Alfa Romeo is upgrading its Stelvio SUV to make it even more efficient and attractive and better position it in the premium world. Its base price starts at € 41,500.
The SUV is the fashionable automotive concept combining the improbable combination of Sport and Utility. No wonder that all generalist manufacturers greedily took up this niche! Even prestigious brands such as Porsche and Jaguar have bet on the magic formula of the moment. Alfa Romeo quickly followed by giving birth to the Stelvio.
On the aesthetic level, the Italian brand, as usual, struck a blow. Voluminous without being massive, round with muscles, the Stelvio proudly sported its traditional triple grille causing instant seduction. However, it had the usual shortcomings of transalpine cars, the lack of perceived quality and storage, late infotainment without a touch screen, few driving aids and noisy Diesel. The 2020 vintage has therefore rectified all of this so that the vehicle is truly worthy of fighting in the premium world.
In other words, this Stelvio revolution goes unnoticed from the outside but it is fully perceptible in the passenger compartment. Behind the steering wheel, the screen in the centre of the dashboard is enlarged and gives the choice between more information while the screen at the top of the console is now tactile and standard.
Equipped with voice recognition, the new infotainment system allows full connectivity with all mobile devices. The redesigned centre console accommodates larger compartments and the new wireless charging function for smartphones.
The shift lever, now covered in leather, takes on a new shape and bright reflections to better read its positioning at night. The steering wheel is in perforated or smooth leather and receives new functions concerning autonomous driving.
More refined equipment
In other words, this Stelvio revolution goes unnoticed from the outside but it is fully perceptible in the passenger compartment. Behind the steering wheel, the screen in the centre of the dashboard is enlarged and gives the choice between more information while the screen at the top of the console is now tactile and standard.
Equipped with voice recognition, the new infotainment system allows full connectivity with all mobile devices. The redesigned centre console accommodates larger compartments and the new wireless charging function for smartphones.
The shift lever, now covered in leather, takes on a new shape and bright reflections to better read its positioning at night. The steering wheel is in perforated or smooth leather and receives new functions concerning autonomous driving.
Semi-autonomous driving
An Alfa Romeo owner likes to drive and knows how to drive his car… And it is probably for this reason that the management of the brand had ignored most of the technologies which make the driver feel less and less responsible and concerned by its environment. But star wars to notify the safety factor of a vehicle imposed a different reflection and here is the Stelvio which is full of driving aids to keep up with the competition. It, therefore, adds adaptive lighting, front and rear parking assistance, automatic emergency braking, fatigue detector, lane keeping, sign recognition, blind-spot monitoring, transverse obstacle detection and adaptive cruise control.
Smoother road handling
Under its hood, the Stelvio keeps its 4-cylinder all-aluminium engines, i.e. a 2-litre petrol engine in 200 and 280 hp and a 2.2-litre Diesel of 160, 190 and 210 hp, all associated exclusively with a ZF automatic transmission with 8 gears. Only the 160 hp Diesel is only offered in propulsion while the other engines benefit from a four-wheel drive as standard but optional for the 190 hp Diesel. The range has also been considerably simplified from 9 to 5 versions. Finally, the Stelvio has obviously lost none of its road qualities and its balance, also gaining more careful soundproofing by the adoption of foam in the engine compartment and laminated glazing. Long gone are the days when the triumphant sound of an Alfa’s exhaust was a selling point…
