Bigger is beautiful for Alfa’s Stelvio

4wd gives a boost to Italian brand

PRODUCT planning in the car industry has never been simpler – just build SUVs, and preferably in several different sizes.

It’s also a great recipe for getting yourself out of trouble. It’s working for Jaguar, which has transformed itself from being a sports car company into a four-wheel drive firm and, with it, bringing sales its accountants could only dream of.

Now Alfa Romeo has performed the same simple trick. For years it has tried to compete with Audi and BMW with its sporty saloons without much success – primarily because it didn’t build very good cars – but first up of the new breed is the Stelvio SUV.

Clearly Alfa Romeo is doing very well with it too because there’s a bit of a supply problem at HQ and we have been struggling to get a test car.

However, I thought I’d give my local dealer a go – Hersham and Walton Motors, which also happens to be the longest serving Aston Martin dealer in the world. So thank you to Paul Flitter for lending us this Stelvio Milano Edizione fitted with the 2.2-litre diesel engine. Most customers, says Flitter, choose the 280bhp petrol engine. He also tells me that interest in the Stelvio is significantly stronger than for the excellent Giulia saloon.

The stylists have done a commendable job of giving it an Alfa-like look and it’s one of the best-looking SUVs on the road, more interesting to look at than the Jaguar F-Pace and as attractive as Volvo’s new XC40 although

One of the best-looking SUVs doesn’t feel so special on the inside

quite different in detail. The other task that the Stelvio’s engineers had to accomplish was to somehow make the car drive like an Alfa Romeo should.

Sporty in other words, with precise steering and sharp handling. Talents that certainly apply to the Giulia saloon on which the Stelvio is based.

They’ve been partly successful. The Stelvio’s steering is very good for a tall car. The ride isn’t the best in class but over my favourite section of testing road, which would put off a motocross rider, it was comfortable enough.

With the diesel engine there are two power outputs available – our car’s 207bhp and a 177bhp version – through an eight-speed automatic gearbox to all four wheels.

The gearbox is silky smooth but the engine doesn’t quite match it for sophistication. As HWM’s customers suggest, the 280bhp petrol engine is best choice here.

The Stelvio’s attractive exterior design isn’t carried through inside. The layout of the dashboard, instruments and controls is uncluttered and straightforward but it doesn’t feel special in the way many of the Alfa’s rivals do.

I’m not a fan of Jag’s new E-Pace but its interior feels and looks luxurious. So do all of Volvo’s SUVs. And this Milano Edizione costs £43,990 which puts it in line with stiff competition from BMW, Audi and Mercedes, too.

Other slight whinges include a too small rear window that’s hard to see out of, and not particularly good rear headroom. At least the luggage area is practical and a decent size.

It’s ironic that the Stelvio is likely to be the car that contributes to and probably secures Alfa Romeo’s future. The Giulia saloon isn’t selling in big numbers and the stunning looking 4C sports car is expensive at over £50,000 and is pretty poor to boot.

The Stelvio will bring people to Alfa Romeo who’ve not owned them before, drawn most likely by the shape and fabulous history of the brand. But they won’t have bought the best SUV out there, that’s for sure.