**Alfa Romeo Stelvio Review: A Brilliant but Imperfect SUV**

The Alfa Romeo Stelvio is an Italian-designed SUV that boasts impressive performance and handling capabilities, making it a standout in its class. With over 500 horsepower and two powerful engine options, including a 2.0-liter diesel, this car is not for the faint of heart.

**Power and Performance**

One of the key strengths of the Stelvio is its power output. The most powerful engine option is a 6-cylinder unit that produces an impressive 500 horsepower, making it one of the most powerful SUVs on the market. Additionally, there's also a lower-powered diesel option available, which produces 210 horsepower and is considered very punchy, thanks to its quick-shifting transmission.

**Handling and Dynamics**

When it comes to handling, the Stelvio truly excels. The steering is incredibly sharp and responsive, making it a joy to drive on twisty roads. The car also boasts impressive grip levels, giving drivers the feeling of being in a sports car, albeit with more ground clearance. In fact, our testing found that the Stelvio handles better than many other SUVs, including the Jaguar F-PACE and Porsche Macan.

**Features and Technology**

While the Stelvio is undoubtedly fun to drive, there are some features and technologies that may not quite meet expectations. For example, the automatic high beam assist system doesn't always dip the headlights when approaching a car from behind, which can be annoying at times. Additionally, the sat-nav map's zoom function has limited range, requiring drivers to switch to browse mode to view more of the map.

**Comfort and Practicality**

One area where the Stelvio falls short is in terms of comfort and practicality. The rear seats are surprisingly small, and the doors don't extend low enough over the sills, causing a gap that can be frustrating to deal with. Furthermore, the sun visor design creates an annoying blind spot, while the solid metal pedal shifters can get in the way of the control stalks.

**Unique Features**

Despite its imperfections, the Stelvio has some unique features that set it apart from other SUVs. For example, its clever electrically controlled braking system allows for faster stopping distances, thanks to a technology that can slow down the car by up to 5 meters in just 200 milliseconds. Additionally, the use of lightweight materials, such as aluminum and carbon fiber, has helped keep the Stelvio's weight down, making it one of the lightest SUVs on the market.

**Safety Features**

The Stelvio also boasts a range of impressive safety features, including advanced airbags, anti-lock braking, and electronic stability control. Additionally, Alfa Romeo offers an optional auto emergency braking system with pedestrian protection, which scored highest in adult occupant protection during Euro NCAP crash tests.

