The Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio was always a very easy car to like. Where some super SUVs aimed to replicate the super-saloon experience from a higher vantage point (or distance the driver from what was going on entirely), Alfa took the opportunity with its first entrant to make a twin-turbo, V6 hot hatch. It accelerated, stopped and steered like nothing else in the segment, in the best way possible.
While most were could be considered lardy, lazy school-run SUVs given an eight-cylinder kick up the behind, the Stelvio was relatively light, supremely agile, and absolutely brimming with energy. Which sounds like every Italian car stereotype ever, but it was true: nothing else like the Quadrifoglio possessed the same appetite for revs, corners and taking the long way home. The ability to inject excitement into any drive, be that the nursery run or a sunny Sunday morning, was perhaps the Stelvio’s most endearing attribute. Many more overtly sporting cars could have learned something from it when it came to an immersive sense of occasion.
So Alfa Romeo hasn’t changed very much with this one. The cynics will say, of course, that with not very long left for a fairly small-selling, petrol-powered flagship, there wasn’t going to be a raft of tweaks even if the car needed them. There’s some truth in that, though Alfa will also know that there’s little need to fix what isn’t broken. Having a USP in 2024, when so much feels so samey, is to be celebrated. So it’s a similar refresh to the Giulia, with a new front end, revised dash display, a rework of the dampers and a mechanical limited-slip diff at the back axle.
In isolation, the Stelvio feels much as it always has, which is to say effervescent, eager, borderline frenzied in the way it wants to get down a road. At a cruise it can make the car a little wearing, the super sharp throttle and steering never really settling into a sedate groove - but when presented with the right opportunity it’s a genuinely exhilarating SUV. Crucially, too, it does feel improved over the old model in this regard, locking down its mass more convincingly and slingshotting out of bends like it’s a rally car. Sat up high with a good view (though probably perched on the seat more than cocooned by it), there can’t be much faster down a testing road. The sternest damper setting only really serves to remind you how much heavier than a Giulia the Stelvio is, and how much stiffer it needs to be as a result. Race and the mid-tier suspension mode are more than good enough.
A brief go on a small circuit is enlightening to say the least, the Stelvio determined in Race to send as much torque rearwards as possible. All part of the madcap character of course, the fronts receiving just enough to mean that any oversteer doesn’t need very much correction. It’s fast, furious and undoubtedly fun - it promises to be a hoot in the rain - though does expose some limitations. Obviously it’s not wildly relevant, but Quadrifoglios have been seen on track days, so maybe it’s not daft either.
Not only is the four-wheel-drive system not quite as decisive and seamless as something like BMW xDrive - perhaps exacerbated by that fairly aggressively tuned rear diff - the suspension doesn’t much enjoy the treatment. The car won’t settle, regardless of mode, skipping across the surface to ensure that the oversteer so easily achieved is never much enjoyed. Where time away from the road highlighted an additional welcome dimension to the Giulia’s character, the same couldn’t be said of the SUV. It’s fun up to a point, fast and pointy, but certainly has a comfort zone it’d rather operate in. Most likely those determined to drive it hard would find an optimal technique, though certainly it’s not as immediately accommodating of hamfistedness as the Giulia. If that matters.
As the even more expensive prospect (to the tune of £10k), and with family use surely in mind, a few of the grievances of this platform are harder to overlook than in the Giulia. It’s just not very nice inside for £90,000, and the refinement issues highlighted in the saloon are exacerbated by the bluffer shape. People probably aren’t choosing between the Quadrifoglios, though driving them back to back does highlight some stark differences. Everything that the Stelvio does well - and there’s plenty, from turn-in bite to ferocious acceleration - is improved upon in the Giulia. The less good bits of the saloon, like a ride that can be made OTT and a hair-trigger throttle, feel even more irksome. Even by SUV standards, it’s hard to overlook a few issues not quite befitting of the RRP.
Arguably that was never really the point of the Stelvio Quadrifoglio. It was about delivering the most fun possible in a vaguely family-friendly shape, from the sound it made to the agility of the handling. That it had five seats and a big boot almost felt like additional benefits to the enormous thrill of driving a four-wheel-drive maniac. But times change, and as with them do expectations - arguably what it offers the SUV buyer now isn’t quite as compelling as it once was. The Giulia is in the autumn of its life more desirable than ever; the same can’t quite be said for the Stelvio.
It’s undoubtedly still a hugely likeable car, chiefly because it's fizzy and frenetic in a way no other SUV is. But it encapsulates the downside of that approach as well. Moreover, if you like the idea of a Stelvio Quadrifoglio (bravo on a fine choice) then something a couple of years old will probably do the job just as well. That does feel a tiny bit tedious as consumer advice given there is so little time left to enjoy the V6, but there we go. £90k buys better fast SUVs, put most simply - and the latest raft of updates feels to have worked more magic on the Giulia. Those who like the idea of 500hp+ Stelvio will absolutely still love the execution, but they won't need a brand-new one to scratch the itch.
SPECIFICATION | 2024 ALFA ROMEO STELVIO QUADRIFOGLIO
Engine: 2,891cc, V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: 8-speed auto, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 520@6,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 443@2,500rpm
0-62mph: 3.8sec
Top speed: 176mph
Weight: 1,905kg
MPG: 23.9
CO2: 267g/km
Price: £87,195 (price as standard; price as tested £90,745 comprising Driver Assistance L2 Pack for £1,550 and Montreal Green paint for £2,000)
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