelvio's handling is as impressive as one would hope from an Alfa Romeo. It's not a sports car, but for a high-riding SUV, it provides a fine sense of balance and an ability to maintain grip even when pushed. The steering is super-quick to react to inputs, which enthusiastic driver will love, although more sedate drivers might find that it feels too twitchy for their tastes, so it's essential to try before you buy to work out which camp you fall in.

The downside of the Stelvio's handling sharpness is that the ride quality is a little brittle – especially on larger wheels – at all speeds, so long-distance cruising isn’t exactly its strongest suit.

Both petrol and diesel engines are offered in the Stelvio. The former starts with a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged unit with either 197bhp or 276bhp. The 2.2-litre, four-cylinder diesel is available with 187bhp or 207bhp. These days, the engine range has been pared back to include just the two most powerful options.

That is, of course, if you discount the standalone range-topping version, the super-bonkers Stelvio Quadrifoglio. Powered by a monstrous 503bhp, twin-turbocharged V6 engine (later hiked by a further 10bhp), this is a car that has been built specifically for enthusiastic drivers, who are rewarded with ballistic speed and an even sharper, even more involving experience.

Technology & Equipment

Alfa has a habit of constantly meddling with the trim levels of its cars, both in terms of the names of the trims and what equipment is provided as standard with each of them. The fim is also very partial to a limited-run special edition. The Stelvio is no different. Brand new examples are sold in Sprint, Veloce and Tributo Italiano forms, but look at the used car market, and you'll find all sorts of weird and wonderful names to choose from.

Every version of the Stelvio, including the entry-level model, is available with an 8.8-inch central touchscreen to control the infotainment system, and all Stelvios are now equipped with satellite navigation.

The standard equipment specification also includes DAB digital radio, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, Bluetooth and an eight-speaker audio system. Early Stelvios had analogure dials behind the steering wheel, but these were later replaced by a digital screen, as it the fashion.

Running Costs

A mid-sized SUV like the Stelvio is never going to be among the cheapest cars to run, especially if, like the Stelvio, it’s a car that has driving enjoyment as a core - almost defining - value.

There are diesel engines for those owners who want the most efficient version they can get. There are two choices for used car buyers, both 2.2-litre engines, but with different power ratings. The lower-powered variant produces 187bhp and officially returns around 44mpg. Both are likely to be a lot lower in real-world conditions, especially with a keen Alfisti (the nickname for enthusiastic Alfa Romeo owners) behind the wheel. The other diesel has a 207bhp output and despite being more powerful, has similar official fuel economy, which again is more of an aspiration than a reflection of what it’s likely to achieve on a regular basis.

Petrol versions of the Stelvio employ a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine that again has two variants, producing either 197bhp or 276bhp, both of which are meant to return around 30mpg according to official figures. Again, we expect that to be lower in daily use.

The hot, range-topping Quadrifoglio has a six-cylinder 2.9-litre engine under the bonnet that is meant to return 28.8mpg, but if drivers test out the claim of 0-62mph in 3.8 seconds regularly, getting to 20mpg would be an achievement. This is an unashamed performance model, so running costs are unlikely to be a major priority for buyers.

CO2 emissions for most versions of the Stelvio aren’t exactly low, even if some the petrol cars do surprise in undercutting some of the diesels. In terms of running costs, this means that VED (road tax) will set owners back a hefty chunk of change in the first year of ownership. And as most Stelvio variants cost more than £40,000 from new, that means an additional £390 a year in VED for the first five years.

Reliability

Alfa Romeo is a brand that has a huge amount of goodwill out there in car-buying land, but even that hasn't been enough to make up for longstanding concerns about build quality and reliability of its models. Its recent launches, including the Stelvio, are a chance for the manufacturer to claw back some kudos.

It seems that that's a chance that Alfa hasn't exploited. The most recent What Car? Reliability Survey tells a familiarly bleak story. The brand ended up in 30th position out of 31 carmakers in the manufacturer standings (only MG performed worse), while in the family SUV category of the same study, owner feedback put the Stelvio 31st out of 33 models considered. Owners stated that 32% of Stelvios had experienced trouble, and these were mainly electrical and engine glitches.