Driving Alfa Romeo’s Stelvio Quadrifoglio QV SUV, the Stelvio performance
flagship at $162,700. The styling striking with sculptured V-shaped Alfa grille has
real appeal, so too the interior, a combination of leather, Alcantara and carbon
fibre, beautifully executed together with great instrumentation. And it has the
best- looking automotive badge in the car business. But it’s the underpinnings of
the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio that are standout. A Ferrari-developed 2.9-
litre twin turbo V6 driving all four-wheels through an 8-speed automatic with shift
paddles. The drivetrain a high point – with four drive settings, Dynamic, Normal,
Adaptive and Race, changing steering weight, gear shift speed, suspension
firmness, stability control and exhaust volume – in Race mode all hell breaks
loose with an aggressive performance that as the name implies, is best for a
racetrack. Weighing 1830kilos it literally jumps to 100km/hour in just 3.8 seconds.
A stunning performance SUV and so it should be with such an exalted price tag.
But to me this is a collector model – an Italian masterpiece – but it’s not perfect –
I’d like a spare wheel while the ride quality on very low-profile tyres can be
tiresome, and servicing is quite expensive, $3,210 over three years but oh what a
drive. Warranty: five-years/unlimited km. I’m David Berthon