The Car Connection Expert Review
Likes
- Personality to spare
- Sports sedan agility
- Fantastic powertrains
- Delightfully balanced
Dislikes
- Mediocre brakes
- Cramped back seat
- Unimpressive infotainment
- Not many dealers
Buying tip
features & specs
The 2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio is a crossover that would rather be a sports car.
What kind of vehicle is the 2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio? What does it compare to?
A five-passenger crossover SUV with sporty tuning and luxury pricing, the 2024 Stelvio faces off against vehicles like the Audi Q5, BMW X3, and Mercedes GLC.
Is the 2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio a good SUV?
It’s neither particularly frugal nor especially practical, but the 2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio is possibly the most interesting offering amongst its contemporaries. We score a 6.2 out of 10, thanks to the thrilling performance of Quadrifoglio models and its unabashed personality. (Read more about how we rate cars.)
What's new for the 2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio?
The Stelvio gets LED adaptive matrix headlights, a new grille insert to update the traditional tri-lobe shape, and a new taillight design to freshen the exterior, while the cockpit gets a larger digital instrument display. Furthermore, two new limited editions, the Competizione and the 100th Anniversary Edition Stelvio Quadrifoglio, join the lineup. The former slots just below the Quadrifoglio, with a compelling combination of luxury and performance features. The latter adds gold interior and exterior accents and exclusive badging to the Quadrifoglio, but in a limited run of 100 SUVs globally.
The Alfa Romeo Stelvio is a curvy crossover version of the Giulia sedan, expanding the cargo area and offering a higher riding position. Unlike many of its competitors, there’s no pretense of all-terrain capability.
The base 2.0-liter turbo-4 engine offers good grunt from its 280 hp, and pairs with an obedient 8-speed automatic. All-wheel drive is standard across the lineup, except for the entry-level Stelvio Sprint model. Upgraded versions include a limited-slip rear differential and adaptive dampers, and a price that could tip $90,000 for the Stelvio Quadrifoglio. That gets a Ferrari-derived, 505-hp 2.9-liter twin-turbo V-6. Handling and ride are sharp across the lineup, even though steering tends toward the manic side.
Alfa Romeo’s interior appointments can’t match the luxury offered by German competitors, but the Stelvio delivers on the basics, with decent space, reasonable infotainment, and a generous list of standard driver-assistance technology.
We’re waiting on full crash test evaluations, but Alfa includes adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking as standard. A clever traffic-jam assist system is available, too.
How much does the 2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio cost?
Based on 2023 pricing, we estimate about $48,000 to start, or, with all-wheel drive, about $50,000. That includes leather upholstery, heated front seats, an 8.8-inch touchscreen, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and a decent list of crash-avoidance tech. That will be fine for most shoppers, though the new Competizione edition, with its unique styling, makes a compelling option at $57,420 (including a hefty $1,595 destination charge).
Where is the 2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio made?
In Italy.
2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Styling
Few compact crossovers are as pretty as the 2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio.
Is the Alfa Romeo Stelvio a good-looking car?
Yes, it’s lovely, with sleek, curvy lines outside that pair well enough with the modern cabin. It’s an 8 out of 10.
The swoopy design taps Alfa Romeo’s heritage while simultaneously staying fresh, with modern touches like standard adaptive headlights. More of a tall wagon than a traditional SUV, the Stelvio doesn’t overthink its efforts to stretch the Giulia’s styling cues into a high-riding shape. There’s no pretense of off-roadiness, though, which is just fine. Wheel designs range from 18- to 20-inches, with the 19s looking best in the Stelvio’s prominent wheel wells.
The cabin gets an 8.8-inch touchscreen mounted in the dash’s center, canted toward the driver, and with convenient physical controls below it. The look is modern and fresh, particularly with carbon fiber or wood trim. Standard leather upholstery elevates the overall effect, at least compared to competitors with synthetic upholstery.
2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Performance
More sports sedan than SUV, the Alfa Romeo Stelvio delivers spectacular acceleration and handling.
A fearsome powertrain lineup, fantastic handling, and a reasonably comfortable ride in most versions elevate the 2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio to an 8 out of 10.
