Likes;
- Looks
- Engine Performance
- Steering & Handling
Dislikes;
- Refinement, Cabin Noise
- No Paddle Shifters
- No 6 cyl Diesel option
Few weeks back i was in Austria driving the all new Alfa Romeo Stelvio. This is Alfa Romeo's 1st SUV & what an attempt at making one, it truly is a proper Alfa to the very core. I am driving the 2.2 Diesel version & review it on engine performance, handling & the Alfa Experience
Other Points;
- The 2.2L Diesel is from the FCA's Multijet diesel family.
- Being a 2.2L 4cyl diesel it still makes aprox 207hp & 470 nm torque.
- Gearbox is yet again sourced from ZF & its a 8 speed unit. 6 speed manual is also offered as an option.
- This engine is well suited to the Stelvio SUV as it has ample torque on tap to make it perform like a sports SUV, for example the 0-100 timing is 6.6 seconds which is almost equal to the 6 cyl diesel Macan. But the engine does feel stressed doing such runs & a major downside of this engine is refinement as it does get noisy v/s the German diesels.
- The Stelvio SUV is based on the Giorgio platform of the Giulia, which everyone really loved & similarly so this SUV shares a lot of hardware with its sedan sibling.
- Steering is an EPS but is well tuned to not feel like one.
- The body roll is tightly controlled in the corners & the Alfa-Link suspension is doing a good job but special mention goes to the weight as this Alfa weighs in just around 1600 kgs, when compared to the equivalent 4cyl competitor the BMW X3 or Audi Q5 it still is lighter by around 100kgs.
- The AWD system of the Alfa is known as the Q4, though it is rear biased it does send upto 50% of power to its front wheels in tricky situations.
- Stelvio also gets the DNA (Dynamic, Natural & Advanced Efficiency) system which are various driving modes which adjust the car's throttle response & steering according to your needs.
- The performance version, Quadrifoglio Stelvio has clocked the fastest time for an SUV at the Nurburgring.
Final Word;
Looking at the recent activity FCA India has shown with introduction of brands like Maserati, Abarth & Jeep you never know one day we might see them selling Alfa Romeo too in India
For that they would indeed need to price it correctly, though Alfa Romeo is a relevant brand for enthusiasts like us but India may take time to accept this brand.
However to summarise things, the Stelvio is the perfect crossover pretending to be an SUV which takes very little of the sedan like driving experience away but still manages to be very practical.
This is one Alfa one would buy with the consent of both the heart & head.
PS - I had the Stelvio with me for 7 days, the video & my observations are based on city driving as well as driving across various cities and small towns through Austria.