The late starter from the Stilfser Joch - Alfa Romeo Stelvio

The SUV with the Italian values

The Passo del Stelvio, or rather less poetically to German the Stelvio Pass, is with 2757 meters saddle height not only the highest pass in the Italian Alps, but also namesake for the first SUV of Alfa Romeo. Of course, the Italian name glides elegantly over southerners' lips. "Oh yes, we in Turin have great hope for the Stelvio," emphasizes Giorgio Gorelli, CEO of Fiat Deutschland for almost a year, on the occasion of the rather symbolic revelation of the Giulia's long-legged brother last week in St. Moritz. Last year, the Stelvio celebrated its true world premiere at the auto show in Los Angeles. A sign of where the journey should go for the brand.

Alfa does not have a combi version of the Giulia, but not other SUVs

At the end of March, the new classmate of Audi Q5, BMW X3, Mercedes CLC, Jaguar F-Pace and a Porsche Macan will roll onto the recognizable German market. The SUV from purely Italian production should manifest itself no less than the rebirth of Alfa Romeo, which began with the sports sedan Giulia, and finally bring significant sales figures again. Alfa arrives late with its SUV, and there are already crowds of it at all manufacturers in the world. Conversely, the market is lucrative and clearly not saturated. That is why the people of Turin do not want to leave it to others. And it won't stay with the Stelvio alone, Gorelli reveals. In the next breath, however, he adds that a combi version of the Giulia, whose platform forms the basis for everyone, will be dispensed with.
The Stelvio also covers the need for a station wagon, Alfa thinks. For larger quantities. And because the world absolutely wants SUVs, there will be a larger and a smaller version after the Stelvio, all based on the rear-wheel drive platform of the Giulia - appropriately called Giorgio. "Even in fine and well-stocked shoe shops there are popular models in several sizes," smiles the Fiat governor during his brief excursion into the future of the model. A station wagon is a car that Germany is very popular, but in other important markets such as North America, China and Russia it plays a rather subordinate role, actually not a role.

The Stelvio is in an elegant and almost graceful metal skin
In terms of appearance, the new Alfa Romeo Stelvio, with the carefully drawn and almost graceful metal skin in the front and rear, is strongly reminiscent of the Giulia, especially when you look it in the eye. From the narrowly slotted headlights on both sides of the brand-typical Alfa triangle "Scudetto" and the dominant air inlets, he looks out into the drifting snow from a challenging and aggressive angle. It is easy to get into the interior of the 4,67 meter long five-seater, which is exactly what makes this class of car so popular with young and old. But despite a ground clearance of 20 centimeters, in this SUV you don't have the feeling that you are enthroned above the asphalt. The seats are well cut, front and rear and with a trunk volume of 520 to 1600 liters behind the electric tailgate, the Stelvio offers plenty of space for its passengers and their luggage. The start button is on the left of the steering wheel, for those without Alfisti genes in their blood, at first a bit strange.

If the traction wears off, the four-wheel drive sends up to 50 percent of the power forward

If necessary, the 2,2 liter turbodiesel via eight-speed automatic sends the power of 210 PS primarily to the rear and allows a sprint from 0 to 100 km / h in research 6,6 seconds. Today we take it more restrained, on the route through the mountain landscape between South Tyrol and Lombardy, although sweeping endless lure, but again and again bare ice flashes through the harsh snow. If the traction wears off, the power will be routed to the front wheels as fast as 50 percent via the standard four-wheel drive. But the Stelvio remains sovereign and can be guided with the smooth steering even through tight bends clean. The different driving modes "normal", "dynamic" or "economical" can be controlled via a switch, whereby the characteristics of the engine, ESP, steering and automatic always change overall.

The shift paddles are quite large

When switching, you can freely create your own hand. The paddle shifters are really big and not attached to the steering wheel. Shifting while steering should be avoided. Although Alfa has provided the Stelvio with an emergency brake assistant (up to 65 km / h), an adaptive cruise control system, a lane keeping assistant (but only acoustically), no head-up display and no LED headlights. Under the bonnet initially work either a 280 PS strong gasoline engine, or the 210 PS diesel. Later in the year, a base diesel with 180 PS and pure rear-wheel drive is added. End 2017 then a gasoline engine with 200 PS and the Stelvio Quadrifoglio with a 510 PS strong 2,9-liter V6 gasoline engine and the well-known Ferrari genes. The 280 PS petrol engine costs from 49 000 Euro, the 210 PS Diesel from 47 500 Euro.

Technical data