Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio 2018 review
- Price N/A
What we like
- Amazingly direct steering
- Doesn't feel like you're driving an SUV
- That wondrous engine
What we don't
- Some interior materials feel less than premium
- Media interface feels a little old school
- Backseat will feel tight for taller passengers
We first meet Alfa Romeo's Stelvio Q parked half way up the United Arab Emirates' highest peak, its engine sending out these ominous ticks and tocks after being punished by an earlier driver, a river of smooth and twisting tarmac flowing in each direction like the entire mountain had been tightly wrapped in bitumen licorice ropes.
It's honestly like every corner in the world has been crammed into the Jebel Jais Pass's 1934 metres, from the tightest switchbacks to the fastest of sweepers, and so it's the kind of road that would normally strike debilitating fear into the metallic hearts of big and lumbering SUVs.
And yet, Alfa Romeo's support staff seem grossly over-confident, happily encouraging us to switch off the traction control and generally jostling about the place with excitement.
Clearly they knew something we didn't. And it was time for us to find out for ourselves.
Verdict
Sure, the Stelvio Q won't be for everyone (surely the list of people buying a mid-size SUV in which to punish some mountain pass isn't infinite), but the fact that something this big and practical can lay waste to a road as challenging as the Jabal Jais is an insane feat of engineering.
Perhaps more importantly, it proves the Giulia QV was no fluke. And so Alfa Romeo's Italian renaissance roles on.
Does a go-fast Alfa SUV do it for you? Tell us what you think in the comments below.
Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio 2018 review
What we like
- Amazingly direct steering
- Doesn't feel like you're driving an SUV
- That wondrous engine
What we don't
- Some interior materials feel less than premium
- Media interface feels a little old school
- Backseat will feel tight for taller passengers
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