Alfa Romeo Stelvio Veloce

When it comes to intuitive cabin controls, the Alfa’s got it nailed

YOU HEAR THE TERM ‘UI/UX DESIGN’ quite a bit these days in the publishing industry. Usually I glaze over in meetings when it’s mentioned, but according to Wikipedia ‘a UI/UX designer’s job is to create user-friendly interfaces that enable users to understand how to use complex technical products’. I’m not sure what the automotive equivalent of that would be, but whichever designer it is at Alfa who is responsible for knobs and dials, they deserve a medal.

These days more and more functions are being taken away from the physical form and instead hidden away in complex infotainment systems that require you to be parked to use safely. It’s refreshing then that Alfa has instead given the Stelvio three really big, visible, clunky (but stylish!) dials for the things we use every day: volume, drive mode and air-conditioning. Furthermore, they are situated next to the gearshifter, so they fall easily to hand whilst driving and can be operated without needing to look away from the road.

In fact, the whole dash layout is a joy. With real dials there’s no need for the space-invading touchscreens that are becoming commonplace in so many other cars. Meanwhile the functions on the column stalks are where you intuitively think they should be and, for purists, the shift paddles look like they have been ripped straight from an SF90 Stradale. It all just works, and it’s great.

Unfortunately, I can’t give similar praise to the designer responsible for speaker positioning. In the boot is an exposed and barely protected subwoofer that I grimace at ‘near missing’ every time large branches are loaded up for the tip or heavy school bags are slung in by the kids. Can’t win ’em all, I guess.

Date acquired January 2022 Total mileage 5961 Mileage this month 452 Costs this month £0 mpg this month 24.8