Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio

What is it?

Bloody fast, that’s what it is!

Now I’ve got the obvious out of the way, where do I begin? Well, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio is without doubt one of the most exciting and intoxicating SUVs on sale today. To create this high-performance machine, Alfa engineers have based it on their equally supreme Guilia Quadrifoglio, using the same chassis and fire-breathing monster that is the 510bhp 2.9-litre twin-turbocharged petrol V6. Incidentally, the V6 was designed by former Ferrari engineer, Gianluca Pivetti.

Performance figures speak for themselves, with a 0-62mph time of just 3.8 seconds and an eye-watering top speed of 176mph, this is super car territory, not SUV. But on paper that’s all well and good, but how does it perform in the real world?

On the road

During the first few days, work dictated short commutes with a bit of town centre driving, and all in all it behaved as any car would, though a little stiffer through the potholes, but with added growl from its quad-tipped exhausts.

We drove to the Great British Land Rover Show down at Stoneleigh, which was a 250 or so mile round trip, and on the motorway at 70mph it masked its potential incredibly well, a docile creature one minute and a cheetah the next. Just thinking that at 70mph, if I booted it, it had a further 106mph to give, gave me a huge grin.

Get it on fast and twisty B-roads, everything about it feels spot on, its light and responsive with quick steering that manages to feel sharp and precise. It’s a real joy and manages to make you feel like you’re driving a sporty saloon rather than an almost two tonne SUV.

Like the standard Stelvio, it has the Q4 all-wheel drive system, though it’s a rear-biased set-up that sends 100% of the engine’s power to the rear wheels in normal driving and up to 50% to the front axle when it detects slip. It turn, this makes it incredibly predictable, even when you floor it mid corner and it steps out a little!

With great power comes great responsibility, and with an SUV which is as fast and controllable as the Stelvio Quadrifoglio it doesn’t take long to find yourself on the wrong side of the law. I found myself switching my view from the road ahead to the speedo and back again more than I have in any other vehicle, then it spits and crackles and tries to tempt you to go just a little bit faster - it’s so addictive.

Fuel-wise, being sensible I was getting around 20-22mpg, which I didn’t consider too shabby for a car of this size and performance. The engine can shut down a bank of its cylinders to reduce fuel consumption when cruising at steady speeds, which is helpful.

Off-road

Yeah, nah. I seem to recall the conversation with he PR team going something like this.

Me - “Can I book a Stelvio Quadrifoglio please?” PR team - “Umm, you know it’s the fast version, don’t you? Me - “Yes.” PR team - “Okay........but it won’t be coming back in the same state as the other one, will it?”

You see, the last time I borrowed a Stelvio, which was around 12 months ago, I visited a friends farm and tested it around his myriad of tracks, and it performed a lot better than I ever expected it to, as you can read here, so I had no doubt in my mind that the Quadrifoglio would do the same.

In reality it isn’t built for that, so apart from a bit of posing at the end of a green-lane, there were no rockclimbing and no bog holes to splash through - sorry.

Interior

When I booked the Quadrifoglio I had a choice of either a dark blue one or this, the red one, and because I live in Lancashire I opted for the red one which would stand out in the dank, miserable December sky. I was told that it had carbon brakes and sports seats, but I didn’t care, as long as it was red.

The aforementioned ‘sports seats’ turned out to be Sparco Carbon Shell sports seats, which are an expensive option, they look absolutely fantastic, but by ‘eck, they’re narrow. Once I’d slotted each bum cheek into them they did offer loads of support and allow you to sit down nice and low, but for a 6ft2” 19 stone bloke, nah, not for me.

Another stand-out piece of equipment are the huge and beautifully crafted aluminium shift paddles and a steering wheel laced with Alcantara and carbonfibre. The rest of the interior I wasn’t that keen on, it just looks and feels a bit bland, especially for its price range.

On the tech side of things it comes with an Apple CarPlay and Android Auto-equipped 8.8” infotainment system, front and rear parking sensors, a rear-view camera, keyless entry, blindspot monitoring and ambient lighting coming as standard.

Speaking of standard equipment, you also get 20” alloy wheels, adaptive dampers, xenon headlights, leather and Alcantara seats, cruise control, sat-nav and Bluetooth, which are just some of the goodies included in the £70,900 starting price.

Interior space is much like the standard Stelvio with loads of space up front with plenty of storage space for family life and a good-sized boot offering 525 litres of nothingness.

Conclusion The Stelvio Quadrifoglio is undoubtably a 5 star SUV and is now on my ‘Lottery-win’ garage list, but I wouldn’t go for the carbon seat seat option, not unless I can miraculously lose half my bodyweight, and then some.

Base price: £69,150, car tested, with options - £85,250

more at » www.alfaromeo.co.uk