I have always been a big fan of Alfa Romeo’s, especially in their Hey Days of the 60s and 70s, I had the privilege of driving Alfa’s such as the Alfa GT Veloce, the Guilia 1.6, and the Berlina 2000, and these cars were well ahead of the opposition. But after a quiet period, Alfa has now returned with a very desirable range, and aside from the special Alfa 4C, they have now introduced the Alfa Romeo Stelvio, their first ever SUV, which was officially presented at the Los Angeles Auto Show on November 16, 2016 and marketed in the spring of 2017. The Alfa Romeo Stelvio is based on the new Giorgio platform designed for the Alfa Romeo Giulia, but adapted for the Stelvio, which is manufactured in the Fiat Cassino factory.

The name of the Alfa Romeo Stelvio refers to the Stelvio Pass, culminating at 2758 m. It is over 20 km in length and with more than 75 hairpin bends and is the highest road pass in Italy. And that’s not all – the Stelvio has also set a time to smash the SUV lap record on the notorious Nurburgring Circuit in Germany. The marque also returns to Formula One this year to partner with the Sauber team which will be re-branded as “Alfa Romeo Sauber.”

There are two models available in South Africa – Alfa Romeo Stelvio 2.0T First Edition Q4 SUV and the Alfa Romeo Stelvio 2.0T Super Q4 SUV, which is the model we feature in these road impressions. The first time I set eyes on the new Alfa Romeo Stelvio 2.0T Super Q4 SUV, was when the press vehicle was delivered to my driveway, and quite honestly, it made an immediate impression on me. The Stelvio is an Alfa like no other and is a striking looking SUV with a descent ride height of 200 mm. The styling boasts Italian craftsmanship and is a perfect combination of smooth lines and powerful curves. The front end is unmistakably Alfa featuring the traditional Alfa Romeo “heart” shaped grill, an Alfa trademark for as far back as I can remember. The sleek headlamps extend well into the nose and the split air intakes below the grille give it a more SUV-like stance. Viewed from the sides, the sleek lines are enhanced by the rear roof mounted shark fin rear antenna, yellow specific brake calipers and sporty ten spoke 18” alloy wheels which on the press vehicle were shod with 235/60R18 Michelin Sport 3 radials. The rear end is eye-catching too, with its "Kamm tail" styling, small tailgate spoiler, sporty dual chrome exhaust tips and diffuser, Stelvio Q4 badges on the tailgate to give the Alfa Stelvio a unique character.

Moving inside the interior is designed with the driver being a priority and all soft-touch surfaces have a premium tactile feel. The driver-centered cockpit is spacious and well laid out giving the driver ease of access. The dashboard, with its smooth grain finish, is virtually a carbon copy of the one in the new Giulia except for the 7” Colour TFT Display for the infotainment screen, but all gauges are easy to read, and switches and buttons well positioned. The well-shaped leather covered front bucket seats are nicely bolstered, highly comfortable, fully adjustable manually, and give the cabin a classy look. The rear seat is comfortable enough for three adults and only very tall folk may just find their heads brushing the roof lining. Oddments can be stored in the small cubby hole, the lidded box on the floor console, and the front and rear door pockets, while the 525 litre boot is about the biggest in the category, and if more space is required, the rear backrest can be folded down in a 60/40 split. To make loading easy, the Stelvio has an electric tailgate that can be set with three different opening levels, working directly from the Alfa Rotary selector.

In fact, the Stelvio gives the driver complete control thanks to the new Alfa DNA elector as well as the high driving position. It also ensures a high level of on-board comfort with the dual zone climate control system, small leather covered flat bottomed steering wheel, adjustable for rake and reach, and which also houses the audio controls and the sophisticated Alfa Uconnect Touch 8.4N DC/DVD/MP3/NAV infotainment system and a fine audio system, with 8 speakers.

The Stelvio is very well appointed with luxury and convenience items which include; reverse camera, electric power steering, GPS, cruise control, trip recorder, Aux- USB and 12V plugs, driver’s left footrest, tinted rear glass, electrochromic internal rearview mirror, power folding heated mirrors, automatic headlight activation, stop/start system, aluminum Alfa Romeo kick-plates, front and rear parking sensors, rain sensor and a rear wash and wipe.

