The Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio's V6 engine makes 505 horsepower and 443 lb-ft of torque.Kunal D’souza/The Globe and Mail
Only a handful of performance SUVs are truly fun to drive, despite automakers’ claims. Some have powerful engines and stiff suspensions, and some can even post respectable lap times on a racetrack, but few will have you reaching for their keys for a weekend pleasure cruise.
The Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio is an exception. A true needle-in-a-haystack. It’s more than just another fast SUV because it brims with character and will leave an immediate impression when you drive it.
The Stelvio Quadrifoglio has a twin-turbocharged Ferrari-designed V6 engine.Kunal D’souza/The Globe and Mail
Its twin-turbocharged Ferrari-designed V6 will probably go down as one of the great engines of all time and 2024 will mark its last year of production in North America. Before it’s gone forever, I had to have one last chance to drive the Stelvio and pay tribute to a vehicle that showed us an SUV could also be a proper sports car.
That special V6 can be found in the Giulia Quadrifoglio sedan too, which is also being discontinued. The Giulia offered even better driving dynamics, but the Stelvio has more cargo room and its increased ground clearance makes it better equipped to handle rough roads.
The four-leaf clovers on the front fenders are the easiest way to tell the regular Stelvio apart from the Quadrifoglio.Kunal D’souza/The Globe and Mail
The four-leaf clovers on the front fenders are the easiest way to tell the Quadrifoglio apart from the regular Stelvio. The symbol was first used during the illustrious 1923 Targa Florio, a road race held on the island of Sicily. Pro driver Ugo Sivocci stuck them on his Alfa Romeo race car to bring him luck and then went on to win the race. Alfa has used them on its best cars ever since. Seeing the clovers on an Alfa gives a good indication it will be spectacular to drive.
The Stelvio has a clear focus and it’s a no-compromise approach to driving enjoyment. The seating position is excellent and the steering wheel has a very Ferrari-esque red starter button on it and a pair of what might be the largest column-mounted shift paddles in the business. The seats hug you in all the right places and when you fire up the engine, it barks to life before settling into a gravelly thrum.
The steering is lightning quick, quicker than many sports cars. There’s only a hint of body roll and steering inputs instantly translate into a change of direction. The Stelvio feels like one solid piece with both ends acting as a unit, and the suspension remains compliant over most road surfaces, provided you don’t have it on the firmest setting. A quick push of the button in the middle of the drive mode selector will force the dampers into the softer setting regardless of the drive mode. It’s a feature that lets you enjoy everything turned up to max while maintaining a civilized ride.
Set to Race mode, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio displays a complete shift in character.Kunal D’souza/The Globe and Mail
Set to Race mode, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio displays a complete shift in character. It perks up like you fed it a double espresso and the exhaust starts to snarl something wicked. The turbocharged V6 emits an angry sound and it gets under your skin. The giant metal paddles have a satisfying click when you pull them and gear changes happen quickly. It’s one of few instances when using paddles to shift gears doesn’t disappoint. But you need to be paying attention because the engine spins up fast and it will just run into the rev limiter until you pull the right paddle. Get the shift right and the resulting whip crack from the tailpipes is a bit childish but undeniably good fun. It adds up to an experience you didn’t think you could have in an SUV and in ways it feels like a budget Ferrari.
The quad tailpipe is one of the ways to distinguish the Quadrifoglio from the regular Stelvio, which as two.Kunal D’souza/The Globe and Mail
The Stelvio is a well-packaged vehicle with comfortable back seats for a pair of adults and a decent-sized space for cargo. It’s also cushy and quiet when you’re not in Race mode and it’s still one of the prettiest SUVs on sale today. The red paint is no charge, as it should be, and the achingly gorgeous five-hole wheels cap it off perfectly.
The Stelvio comes with distinct five-hole wheels.Kunal D’souza/The Globe and Mail
I could probably fill another three pages about how much fun it is to drive, but a few things are holding it back from greatness, chief among them Alfa Romeo’s less-than-stellar reputation for reliability. Nearly all that I’ve driven have been glitchy – with malfunctioning sensors rendering driver aids inoperable until a restart; faulty window switches that seem to have a mind of their own, and even mysteriously draining batteries.
The interior feels cheap for a car that costs $103,295 before any extras, especially compared with rivals like the Porsche Macan and the BMW X3 M. And the infotainment system is woefully outdated with a small screen that is hard to read and sluggish to respond.
Owners on Alfa Romeo forums defend their Stelvios’ reliability and it seems there’s a high satisfaction rate among them, regardless of the frequent unscheduled service visits some have experienced. Maybe it’s true when they say you’re not a real car enthusiast until you’ve owned an Alfa Romeo. They tend to leave a lasting impression and it certainly has in my case.
The Quadrifoglio badge isn’t gone and will probably come back on an electric car or hybrid of some sort. And while that still marks the end of two truly fun cars of the internal combustion era, we know from experience that Alfa Romeo doesn’t apply its four-leaf clover badge to just anything. And we can take solace in that.
Tech specs
- Base price / as-tested: $103,295 /$108,245 plus $2,795 for freight and predelivery inspection plus other fees and taxes
- Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbocharged V6
- Horsepower / torque (lb-ft): 505 / 443
- Transmission / drive: Eight-speed automatic / all-wheel drive
- Curb weight: 1,956 kilograms
- Fuel consumption (litres per 100 kilometres): 13.9 city; 10.3 highway; 12.3 combined
- Alternatives: Porsche Macan GTS, BMW X3 M, Jaguar F-Pace SVR
Looks
The 'scudetto' grille, meaning 'little shield' in Italian, has a long history with Alfa.Kunal D’souza/The Globe and Mail
The scudetto grille, meaning “little shield” in Italian, has a long history with Alfa, which has made some of the best-looking cars of all time, at least in this author’s opinion. For an SUV, the Stelvio is as good as it gets and the Quadrifoglio treatment is subtle. Just the four-leaf clover badges, quad tailpipes and a vented hood distinguish it.
Interior
The front seats and dash of the Stelvio Quadrifoglio.Kunal D’souza/The Globe and Mail
The rear seats on the Stelvio Quadrifoglio.Kunal D’souza/The Globe and Mail
It was passable when it first arrived in 2017, but time hasn’t been kind and competitors have more advanced technology and more premium-feeling materials. The carbon-fibre trim is nice, the seats are excellent and the design has aged well, but Stellantis should probably donate the newest Uconnect infotainment system to Alfa Romeo.
Performance
Performance is why you buy a Stelvio. The regular one is fun to drive, but the Quadrifoglio is a firecracker with a snarling V6 and one of the best exhaust notes this side of a Lamborghini. Handling is razor sharp and the Stelvio is one of the fastest SUVs around a racetrack.
Technology
The Stelvio has a carbon-fibre drive shaft and aluminum body panels to save weight. It has the usual array of driver aids that worked well until they didn’t.
Cargo
In the trunk there is 524 litres of space, which expands to 1,600 litres when the seats are folded down.Kunal D’souza/The Globe and Mail
There are 524 litres of space behind the rear seats, which expands to 1,600 litres with them folded down. Competitors offer more space but it’s plenty for a small family.
The verdict
One of the best and most memorable SUVs to drive, despite the issues. It will be missed.
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