**Conclusion**

Overall, the Alfa Romeo Stelvio is a brilliant but imperfect SUV that's sure to appeal to enthusiasts who value performance and handling above all else. While it may not excel in terms of comfort and practicality, its unique features and impressive safety credentials make it a compelling option for those looking for a fun and capable SUV.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthis is the new alfred mayo stelvio and it's perfect if you fancy something italian only a little bit taller okay so i know that cost is technically a british brand but this starvio is a pure good-looking thoroughbred italian essentially it's a julia grande so it cost her from thirty four thousand pounds now if you click up there you can go to coward.co.uk compare offers online on the stelvio or any car for that matter or from the comfort of your own home so being an suv alpha's first ever suv for that matter means it's easier to get in and out of than the junior saloon car and you know it's nice and spacious in here as well practicality is pretty good so look at this you've got huge cup holders they can hold a big cup of coffee which is really handy and other storage well there's some more under here with some usb input there one there you've got massive door bins room for two bottles there's some extra storage down here as well and well the only disappointment is the glove box which is a little bit small in terms of the design it's very sporty very alpha you've got huge dials with this sporty steering wheel the stop button is actually on the steering wheel as well it's really nice for an suv that and yeah it's nice quality quality is pretty good i don't think it's quite as good as in the german suvs you know there's a few cheap feeding bits of plastic but it's not too bad and i do like the design the design's good not i'm not too sure about this wood trim though something i don't like it just doesn't seem to go with the rest of the trim you're better off having that in the brushed aluminium that is actually an option and that brings me on to the equipment levels so the entry-level car it's all right you get things like climate control you get cruise control you get hill descent control so all the controls but you don't seem to have satnav with it and the seats are cloth you don't want that so you need to step up to the super version which is about three thousand pounds more and then you get stuff like part leather seats you also get an 8-inch infotainment display with the navigation so the infotainment system itself it's fairly easy to use you navigate through all the menus using this swivel wheel maybe the processor isn't quite as fast as on the higher end systems that you get in a german suv and i do think the screen's a little bit dark and the graphics a bit low res but than that it's fine now if you click it there you can see my full in-depth video review of the alpha infotainment system this also has a little digital screen between the dials as well which can display things like navigation directions but once again you know it's not as glorious as that full widescreen display you can get on an audi q5 and speaking of an audi q5 let's just jump into the back of this stelvio because well i do think there is enough space back here look decent leg room decent headroom it's just not as roomy as the audi also you can't slide or recline the seats and the footwells they are a bit small a bit cramped if you want to stretch out and you've got this hump in the floor here and because those small foot walls when you move into the middle seats it can feel a little bit uncomfortable if you have to carry three in the back at once still you get three-way folding seats so look you can fall down this middle seat there if you want to carry longer items and two rear passengers you've got a couple of cup holders there you have two usb sockets there so people in the back can charge their mobile devices i like the way the covers for the ice fix chart anchor points they flip up they're not removable so you're not going to lose them this isn't the biggest suv in the back but it's it's going to be big enough for most people and it's the same story with the boot actually you see the capacity is below average for this kind of car but it's still going to be big enough you know for a family look at that you've got enough space there admittedly if you need a really big boot you probably want to look at something like a jagged f paste because that's about 20 larger than this but it's a lodging of space look at it it's nice and square there's no load lip to lift things over so you can just slide your bags in or out i like the fact that the load cover is very very light it's very simple and it means that even though there's nowhere really to store it it doesn't take up too much space in the boot when you need to carry it you're probably wondering what's under here so we've got a space over spare wheel but this is a bit odd look it's not even attached to this it's just like it's just like loose a bit odd but the rest of the boot is quite useful so you've got some storage cubbies down here there's hooks just up here you've got 12 volt socket there's tethering points about the place as well i also like the fact that you can fold the seats down by these levers in the boot though you do have to lean in and push the backs down which is a bit annoying when you do fold the seats down you've got this big load area there and it's a continuous floor there's no ridge between the main boot area and the seat backs although there is a slight incline but it's still quite easy to just slide things right to the front like that then they slow back down again okay that's the walk around bit dealt with now it's time to hit the road to see what this car is like to drive the stelvio is a little bit of a mixed bag when you're driving in town so the steering is not too heavy the automatic gearbox it's nice and smooth it responds quickly when you put your foot down to knit through a gap in traffic then there's the fact that you sit quite high up so you get a good view over other cars the problem is you get a bit of a big blind spot from here and the view out the back window is tiny it's not very good at all then there's a suspension which is a little bit on the firm side for an suv so it's constantly fidgeting around this car is when you're driving slowly and when you hit a pothole or a big bump you do get quite a jolt it's not helped by the fact this car is riding on 19-inch alloy wheels so you might want smaller wheels if you're going to be driving this car in town a lot such as on the school run as you speed up the suspension does settle down but it's never as comfortable this car as something like a mercedes glc and it's not as quiet as one either you do get a little bit of wind whistle from around the big wing mirror and a bit more tyre noise as well you get the stelvio with three petrol engines two two liter turbos or a bonkers 2.9 liter v6 with over 500 horsepower there's also two 2.2 litre diesels this is one of the diesels and it's the higher power 210 horsepower version and it's very punchy it's a quick engine then when you put your foot down it does make more noise in the two-liter diesel you can get in an audi q5 in terms of economy well alpha says 58 miles per gallon is possible so far this stelvio seemed a little bit so so to drive but there is one area where it just excels over every other suv pretty much that