Alfa Romeo Stelvio QV impresses next to Aston Martins but would lose to a van in one key way
Louder and more fun than GT cars? Check. Comfier than an Aston Martin Valkyrie? Check. Practical enough to never need a Van? Not quite...
Experiencing the Stelvio on some truly spectacular quiet and open driving roads in Scotland revealed the breadth of the Stelvio’s talents. The routes had a perfect mix of corners, lots of dramatic, scenic straights, plenty of dips and crests, and a variety of surfaces to add to the challenge.
Over the border shooting a GT group test, with the sun shining and plenty of distance to cover between locations, it was the perfect opportunity to secure and strap down my photographic gear, ladder, jet wash, cleaning supplies and kitchen sink and tag along with the group. It turned out to be some of the most fun I’ve had behind the wheel of the Alfa since taking it on.
The more you push the Stelvio, the more it starts to make sense. In Dynamic mode, the stiffer suspension setting really comes into its own, especially when tackling tight, technical corners or high-speed sweepers. The brakes remain very aggressive, but you adjust to their bite fairly quickly. And the Akrapovič exhaust system fitted to this Stelvio is absolutely outrageous – senior staff writer Sam Jenkins joked that the Stelvio was the noisiest car in our group, which is quite something considering it was sharing the road with an Aston Martin DB12, a Maserati GranTurismo Trofeo and a Continental GT.
After wrapping up the GT group test, it was straight into the next adventure: a trip to France with one of the wildest hypercars ever built for the road, the Aston Martin Valkyrie.
While the Valkyrie grabbed all the attention, the Stelvio was the unsung hero of the trip. With over 1000 miles to cover, it became our mobile base of operations, packed to the roof with all my camera kit as well as James Hollins’ video equipment. James even got some time behind the wheel and was impressed by the Stelvio’s performance, although he did comment that it’s definitely on the more compact side for an SUV. That said, videographers always seem to want a Transit van’s worth of boot space.
The Alfa took the job in its stride. Whether it was threading through tight French town centres or chewing through autoroute mileage, it was comfortable and composed, and impressively capable over the long haul.
With another big journey ticked off, the Stelvio continues to impress. It’s not perfect, but it’s definitely one of the most enjoyable SUVs I’ve driven and I always look forward to hitting the road in it.
| Total mileage | 13,785 |
| Mileage this month | 2101 |
| Costs this month | £0 |
| mpg this month | 22.1 |
This story was first featured in evo issue 335.
