2020 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio
An Ultimate Beast on Four Wheels
Before I was handed over the keys, the manager said “be careful”. The couple of words couldn’t offer anymore wisdom in the world because the Alfa Romeo Stelvio QV I was about to step into had a colossal 505 horsepower waiting at the disposal of a foot’s press on the throttle. At that level of shear power, only the BMW X3 M Competition and Mercedes AMG GLC S coupe comes close to the sub 500 horsepower breakpoint. Mind you, the Alfa Romeo Stelvio QV Italian branded cross-over with its demonizing twin-turbo 2.9 liter V6 in all-wheel drive will set you back a whopping $92,000. That’s $15,000 more than the aforementioned BMW X3 M Competition and is on-par with the mightiest and most powerful cross-over offering from Mercedes.
It’s an impressive feat not only to produce the shear amount of horsepower in a 5-passenger cross-over, but also the ability the handle it in a safe and controlled manner. Things like a bomb-proof ZF 8HP75 8-speed transmission, carbon fiber driveshaft, torque vectoring, near-perfect balance 50/50 weight distribution and dynamic damping suspensions all makes the Alfa Romeo Stelvio worthy of the highly exclusive Quadrifolgio clover badge symbolizing Alfa Romeo’s pedigree of historic automotive racing success. The end result is a 0-60 time of just 3.6 seconds with a top speed rating of 283 kph, making it one of the fastest SUV’s Car and Driver has ever tested.
Interior Cabin and Tech Features
The massive paddle shifters cut from an entire sheet of aluminum and an extra stiff red engine start button located on the steering wheel quickly reminds you serious machine business. Front passengers are bolstered with deep Suede leather bucket seats with high lateral supports to keep the driver and passenger secured under heavy gravity loads. Various carbon fiber and added suede leather material make up the rest of the cabin space that idolizes the typical Italian designed high performance luxury sports car.
An 8.8″ infotainment touchscreen manages all infotainment media and navigation controls with the added convenience of a rotary dial push knob located in the center console, but slightly flawed by the confusing menu controls, leaving us baffled as to why FCA didn’t employ its industry’s best UConnect infotainment system in lieu. Still, 12-speaker Harmon Kardon audio system, 3D navigation and integrated wireless charging leaves the Alfa Romeo Stelvio QV in the higher end of the tech competition pack.
Other safety features standard on the Stelvio QV include a rear view camera, blind spot monitoring and more advanced safety tech features including Highway Traffic Jam Assist that automatically adjusts vehicle speeds, Lane Keeping Assist, and Driver Attention Alert that gives subtle audio cues through its speakers to promote safer and more attention to driving.
Exterior Design
Exterior features doesn’t boast much luxury, but the bio-hazard ring bespoke large 20″ wheels on Firelli summer tires, bold muscular contours portrays an evil expression. Up front are LED headlamps centered by the V-Shaped front grille is an unmistakable identity of the Alfa Rome badge. Quad chrome tips exhaust in the rear quickly reminds bystanders of its powerful and unique essence.
Final Thoughts
In normal day to day city driving, the Stelvio QV remains calm and composed, but the large 20″ wheels makes it difficult to manouever under tight spaces and fine grain steering was also sloppy at lower speeds. Still, the interior cabin space remained quiet and the active damping suspensions does a decent job in filtering out road chatter.
Without a doubt, the Alfa Romeo Stelvio QV was built for speed and its shear power from its twin turbo V6 is easily disposed and surprisingly composed with its all-wheel drive system to equalize traction on all four wheels. The deep and throaty engine tone and thunderous pop during upshifts during hard acceleration makes for exhilarating driving experience. Cornering and handling surprisingly improves as speed builds up and the torque vectoring system makes it possible to throw the Stelvio QV into corners at ease. It’s one of the very few cars that can pull you back on your seat, and it’s even more rare for for a cross-over to do that.
It’s certainly exciting this level of innovative and high-horsepower cross-over produced in North America. FCA has done an exceptional job, and while pet-peeve flaws in the interior and lackluster luxury for its sub $90,000 price point may be a concern to some buyers, at least the hard part is done. Now is a matter of continuous refinement.
Specifications
- Vehicle : 2020 Alfa Romeo StelvioQV
- Model : Stelvio QV Quadrifoglio
- Price as Tested : $92,200
- Vehicle Type : Cross-over
- Seating Capacity : 2+3
- Powertrain Configuration : AWD
- Engine : Twin Turbo 2.9L V6
- Transmission : 8-speed Automatic
- Horsepower : 505
Pros
- High horsepower output
- Exceptional all-wheel drive system for high torque and horsepower delivery
- Snappy 8-speed automatic transmission
- Excellent Handling
Cons
- Lack of luxury in interior for its price point
- Can be stiff and uncomfortable for daily city driving