Stelvio review

Navcorr

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3,839
No, just don't like the way it looks so doesn't matter how good it is.......From some angles it has the look at the Lavante as well and just still have not warmed to the styling of that either. Saw one of those Bently 4x4's on the road yesterday and that us even worse...Horrid looking car. From a distanc my wife asked if it was Japanese.

Agreed on the looks - just not my cup of tea. Applies to the class as a whole imho. A Bentayga pulled up outside my favourite deli a while ago. When the laughing & swearing faded the size & ugliness really hit between the eyes. The largely Italian customers then turned their thoughts to the Levante. Not complimentary!
 

MrMickS

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3,945
Saw a Stelvio ad on various TV channels last night, CH5 and YourTV are the ones I can remember. It didn't grab me as an advert. I guess its just there to put the name, and the fact that Alfa are making an SUV, in front of people. Was nice to see the Stelvio Pass from the air and snow at the top.
 

spkennyuk

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5,919
Saw a Stelvio ad on various TV channels last night, CH5 and YourTV are the ones I can remember. It didn't grab me as an advert. I guess its just there to put the name, and the fact that Alfa are making an SUV, in front of people. Was nice to see the Stelvio Pass from the air and snow at the top.

Ive just seen the same advert. Im suprised they dont show any shots of the interior of the vehicle at all.
 
G

Guest 1678

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Just bought a Milano Edition 280petrol - really looking forward to it. Alfa red with black interior, arrives in late December. Deal was good, I like the car and was really taken when I saw a couple in France at Le Mans.

Can’t be any worse than the E63 with its 4 months off the road in 16 months of ownership. The Mercedes UK customer experience was also an interesting journey of denial and inflexibility. Not an experience I will repeat after 10 years and 5 new Mercs. Unfortunately (and admitted by the dealer) now a mass brand desperately hanging onto its prestige status. I was not alone with cars failing regularly.

Also means the entire stable is now Italian.
 

Andyk

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61,002
That's a great review and love what they say at the end about the engine and the diesel.....Glad it's a 'proper' Maserati sort of.....I don't think I'll ever like the looks but it's good read a great review of a Maserati no matter what it is.
 

MrMickS

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3,945
After having a test drive in the petrol Levante last weekend we went for a test drive in a petrol Stelvio today.

First impressions were that its definitely not a Maserati. The general quality of the top of the dash etc doesn't match than on the Levante. Also you can tell its smaller. For someone of more than adequate proportions it was a little cramped, the steering wheel felt small in the hand, and the seat bolstered pinched a little. That said the layout of the cabin felt good, the driving position isn't as high up as the Levante but still higher than a standard car.

Moving off we were stuck behind traffic so I switched into dynamic, pulled back on the left paddle a couple of times, and pushed my right foot down. There was a pleasant enough noise, though missing cylinders, and it accelerated at a reasonable pace for a big car.

Once into driving it on the twisty roads out of the dealership I began to enjoy it. You can tell that it's lighter than the Levante, and my Ghibli, and a GT, and that really helped in the corners. By the time it was time for me to swap over with M I was throwing it into corners and powering out. There's definitely more body roll than in a saloon but it was pretty good, even if it only had the 280hp 4-cylinder engine.

At the moment we don't need an SUV, does anyone? Come time to replace the MiTo though we may look at this again. We were offered one for a day long test drive and may take them up on that in the new year. If we do I'll strap some cameras to it and do a proper review.

We did have a bit of fun in the Spider on the way over :) [video]https://youtu.be/6tyWSYNmSg8[/video]
 

dem maser

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34,195
I like the looks of the Stelvio.....never driven one and dont think ill own one soon.....
I do like Alfas new cars but like you, i felt the same for the Giulias dash....little cheap compared to my 5 year old BMW at the time.....
 

Andyk

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61,002
Most know I don't like the Levante looks but the Stelvio makes the Lavante look like a super model.....Stelvio is so uninspiring looks wise...Saw one being delivered to the dealership the other day and just thought it had no Alfa style at all........But then most of these boxes are lookin the same these days. I would buy an estate....more room....and the right one will be more fun as well.
 

MrMickS

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3,945
Most know I don't like the Levante looks but the Stelvio makes the Lavante look like a super model.....Stelvio is so uninspiring looks wise...Saw one being delivered to the dealership the other day and just thought it had no Alfa style at all........But then most of these boxes are lookin the same these days. I would buy an estate....more room....and the right one will be more fun as well.

