LIVING LA DOLCE VITA
Alfa Romeo’s stylish SUV sprints out onto the road and gives a stellar performance
It is nothing if not Italian, handsome and generous.
The Alfa Romeo Stelvio Sprint is everything you would want an Italian car to be – and more.
And while thousands are batting their eyelids at the new all-electric cars, here is a vehicle that still delights in its diesel credentials and, having driven it, I understand why.
The Stelvio – named after the Stelvio Pass – was Alfa’s much-anticipated response to the demand for SUVs.
The surprising thing was that the company, renowned for their sleek and muchadmired road cars, would ever deign to produce an SUV.
However, as the fastestgrowing automotive sector, no one, not even Alfa, could ignore it.
So the Stelvio was born and, in true Italian style, it’s something of a beauty. It is rugged enough to satisfy the SUV purists but svelte and elegant enough for Alfa lovers to accept it into the fold.
The nose is true Alfa Romeo with the triangular grille, the distinctive badge and the number plate off centre to annoy all those automatic number plate recognition cameras.
The rear is coupe-like and slightly sculpted with lovely tai l l ights and a sporty skid plate. My Sprint version sits on 19in Dark five- hole alloys and there are no roof bars in sight to spoil the lines from front to rear.
Inside, the leather- clad sports steering wheel and gear knob underlines the racing credentials of this most Italian of brands alongside an Italian f lag dug into the centre console. Aluminium sports peda l s and a foot rest underline the mood.
An 8.8in touchscreen houses the nav and the radio and gives access to the rear reversing camera, for which every day I give thanks since I am not a natural reverser. It is also where you will find the DNA – not deoxyribonucleic acid but Alfa’s driving mode system: D for Dynamic, N for Natural and A for all-weather.
After having driven about in Natural for long enough (this one saves fuel), I switched over to Dynamic and decided this was by far my preferred option. The 2.2 turbo diesel ups its game and you power along, glued to corners and hairpins as the Stelvio strides out and shows just what this Italian stallion is made of. It is not just a pretty face.
It also has very usable paddles behind the steering wheel, which let you drive the car manually. They stand out and, unlike many other cars, are not difficult to find.
Dynamic mode adds performance to the many qualities that would make you want to get behind the wheel of the Stelvio. Of course, it also comes with lots of other features like stop/start, lane departure warning, vehicle dynamic control, hill hold and autonomous emergency braking as well as ambient lighting and a great hi-fi system.
The Stelvio is not bullish like many SUVs. Instead, it has managed to stay svelte yet rugged. For those who love the “dolce vita”, the more elegant side of life, here is the SUV that may make the perfect romance.