Stelvissimo!

Are you sitting down? Good. Alfa Romeo has launched the Quadrifoglio high-performance version of its surprisingly adept Stelvio SUV into Ireland and it costs, wait for it, €118,795. Yes, that much. For an Alfa Romeo. And the one I’ve just been testing somehow crept its way with extras up to a gigantic €127,095 with an annual car tax of €2,350. But there lies some method to Alfa’s pricing madness. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio is directly targeting sales from the class leading Porsche Macan in the snappily named Turbo Performance Pack version with a Porsche price in base trim of would-you-say-that-again €125,089. While the Porsche reaches 0-100km in 4.4 seconds the Alfa bludgeons its way to 100kms in 3.8 seconds and is more powerful by a full-fat 70bhp.

Still, you’re probably going to buy the Porsche, aren’t you? No, not this time. Alfa Romeo Ireland gave journalists just three days each to test the Stelvio Quadrifoglio and after a few hours I was so slack-jawed that I forgot I was actually driving an SUV. You see, I’m blue in the face saying that SUVs are always poor alternative to any Saloon or Estate car. They’re heavier. Handle with less precision and unless you really need the height to peer over other traffic, a depressing fad that gotten way out of control. So what has Alfa Romeo done to work some weird magic? A great place to start is the engine. A 2.9-litre V6 petrol engine that revs to 6,500rpm like there’s no actual flywheel attached at the other end. Then there’s the sound – few people manage to make an engine sing like the Italians. Once placed in Race mode within the centrally located Active Suspension setting – which fully turns off the traction control and firms up the suspension – the wails and crisp sound changes coming from the rear are loud and utterly tremendous. By clicking through the large, solid-milled aluminium paddles, the ZF 8-speed gearbox you quickly take on the role of a conductor, blapp-blapping through the engine range like you’re twinkling the keys of an electronic synthesizer. I’ve driven the Porsche Macan and hold immense respect for it.

But if you’re seeking a brilliant soundtrack, it’s the Alfa that delivers in spades. I think it looks great, too. So many things played on my mind after driving it. Like how on earth did they engineer it to corner so flat? SUVs simply don’t do this. Credit for this uncanny stability goes to Alfa’s Active Suspension with active torque vectoring. By using this technology the differential holds the ability to transfer the torque between each wheel. This means that the Stelvio mimics the Giulia Quadrifoglio’s sensational handling.

Anything else? Where the regular Stelvio’s cabin felt cheap in places, the higher grade leather and dashes of carbon fiber really lift it a lot closer to the Porsche's cabin quality. In the end, it was the Stelvio’s character that I adored the most. This is, and I’ll say it here, the first SUV that I’ve tested that makes you tremendously happy and laugh out loud thrilled to drive.

But the last question – is it better than the Giulia Quadrifoglio? No, the Giulia Quadrifiglio is a rare thing – a car that feels like a cut-price Maserati, maybe even at a push, a Ferrari and all for €99,945. But getting so close to the Giulia – the 2018 Irish Performance/Sports Car of the Year is a big achievement. Though overtaking the Porsche Macan with eerie ease is another – making it a genuine five star Alfa Romeo SUV. Stelvissimo!

https://www.alfaromeo.ie/models/stelvio