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All You Need to Know About Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio

By Steve Hampton on March 15, 2018

When Alfa Romeo released Giulia Quadrifoglio, their awesome sports sedan, not many people expected it to gain such widespread popularity so quickly. But, it did, and Alfa Romeo put their thinking caps on to conjure up a way to utilize that new-found popularity. What they came up with, was to use the same mechanics of the Giulia, but put them in a new SUV shell and name it Stelvio. Fortunately, they managed to pull it off and create something special.

So, if you’re familiar with the Giulia, you’ll know that it produces 505 BHP from 6,500 RPM and 443 lb-ft of torque from 2,500 RPM. Now, because everything on the Stelvio is near-enough mechanically identical, the performance is literally the same, even though the SUV shell gives it 477 pounds of extra weight. The engine is the magnificent bi-turbocharged 2.9-liter V6 which transmits its power through the eight-speed automatic transmission.

But, not everything is a mirror-image; some aspects are different…

The Stelvio can conquer 0-60 MPH in just 3.6 seconds, in comparison to Giulia’s 3.9, but the Stelvio hits its limit at 176 MPH. With most cars nowadays, there are a vast array of modes for you to select. When it comes the Stelvio, Natural and Advanced Efficiency are more geared towards casual, relaxed drives. Whereas, Dynamic and Race allow the driver to get their adrenaline pumping as the throttle opens and the exhaust bangs and grumbles.

Moving on, being an SUV, the Stelvio is a much better performer in more adverse weather conditions thanks to the all-wheel drive. However, the majority of the time it’s operating in rear-wheel-drive, and it only shifts a percentage of the power to the front if things get tricky and traction plummets.

With so much power at your disposal, you wonder how Alfa Romeo has managed to counterbalance that with safety and pleasant driving experience. But, with stiffened suspension and adaptive dampers working in harmony with 20-inch Grippy Pirelli P Zero tyres, you can rest assured that you’ll be glued to the road even on the tightest of corners.

Oh, and we mustn’t forget the Brembo brakes; on the front, there’s 14.2-inch rotors, and on the rear there’s 13.8-inch rotors, both designed to reduce speed effectively, so you can enter corners as fast as possible. Although, an additional extra is carbon-ceramic Brembo brakes, which come in at 15.4-inches for the front and 14.2 for the back.

In terms of the system adopted by Alfa Romeo, it’s a brake-by-wire one, which ensures they’re lighter, more stable and guarantee less complications. If you move to the inside of the car, you’ll find gorgeous heated seats, carbon-fiber trims, Alcantara finishes and impressive aluminium shift paddles for manual shifting. But, you’ll also discover a wonderful 8.8-inch infotainment system which comes standard, so you don’t have to pay an extra for it.

Within the infotainment system, you’ll find a ton of technology which aims to enhance your experience, such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability. On top of that, you’ll have access to three USB ports which will allow you to connect your phone or charge electronics simply and easily. Another excellent feature is the panoramic sunroof which enables an abundance of natural light to pour into the cabin.

Now, there are some downsides to this vehicle, such as the overly stiff suspension which reduces comfort or the overly large shift paddles, but Alfa Romeo have done another commendable job on the Stelvio. The speed, the design, the appearance, the traction and the 17/23 MPG rating are all huge positives.

Of course, an SUV that has the performance of a sports sedan, yet the practicality of a much larger vehicle isn’t going to come cheap, though. If you want one, be prepared to pay $79,995, and that’s just for the basic model.

Tags: Alfa RomeoNew ModelReviews