2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Form And Function In Fairly Equal Parts REVIEW
Channel: Premium Cars
Date: 13/01/2018

Alfa Romeo, a brand synonymous with sports cars that combine beautiful Italian design with historically dodgy reliability, now makes a crossover. The Stelvio is named after what is quite possibly the best driving road in the world, and the automaker would have you believe that it is the most purely focused driver's ute in the world.  To that end, the Stelvio boasts a perfect 50/50 front-to-rear weight distribution, a fast 12.0:1 steering ratio, and an all-wheel-drive system that's tuned to send 100 percent of the engine's power to the rear wheels whenever possible. All of those bits add up to an SUV that's genuinely fun to drive on winding roads. Think of the Stelvio as an Alfa Romeo Giulia with a suspension lift kit that puts you 2.5 inches higher off the tarmac. Yes, those stilts mean the crossed-over Alfa isn't quite as sharp as the Giulia, but the Stelvio isn't at all dimwitted. It's a true Alfa Romeo, in spirit and in execution, right down to its standard carbon-fiber driveshaft.  The Stelvio shares its 111-inch wheelbase and its double-wishbone front and Alfa Link rear suspension systems with the Giulia. That's not to say that the Stelvio drives as well or looks as good as the Giulia. The crossover is 2 inches longer and 8.9 inches taller than the sedan from which it was born.    We got the feeling that we were sitting on top of the car's chassis instead of within it, which is due entirely to the high seating position that American drivers are so fond of. And whereas the Giulia wears its sheetmetal like a slinky little black dress, the Stelvio's Scudetto front fascia and Trilobo air intakes are stretched over a much larger frame and its sides are sculpted in a more masculine way.  Still, the Stelvio is an attractive beast, inside and out. It's unmistakably Italian, which is to say well-tailored with an impeccable form that influences but begrudgingly follows function. Leather seating surfaces are standard. From the driver's seat, the dashboard is dominated by two binnacles housing the tachometer and speedometer.