Alfa Romeo Stelvio 2017 Review - International

Despite claims otherwise, the Stelvio isn't Alfa Romeo's first pop at a 4x4.

Back in the early 1950s it made the Matta, a small jeep-like vehicle specifically created for the Italian army. It didn't end well.

Featuring a peppy, dry-sump twin-cam 1900cc engine, all-round independent suspension and four-speed manual gearbox, the Matta was far too technically advanced for its own good and, after just two years in production, was dropped for a simpler, more rugged Fiat.

Let's hope a similar fate doesn't await the Stelvio because Alfa Romeo cannot afford to get this wrong.

Set to become its best-selling car Down Under after first examples arrive here late this year, the new mid-size Italian luxury SUV shares the same Giorgio platform as the Giulia sedan.

Sharing the same wheelbase with the stylish sedan, the new SUV rides 190mm higher and has a wider 54mm wider front track and a 29mm rear track -- the first of many concessions by Alfa engineers to try to compensate for the Stelvio's taller body.

Excess weight, suspended high, is the natural enemy of jacked-up SUVs, so to keep mass at an absolute minimum and to ensure a perfect 50:50 weight distribution, aluminium has been used for the bonnet, rear bodywork, suspension, brake callipers and engines.

Like the Giulia, there's even a carbon-fibre prop-shaft -- something normally associated with exotic supercars.

In all, the Stelvio is claimed to tip the scale at 1660kg – which still sounds pretty portly but is more than 100kg lighter than rivals, like the Jaguar F-PACE.

Initially, just three engines will be offered in the line-up.

The mighty twin-turbocharged 2.9-litre V6 that will produce 375kW and power the Quadrifoglio (QV) version, a 206kW 2.0-litre turbo-petrol and, finally, a more efficient 154kW 2.1-litre turbo-diesel.

Later on, less powerful versions of both the four-cylinder petrol and diesel will arrive.

All three will come with all-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic. Like the Giulia, right-hand drive cars will not come with the option of the six-speed manual.

For now, all Stelvios come with Alfa's Q4 all-wheel drive but later on, with the arrival of lower-powered models, base rear-wheel drive variants will be offered.

Eventually a plug-in hybrid version of the SUV will also be introduced but it's thought that car isn't due until 2019 at the earliest.

Frustratingly, the most exciting, Porsche Macan-baiting Stelvio QV wasn't available for our drive as its arrival has now been pushed back to late 2017.

Instead, we opted for the 206kW 2.0-litre turbo. Producing its peak 400Nm of torque from 2250rpm, it's a sprightly performer and surprisingly quick.

Thanks to its AWD traction, Alfa claims it can hit 100km/h in just 5.7 seconds, which is firmly in sports sedan territory and a whole second quicker than a Porsche's Macan with a similar engine.

But despite being smooth to rev and offering plenty of punch mid-gears, from around 2000rpm the 2.0-litre can sound a little too gruff to our ears.

The eight-speed gearbox, that's sourced from ZF and shared with BMW, isn't quite as impressive in the Alfa. It suffers from being overly keen to kick-down to offer engine braking to such an extent on a country road that sometimes it's better to resort to DIY-mode and use the huge fixed shift paddles to take control.

Sadly, snow stopped play on the day we drove Alfa's SUV in Italy so we didn't get a chance to drive it on its namesake, the Stelvio Pass -- that would have offered the chance to attack 75 hairpins over just 20km.

Instead, we had to make do with the surrounding roads that skirted along the Swiss-Italian border that are better surfaced than any of the roads we have to suffer back home.

It doesn't take long, even on these smooth roads, to realise the Italian car-maker has set up the Stelvio to out-Macan the Macan.

The ride is firm even on the smaller 19-inch wheels but just about acceptable over broken surfaces. The pay-off is lack of body roll and the confidence to be able to drive quickly.

Early on it's easy to make the mistake of driving the Stelvio like a large hot hatch. That approach sees the nose wash wide earlier than you expect. Instead, it's best to treat it more like a large rear-drive sedan and not be overly ambitious with corner speeds when entering a corner.