If Alfa would make a Giulia Sportwagon, you know, continuing the tradition that they have, I'd go for one of those at the drop of a hat. I'm not bothered about the high driving position, just the Q4 system and a larger load space would do. Unfortunately they've decided that no one would buy them and that people have to have an SUV instead. At least give people the option, take pre-orders and see, I think that they would be surprised. Even Jaguar are pushing a shooting brake (estate) now and they have an SUV.
 

Andyk

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61,002
Now yes that would be worth waiting for.....shooting breaks, estates, touring what ever you call then far more practical and for me better looking and in most cases a better drive. The new XF estate looks lovely....and bet drives better than the SUV brigade. But the SUV has always been more of a fashion statement than driving pleasure. Not that some aren't great to drive....Porsche have shown that and from the reviews of the petrol Lavante that is a decent car as well.
 

iainw

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3,386
Now yes that would be worth waiting for.....shooting breaks, estates, touring what ever you call then far more practical and for me better looking and in most cases a better drive. The new XF estate looks lovely....and bet drives better than the SUV brigade. But the SUV has always been more of a fashion statement than driving pleasure. Not that some aren't great to drive....Porsche have shown that and from the reviews of the petrol Lavante that is a decent car as well.

The stelvio QV smashes the macan turbo s around the Nuremberg ring. Fastest SUV on the planet. I would say Alfa have done well. I would prefer the stelvio QV any day over an AMG shoootmg break or an RS4 etc. Just an opinion. Looking forward to its release to see it in the flesh. Hopefully it will up the competition for others to step up to. I just find it perplexing how Alfa can make an SUV to be significantly faster than Halo Maserati’s. One of life great mysteries at the moment.
 

MrMickS

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3,945
The stelvio QV smashes the macan turbo s around the Nuremberg ring. Fastest SUV on the planet. I would say Alfa have done well. I would prefer the stelvio QV any day over an AMG shoootmg break or an RS4 etc. Just an opinion. Looking forward to its release to see it in the flesh. Hopefully it will up the competition for others to step up to. I just find it perplexing how Alfa can make an SUV to be significantly faster than Halo Maserati’s. One of life great mysteries at the moment.

One reason is that they weigh nothing in modern terms. If you make your car lighter than everyone else's then you're going to have fewer issues trying to get it to handle well and with enough power its going to be nuts.

The one thing I would say about it is that its an SUV and NOT a 4WD vehicle. The Levante by contrast is a 4WD with significant off-road capabilities. That said the most any of these will see to being off road is parking in a field at an event so its not really an issue.
 

zagatoes30

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20,701
I run an SUV for the simple reason that I need a tow barge, our roadblocker is on the large side. There are estate cars that can legally pull e.g. Audi A6 but IMO they are not heavy enough. When towing I like the fact that when it comes to stability the heavier the tow barge the better hence the RR.

That said most days the roadblocker is safely locked away so i want something fast and comfortable as well, hence 500 BHP of supercharged RR - win all round :)

The Stelvio is not big enough for me but I do prefer its looks to the Levente, I can't get on with that gapping grill.
 

Andyk

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61,002
The stelvio QV smashes the macan turbo s around the Nuremberg ring. Fastest SUV on the planet. I would say Alfa have done well. I would prefer the stelvio QV any day over an AMG shoootmg break or an RS4 etc. Just an opinion. Looking forward to its release to see it in the flesh. Hopefully it will up the competition for others to step up to. I just find it perplexing how Alfa can make an SUV to be significantly faster than Halo Maserati’s. One of life great mysteries at the moment.

It can be the fastest car on the planet Iain but while it looks like a box with an Alfa badge stuck on the front I just cannot get excited about it....fast or not. The advert was on last night and even my wife said that's one dull looking Alfa...Tend to agree...but then we all see something different in a car and if t floats people's boat then go for it.
 

iainw

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3,386
It can be the fastest car on the planet Iain but while it looks like a box with an Alfa badge stuck on the front I just cannot get excited about it....fast or not. The advert was on last night and even my wife said that's one dull looking Alfa...Tend to agree...but then we all see something different in a car and if t floats people's boat then go for it.

I would agree - if its not the QV version it looks dull.
I like the look of the QV with the little touches but its all personal taste. It would have to be black with carbon of course ;)
 

iainw

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3,386
Would you not just get the Saloon QV instead.....Proper performance car ?

Same performance figures but the wife would probably raise less of an eyebrow when the time comes.
But agreed in terms of value for money... the Saloon probably the best call as the Stelvio inst all that big..