Recently spent a day at Blair Athol, North of JHB, driving the exquisite Alfa Stelvio SUV, named after one of the famous mountain passes in Italy, and the Alfa Giulia passenger car. One thing these guys know how to do, and that is build stylish cars.
Alfa Romeo’s Giulia and Stelvio have become the brand’s most-awarded cars ever: 170 international accolades awarded by specialised and general media, voted by juries of experts or directly by customers, dedicated to both innovation and style. And counting.
We have not had much media from this brand for a while, but they have now joined Stellantis, to make up a mega manufacturing hub encompassing many brands, Citroen & Peugeot included. So it was with a bit of anticipation that we made our way to Lanseria.
But the passion and styling of the Italians is catching, and in the new Giulia and Stelvio it is focused on comfort and a typically Italian zest for life. The interiors of both cars have been freshened to further highlight quality and elegance.
Connectivity has become a key focus thanks to the 8.8-inch touch-screen infotainment system and smartphone-like ease of use and enables a suite of Mopar services for remote car management. This was very necessary, as no car can have poor connectivity in this day & age.
We hopped into the Alfa Giulia first, the iconic Visconti green colour. The sports sedan – the Giulia QV – impressed with it’s 375kW bi-turbo V6 engine which can catapult the Giulia up the road to 100km/h in 3.9 seconds and on to a top speed of 307km/h. We never quite tested this to it’s limits, as I had a female colleague in the car with me, and that was a tad fast for her.
But make no mistake, this baby can pedal, and the new Alfalink ™ which is introduced on the rear suspension, a multi-link system with four-and-a-half links: rigid when cornering, but also longitudinally flexible, made the handling a breeze. Ddnt drive the smaller 2.0L unit, but is filled to the brim with Italian character and impressive performance offering 206kW and fuel consumption as efficient as 8.4 l/100km on the combined cycle. Power is transferred to the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission and carbon-fibre drive shaft for exhilarating performance.
The same sporty imprint, with a touch of typically Italian elegance, is found in the interior, which has been tailored with painstaking craftsmanship and premium materials: carbon fibre, leather and Alcantara. The centre of the dashboard is dominated by the AlfaTM Connect 3D NAV 8.8-inch infotainment system. The system offers Apple CarPlay, the smarter, safer way to use your iPhone in car as well as being Android AutoTM compatible, bringing the best of Google into the car.
After lunch we hopped into the SUV, the Stelvio, sharing the Giulia’s dynamic platform, Alfa Romeo’s first SUV conquered a complex challenge to make an Alfa capable of driving with agility off-road without losing anything in terms of performance and handling on-road. In other words: a SUV that can be driven like a sports sedan.
This SUV has sublime handling, and compared with a large German SUV I tested recently, it was far more nimble on the road. Featuring perfect 50/50 weight distribution, Alfa Romeo Q4 all-wheel drive architecture, best-in-class power-to-weight ratios and innovative engine and driver technologies, the Alfa Romeo Stelvio embodies everything a true Alfa Romeo should. Not only that, but the Stelvio can boast to be the lightest mid-size SUV in its class thanks to its lightweight body structure and carbon fibre driveshaft, coming in at just 1,660kg for the Q4.
Finding the perfect balance between driving experience and safety, the Stevlio proudly displays five-star Euro NCAP safety credentials with a score of 97% for the protection of adult occupants; the highest score in its class. Credited for its host of innovative safety systems, which come as standard, the Stelvio features Alfa Romeo’s segment-first Integrated Brake System, Autonomous Emergency Brake with pedestrian detection, Blind Spot Monitoring, Forward Collision Warning, and Lane Departure Warning.
We drove the Stelvio Quadrifoglio which is equipped with the exclusive aluminium 2.9 V6 Bi-Turbo petrol engine, developed with inputs from Ferrari, which delivers maximum power of 375kW at 6,500rpm and generates a maximum torque of 600Nm from 2,500 to 5,000rpm.
The other model -Alfa Romeo Stelvio Super is powered by an all-aluminium four-cylinder 206kW 2.0-litre Turbocharged petrol engine with carbon fibre drive shart, combined with the automatic eight-speed transmission. In addition to MultiAir electro-hydraulic valve actuation, the distinctive features of this engine include “2-in-1” turbo and 200-bar high-pressure direct injection, which pair up to deliver a particularly snappy accelerator response across the rev range in addition to best-in-class fuel-efficiency. The Stelvio Super has a top speed of 233km/h and accelerates from 0-100km/h in 7.2 seconds.
This power plant is teamed with the specifically calibrated eight-speed automatic transmission that allows gear shifts in just 150 milliseconds in Race driving mode. Moreover, to maximise the driving experience, the model is equipped as standard with one-piece aluminium paddle shifters integrated with the steering column.
It accelerates from zero to 100km/h in just 3.8 seconds and on to a top speed of 283km/h. However, the Alfa Romeo sports SUV is also incredibly efficient in terms of emission and fuel consumption, thanks to its electronically controlled cylinder deactivation system and the “sailing” function, available in Advanced Efficiency driving mode.
Further additions to the Giulia include rear USB ports, a cargo net, passive entry, a wireless charging pad, and eight-way electrically adjustable seats with driver memory and four-way lumbar support adjustment.
Stelvio enjoys a new Driver Assistance Pack including automatic high-beam assist, Active Blind Spot Assist, Outside and Interior rearview mirrors with electrochromic auto dimming, Lane Keeping Assist and Driver Attention Alert.
The new Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio comes with a 5 year/100 000km full warranty and maintenance plan as standard. Be seduced. In short, the Alfa Giulia & Stelvio encompass all the Italian passion and styling you would want in a car. Good to see this brand back in the media.
Pricing:
Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce: R 989,900.00
Alfa Romeo Giulia QV: R 1,599,900.00
Alfa Romeo Stelvio Super: R 1,159,900.00
Alfa Romeo Stelvio Q: R 1,749,900.00