Italian style takes an SUV shape

Prices and specs of Alfa Romeo’s new Stelvio.

Another day, another SUV... but this is one of the more exciting ones.

For generations Alfa Romeo has made hatchbacks, saloons and coupes with a sporting twist.

They’re often as practical as their humdrum counterparts but with stellar looks and sporting pedigrees they remind us cars needn’t be humdrum.

Now the Italian company has launched its first SUV.

The Stelvio will go on sale in the autumn with prices starting at a tenner under £34,000.

That undercuts the Jaguar F-Pace’s entry cost by around £7,500 and gives an idea of the models Alfa is targeting.

There are four engine options on sale initially: a 2.2-litre diesel with either 178bhp or 207bhp, with the latter available exclusively in all-wheel drive, or an all-wheel drive petrol with 197bhp or 276bhp.

The entry price buys you the lower powered diesel in rear-wheel drive.

The petrol range kicks off at £34,690, with a 197bhp, turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder mated to an all-wheeldrive system. The 276bhp all-wheel drive petrol model starts at £43,690.

The two more powerful diesel and petrol engines will be available from launch, but buyers who want the lower powered, cheaper engines will have to put up with a small wait.

Like the Giulia saloon, the Stelvio’s line-up is divided into four distinct trim levels – standard ‘Stelvio’, ‘Super’, ‘Speciale’ and ‘Milano Edizione’.

The entry-level car gets 17in alloys, adaptive cruise control, an 8.8in infotainment system, automatic lights and wipers and two rear USB ports.

At the top of the range is the supercar baiting Quadrifoglio, which will come with a new all-aluminium 2.9-litre bi-turbo petrol engine producing a whopping 503bhp. It’ll be added to the range sometime after launch.

It’ll be four-wheel drive but will deliver 100% of power to the rear wheels in normal driving conditions, only diverting power when grip is needed.

Alfa predicts the Stelvio will be its best selling model. I don’t doubt them.

The Stelvio is Alfa Romeo’s first SUV. It’ll be on sale in September and will compete against the Jaguar F-Pace, Audi Q5 and Volvo XC60.