The Stelvio comes standard with the ground-breaking Alfa UConnect 3D Nav 8.8” audio system, the highest Infotainment level with a sophisticated set of features all controlled from the Rotary Pad and the 8.8” display incorporated in the dashboard design. The instruments are housed in a cluster with two hooded binnacles. The rev counter red-lined at 5 500 RPM in the left binnacle and matching speedo marked up to 260 km/h on the right with digital read outs in between, all nicely grouped ahead of the driver where they are clearly visible. In addition, the driver can customize the car's personality using the Alfa DNA driving selector to enhance its features of comfort, performance, safety and efficiency.

Safety is a major issue and the Stelvio comes standard with six airbags, front seat belts with dual pretensioners and anti-whiplash, hill holdassist, tyre pressure monitoring, ABS brakes plus, forward collision warning, autonomous emergency brake with pedestrian detection, lane departure warning, hill-start assist, and Active Cruise Control.

The new Alfa Stelvio is powered by an all-aluminum twin overhead cam 1996 cc 4-cylinder 16 valve turbo-petrol engine with variable timing and MultiAir electro-hydraulic valve actuation pushing out a healthy 206 kW at 5 250 RPM and 400 Nm of torque at 2 250 RPM and is mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission, driving a carbon drive shaft and Q4 all-wheel drive.

This Stelvio is really potent for a 2-litre SUV. In acceleration tests, slotting the 8-speed autobox into manual mode “D” position to do its own gear-changing, stand hard on the brake pedal, increase the revs, flatten the accelerator, release the brake pedal and after a slight hesitation on take-off, the Stelvio blasts off the line, rapidly builds up speed and passes the 100 km/h mark in 5.7 seconds after three gear changes, and powers on to a claimed maximum speed of 230 km/h. To scrub off the speed, the Stelvio has powerful disc brakes all round. Stomping hard on the brake pedal at 100 km/h will bring the Alfa SUV to a complete stop in an excellent 2.7 seconds. Claimed average petrol consumption is 7-litres per 100 km which I found to be somewhat optimistic as the best I got during testing was 9.9 litres per 100km. At a steady 120 km/h on the freeways, the engine spins at just 2 100 RPM in 8th gear and at 160 km/h if you’re brave enough, it spins at 2 800 RPM.

Lovely to drive. Climb into the Stelvio, find a decent driving position and the high driving position, provides the driver with good all-round vision. Press the starter button on the steering wheel and the motor starts up quickly and quietly. Slot it into drive mode and the car pulls off smoothly while the 8–speed automatic changes gears so imperceptibly that you hardly feel the changes. The are no gear paddles behind the steering wheel, but to change gears in manual mode, “row” the gear-lever forward or backwards and enjoy the sporty side of driving.

Despite its size, the Stelvio was quite nimble driving around town, and I found that it was best to shift the DNA to Comfort mode to make the steering lighter and much easier for parking in confined areas. Also, the Stelvio Q4’s compact 11.7-metre turning circle is good for an SUV and especially appreciated when parallel parking or for maneuvering in a confined area. Most drivers will leave the Alfa DNA in Normal mode for day to day travelling where it is nicest to drive but change to Dynamic and the car sharpens up to the extent it almost takes off. Everything happens a whole lot faster but happily, due to Alfa’s very effective body roll suppression, ensures that the car stays flat and stable at quite significant speeds.

The new Stelvio offers a good compromise between ride quality and handling, making it comfortable enough, and benefits from a supple setup that it always feels extremely stable, responsive and precise, while carrying speed into corners, is easily balanced mid-turn, and accelerates briskly on exit. The handling in the twist and turns of some of our KZN back-roads was quite incredible, and with its state-of-the-art suspension, the Stelvio could be classed as a sports SUV, delivering Alfa Romeo performance, and so much so that you don’t even feel the speed on freeways. For overtaking, just press the accelerator to the floor and the automatic gearbox will immediately respond by dropping down a few gears to the correct gear, and power you safely by.

I didn’t do any off-road driving, but with a wading depth of 480 mm, I think it will handle most off-road conditions. However, I did take a short drive on a fairly-rough gravel road which was very impressive with the suspension efficiently ironing out the bumps and the road-holding on the gravel was excellent.

The Alfa Romeo Stelvio brings a breath of fresh air into the SUV segment with a powerful, sporty new engine, great ride comfort, a smooth ride and excellent handling while offering the versatility of an SUV with the performance of a sports saloon. The Alfa Romeo Stelvio Super Q4 all-wheel drive is priced at R834 000 which includes a 3 year / 100 000 km warranty and a 6 year / 100 000 km Maintenance plan.