REVIEW

When Alfa Romeo revealed the Stelvio SUV in 2016 there was a collective cry of horror from the Alfisti (the name for Alfa purists) – how could their beloved sports car manufacturer make a heavy, tall SUV? Well they’d better be ready to swallow their pride because the Stelvio is going to be everywhere soon. In a world dominated by bland Teutonic angular boxes (looking at you, Audi and BMW)  and the far eastern brands trying to emulate them, along comes Alfa Romeo with a properly sexy looking SUV. Taking the styling seen on the new Giulia, the Stelvio features sleek headlights, the traditional triangular Alfa grille and an athletic body that ends in a curvy, stylish back end. Okay there are a few packaging compromises in order to get that bodywork, but these are worthy sacrifices when you have an SUV that looks this good. But this Stelvio isn’t all about looks – this is the fire-breathing Quadrifoglio model which shares its engine with the Giulia QF so yes, that means a twin turbo 2.9 litre V6 producing a staggering 503bhp – but in the Stelvio it goes to all four wheels so you’ve actually got a chance of putting the power down. A sub-4 second sprint to 62mph is impressive in any car, so to do so in an SUV accompanied by a delicious exhaust sound is going to make this a seriously special car.