i've driven and that's in the way it handles so it's actually generally good fun to drive this thing when you get it onto a twisty road the steering for instance is just so sharp you turn the wheel a bit it's just darting into a corner you've also got loads of grip as well you know you feel like you're in a sports car only one that's just raised up more off the ground i actually think this thing handles better than a jaguar f-pace and it's maybe even better than a porsche macan as well what alfred's done is really impressive with this thing in fact if you're the kind of person who's always avoided an suv because you think they're just going to be too boring to drive you should check this car out now then it's time for the car wow five annoying things about this car the automatic high beam assist doesn't always dip the headlamps when you approach a car from the rear so you sometimes dazzle them in the rearview mirror the zoom function on the sat-nav map doesn't actually let you zoom out all that far that's as far as it'll go instead you have to go into browse map to zoom out and it's all a bit of a faff and then there's a reversing camera so the screen for it is only that big and it's quite low definition why because the doors don't extend down over the sills it means that when you get out you actually rub the back of your trousers on them and if the cells are dirty your trousers are going to be too there is an annoying gap in the sun visor which means sometimes you can get blinded these solid metal pedal shifters may be absolutely glorious but they do get in the way of the control stalks and it makes it a bit fiddly to use the intermittent wipe isn't it thankfully this car has plenty of cool features which helps make up for all this here's five the stealthios clever electrically controlled braking system means that from 80 miles an hour it can stop five meters sooner than if it had a normal braking system the car's bonnet the rear wings bits the engine and the suspension are made out of aluminium the prop shaft which is the thing that sends the power from the engine to the rear wheels is made from carbon fiber and all this helps keep the weight down and is why the stelvio is the lightest suv in its class in fact it's a whole person lighter than its nearest rival also the weight distribution is a perfect 50 50 front and rear and all this added together helps boost the handling the stelvio's clever four-wheel drive system means that actually when you're driving for most of the time it just sends power to the rear wheels so it has a sports car like feel but when the rear start to slip you can divert 50 of the power to the front australia's get auto emergency braking with pedestrian protection it also scored the highest for adult occupant protection in the euro end cap crash tests on most cars when you turn the steering wheels the wheels not only rotate they also angle slightly and that's exaggerating it a little bit but on the stelvo it doesn't do that at all because of its clever front suspension they remain completely flat so you always have the maximum tire contact patch with the road for optimum grip now if you click on the pop-out banner up there or on the link below the video you can compare offers on the new alfa romeo stelvio so then what's my verdict on this car should you avoid it should it it always beeps like when you lock it should you consider it should you shortlist it or should you just go right ahead and buy it well i reckon you should consider the alpha stelvio it is brilliant fun to drive it just doesn't quite do the suv basics such as comfort luxury and space quite as well as some rivals if you enjoyed this video please like it and share it and click on our logo to subscribe to our channel also click on the windows or on the links below the video for more content on this car now did you spot the easter egg in this video it was the stelvio pass on google maps in the glove boxthis is the new alfred mayo stelvio and it's perfect if you fancy something italian only a little bit taller okay so i know that cost is technically a british brand but this starvio is a pure good-looking thoroughbred italian essentially it's a julia grande so it cost her from thirty four thousand pounds now if you click up there you can go to coward.co.uk compare offers online on the stelvio or any car for that matter or from the comfort of your own home so being an suv alpha's first ever suv for that matter means it's easier to get in and out of than the junior saloon car and you know it's nice and spacious in here as well practicality is pretty good so look at this you've got huge cup holders they can hold a big cup of coffee which is really handy and other storage well there's some more under here with some usb input there one there you've got massive door bins room for two bottles there's some extra storage down here as well and well the only disappointment is the glove box which is a little bit small in terms of the design it's very sporty very alpha you've got huge dials with this sporty steering wheel the stop button is actually on the steering wheel as well it's really nice for an suv that and yeah it's nice quality quality is pretty good i don't think it's quite as good as in the german suvs you know there's a few cheap feeding bits of plastic but it's not too bad and i do like the design the design's good not i'm not too sure about this wood trim though something i don't like it just doesn't seem to go with the rest of the trim you're better off having that in the brushed aluminium that is actually an option and that brings me on to the equipment levels so the entry-level car it's all right you get things like climate control you get cruise control you get hill descent control so all the controls but you don't seem to have satnav with it and the seats are cloth you don't want that so you need to step up to the super version which is about three thousand pounds more and then you get stuff like part leather seats you also get an 8-inch infotainment display with the navigation so the infotainment system itself it's fairly easy to use you navigate through all the menus using this swivel wheel maybe the processor isn't quite as fast as on the higher end systems that you get in a german suv and i do think the screen's a little bit dark and the graphics a bit low res but than that it's fine now if you click it there you can see my full in-depth video review of the alpha infotainment system this also has a little digital screen between the dials as well which can display things like navigation directions but once again you know it's not as glorious as that full widescreen display you can get on an audi q5 and speaking of an audi q5 let's just jump into the back of this stelvio because well i do think there is enough space back here look decent leg room decent headroom it's just not as roomy as the audi also you can't slide or recline the seats and the footwells they are a bit small a bit cramped if you want to stretch out and you've got this hump in the floor here and because those small foot walls when you move into the middle seats it can feel a little bit uncomfortable if you have to carry three in the back at once still you get three-way folding seats so look you can fall down this middle seat there if you want to carry longer items and two rear passengers you've got a couple of cup holders there you have two usb sockets there so people in the back can charge their mobile devices i