Flatten the throttle out of tighter bends and the all-wheel drive can shuffle as much as 50 per cent of the torque to the front axle.

Later on, a mechanical rear limited-slip differential, which comes as standard on the QV, will hit the options list for the four-cylinder models. But even without it, traction is impressive and the Stelvio shows impressive balance and agility.

Like other models the Alfa comes with its DNA drive mode rotary selector that offers the ability to adjust steering weight, gearbox reactions and throttle response. Leave the efficiency mode (A) alone, and both the Dynamic (D) and Normal (N) mode are calibrated well for road use.

Like the Giulia, it takes getting used to the quick steering early on but you soon come to love its precision.

What's not so easy to like is the Stelvio's drive-by-wire brakes. Despite offering powerful braking from all speeds there's lack of modulation right at the top of the pedal stroke, making smooth braking trickier at low speeds.

Swapping to the 2.1-litre diesel and the ride worsens still, mainly because our car is riding on the largest 20-inch wheels.

Shortly after the Stelvio is introduced, the Italian car-maker will offer optional active dampers, and if you have a large-wheel fetish, we'd urge you consider them.

The diesel doesn't quite seem as well-balanced as its petrol sibling, feeling fractionally slower to change direction, but what is worth noting is the diesel is considerably quieter than it is in the smaller Giulia sedan.

Claimed to average fuel consumption of just 4.8L/100km, it's also still quick against the clock, taking just 6.6 seconds to hit 100km/h.

Shame the eight-speed auto operates in a completely opposite fashion to the petrol. Instead of constantly down-changing, the ZF 'box prefers to hold onto its tall gearing, making it hesitant to react.

While cruising at highway speeds our diesel-powered Stelvio seemed to suffer from wind noise generated around what we can only guess were leaky door seals.

It's a shame because the cabin is the firm's best yet.

There's plenty of room both in the front and in the rear seats, where passengers get plenty of legroom and headroom. The boot's big too.

Where the Stelvio is let down, is the general finish.

A sharp edge around the gear lever and differing grades of plastics let the overall feeling of quality down.

It's no match for the recent Audi Q5 and even a far cheaper Volkswagen Tiguan would give you a better perception you were driving an expensive car.

And the less said about the new 8.8-inch infotainment system, the better. Like the Giulia's, it's not as intuitive as the best in the business and isn't anywhere near as clear as the system in the Q5.

There's also no plans to bring on-board Wifi to the Stelvio, and the imminent emergence of new competition like an all-new BMW X3 and Volvo XC60 will also highlight the Alfa's technological shortcomings.

Both will come with semi-autonomous cruise control that will steer, brake and accelerate the car at highway speeds. Alfa says there are  "no plans" to introduce similar tech on the Italian SUV.

That said, there's adaptive cruise control that incorporates emergency autonomous braking, and all models will also come with blind spot and cross traffic detection.

It's difficult to guess accurate pricing, but when it reaches our market late this year the Stelvio is likely to be priced in line with the BMW X3 and X4 at around $70,000, which brings us to its rivals.

By luck or judgement, despite all this, Alfa Romeo's Stelvio has muscled its way into the crowded premium SUV segment with style.

Even if it didn't drive as well as it did, we can imagine buyers picking it over the staid and sober Audi Q5 and cheaper VW Tiguan based on its looks alone.

The fact the stylish Stelvio is fun to drive and likely to be priced well below Porsche's Macan could prove definitive in Alfa finally tempting buyers away from the established German brands.

2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio pricing and specifications:
Price: From $75,000 (estimated)
On sale: Late 2017
Engine: 2.0-litre turbo-petrol and 2.1-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder; 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6
Output: 206kW/400Nm; 54kW/470Nm, 375kW/600Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.0L/100km, 4.8L/100km, TBC
CO2: 136g/km, 127g/km, TBC
Safety rating: Not tested