Is the Alfa Romeo Stelvio 4WD?
Yes, all-wheel drive comes standard in all but the base rear-wheel-drive Stelvio Sprint.
How fast is the Alfa Romeo Stelvio?
Most Stelvio versions get a 280-hp 2.0-liter turbo-4, paired with a quick 8-speed automatic. Alfa cites an impressive 0-60 mph sprint time of 5.4 seconds. We believe it, as the Stelvio is certainly among the quickest 4-cylinder crossover SUVs we’ve driven.
Quadrifoglio models boast 505 hp pushed to all four corners via a variation of the same transmission. The Ferrari-derived twin-turbocharged V-6 is as good as internal combustion gets. Alfa fits a steering rack that provides ultra-responsive feedback, to the point that some potential buyers may actually find it overwhelming.
The ride is somewhat firm, though the adaptive dampers on the Performance package or on the Quadrifoglio tame it nicely. Some may find the Quadrifoglio too stiff for commuting over rough roads. Our sole complaint is that the Stelvio’s brakes feel snappy but lack the sophisticated feedback we expect in a luxury performance vehicle.
2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Comfort & Quality
There are more spacious and upscale compact luxury crossovers than the 2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio.
The 2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio is designed for the driver, not for the passengers. If a spacious cabin is a priority, keep shopping. We award the 2024 Stelvio a 6 out of 10 here, due to its comfortable front seats and decent cargo capacity, with a point subtracted for below-average second-row space.
Front occupants get power-adjustable, heated, leather-covered thrones with impressive bolstering. However, the rear yields just 31.9 inches of legroom, which is inadequate for a subcompact car, let alone a luxury SUV. The cargo area measures a middling 18.5 cubic feet with the rear row up, which expands to a more functional 56.5 cubes with the seats folded down.
The Stelvio’s cabin is pleasant enough, though some cheap plastic trim mingles with quality leather.
2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Safety
The 2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio includes a good list of safety tech.
How safe is the Alfa Romeo Stelvio?
We can’t award a score here, since neither the NHTSA nor the IIHS has completed crash testing. However, the Stelvio comes with driver-assistance tech such as automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitors, and automatic high-beam headlights. Options include a traffic-jam assist system and active lane control.
2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Features
Alfa Romeo fits the Stelvio with a decent list of features.
The 2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio is a reasonable overall value, with good standard equipment and a wide menu of options. It rates 7 on the TCC scale.
The Stelvio Sprint serves as the entry to the lineup at about $48,000, or about $50,000 with all-wheel drive. That’s not cheap, though every Stelvio leaves Italy bound for the U.S. bearing leather upholstery, power and heated front seats, 18-inch alloys, a heated steering wheel, an 8.8-inch touchscreen, and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility. Considering the Stelvio’s generous list of safety tech, it’s a competitive value.
Alfa Romeo backs the Stelvio with a 4-year/50,000-mile warranty, including a single free service visit in the first year.
Which Alfa Romeo Stelvio should I buy?
We like the base model as a value pick. This year’s Competizione edition runs $57,420, and builds on the mid-tier Veloce with an exclusive Moonlight Gray matte paint job, red brake calipers, a fresh 21-inch wheel design, a leather-trimmed dashboard, red contrast stitching on the seats, privacy glass, exclusive badging, and a Harman Kardon stereo.
How much is a fully loaded Alfa Romeo Stelvio?
The Stelvio Quadrifoglio hides a Ferrari-derived V-6 under a carbon-fiber hood, and also gets an active suspension and such for about $90,000.
2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Fuel Economy
With the base turbo-4, the 2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio offers OK fuel efficiency.
Is the Alfa Romeo Stelvio good on gas?
It’s acceptable with the entry-level engine, though the more popular all-wheel-drive setup compromises economy.
The EPA rates the 2024 Stelvio at 22 mpg city, 28 highway, and 24 combined. That earns a 2 according to our scale, though rear-wheel drive models are rated for 25 mpg, which would earn a 3. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio is understandably thirsty at ratings of 17/23/19 mpg. That’s really not that bad considering all its power.