like the way the covers for the ice fix chart anchor points they flip up they're not removable so you're not going to lose them this isn't the biggest suv in the back but it's it's going to be big enough for most people and it's the same story with the boot actually you see the capacity is below average for this kind of car but it's still going to be big enough you know for a family look at that you've got enough space there admittedly if you need a really big boot you probably want to look at something like a jagged f paste because that's about 20 larger than this but it's a lodging of space look at it it's nice and square there's no load lip to lift things over so you can just slide your bags in or out i like the fact that the load cover is very very light it's very simple and it means that even though there's nowhere really to store it it doesn't take up too much space in the boot when you need to carry it you're probably wondering what's under here so we've got a space over spare wheel but this is a bit odd look it's not even attached to this it's just like it's just like loose a bit odd but the rest of the boot is quite useful so you've got some storage cubbies down here there's hooks just up here you've got 12 volt socket there's tethering points about the place as well i also like the fact that you can fold the seats down by these levers in the boot though you do have to lean in and push the backs down which is a bit annoying when you do fold the seats down you've got this big load area there and it's a continuous floor there's no ridge between the main boot area and the seat backs although there is a slight incline but it's still quite easy to just slide things right to the front like that then they slow back down again okay that's the walk around bit dealt with now it's time to hit the road to see what this car is like to drive the stelvio is a little bit of a mixed bag when you're driving in town so the steering is not too heavy the automatic gearbox it's nice and smooth it responds quickly when you put your foot down to knit through a gap in traffic then there's the fact that you sit quite high up so you get a good view over other cars the problem is you get a bit of a big blind spot from here and the view out the back window is tiny it's not very good at all then there's a suspension which is a little bit on the firm side for an suv so it's constantly fidgeting around this car is when you're driving slowly and when you hit a pothole or a big bump you do get quite a jolt it's not helped by the fact this car is riding on 19-inch alloy wheels so you might want smaller wheels if you're going to be driving this car in town a lot such as on the school run as you speed up the suspension does settle down but it's never as comfortable this car as something like a mercedes glc and it's not as quiet as one either you do get a little bit of wind whistle from around the big wing mirror and a bit more tyre noise as well you get the stelvio with three petrol engines two two liter turbos or a bonkers 2.9 liter v6 with over 500 horsepower there's also two 2.2 litre diesels this is one of the diesels and it's the higher power 210 horsepower version and it's very punchy it's a quick engine then when you put your foot down it does make more noise in the two-liter diesel you can get in an audi q5 in terms of economy well alpha says 58 miles per gallon is possible so far this stelvio seemed a little bit so so to drive but there is one area where it just excels over every other suv pretty much that i've driven and that's in the way it handles so it's actually generally good fun to drive this thing when you get it onto a twisty road the steering for instance is just so sharp you turn the wheel a bit it's just darting into a corner you've also got loads of grip as well you know you feel like you're in a sports car only one that's just raised up more off the ground i actually think this thing handles better than a jaguar f-pace and it's maybe even better than a porsche macan as well what alfred's done is really impressive with this thing in fact if you're the kind of person who's always avoided an suv because you think they're just going to be too boring to drive you should check this car out now then it's time for the car wow five annoying things about this car the automatic high beam assist doesn't always dip the headlamps when you approach a car from the rear so you sometimes dazzle them in the rearview mirror the zoom function on the sat-nav map doesn't actually let you zoom out all that far that's as far as it'll go instead you have to go into browse map to zoom out and it's all a bit of a faff and then there's a reversing camera so the screen for it is only that big and it's quite low definition why because the doors don't extend down over the sills it means that when you get out you actually rub the back of your trousers on them and if the cells are dirty your trousers are going to be too there is an annoying gap in the sun visor which means sometimes you can get blinded these solid metal pedal shifters may be absolutely glorious but they do get in the way of the control stalks and it makes it a bit fiddly to use the intermittent wipe isn't it thankfully this car has plenty of cool features which helps make up for all this here's five the stealthios clever electrically controlled braking system means that from 80 miles an hour it can stop five meters sooner than if it had a normal braking system the car's bonnet the rear wings bits the engine and the suspension are made out of aluminium the prop shaft which is the thing that sends the power from the engine to the rear wheels is made from carbon fiber and all this helps keep the weight down and is why the stelvio is the lightest suv in its class in fact it's a whole person lighter than its nearest rival also the weight distribution is a perfect 50 50 front and rear and all this added together helps boost the handling the stelvio's clever four-wheel drive system means that actually when you're driving for most of the time it just sends power to the rear wheels so it has a sports car like feel but when the rear start to slip you can divert 50 of the power to the front australia's get auto emergency braking with pedestrian protection it also scored the highest for adult occupant protection in the euro end cap crash tests on most cars when you turn the steering wheels the wheels not only rotate they also angle slightly and that's exaggerating it a little bit but on the stelvo it doesn't do that at all because of its clever front suspension they remain completely flat so you always have the maximum tire contact patch with the road for optimum grip now if you click on the pop-out banner up there or on the link below the video you can compare offers on the new alfa romeo stelvio so then what's my verdict on this car should you avoid it should it it always beeps like when you lock it should you consider it should you shortlist it or should you just go right ahead and buy it well i reckon you should consider the alpha stelvio it is brilliant fun to drive it just doesn't quite do the suv basics such as comfort luxury and space quite as well as some rivals if you enjoyed this video please like it and share it and click on our logo to subscribe to our channel also click on the windows or on the links below the video for more content on this car now did you spot the easter egg in this video it was the stelvio pass on google maps in the glove box\n"