Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio Review & Prices

The Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio is a family SUV that’s been given a makeover to have the performance and cornering abilities of a sports car. It’s a bit like the magician Dynamo, because the way it does this feels like magic.

It’s not the only high-power SUV to consider, though – the BMW X3 M, Porsche Macan GTS and Jaguar F-Pace SVR are all tempting alternatives. And if you’ve got deep pockets, the Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S is another option.

While they’re all great to drive, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio is the best of the bunch in corners. It’s quite light compared with most SUVs, which really helps make it more fun when you attack a twisty road.

The engine helps, because it’s a glorious thing. An update in 2024 has given it a little more performance at 520hp, so it’s still ridiculously rapid and sounds like a hornet’s nest performing opera as it surges towards the red line.

Unlike the rear-wheel drive Giulia Quadrifoglio, with which this car shares an engine, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio has all-wheel drive. However, it sends more of the power to the rear wheels most of the time; you can feel the tyres bite into the road and shoot you towards the horizon out of a corner, just like a sports car.

With this surprising agility, it’s easy to forget you’re in a family SUV, but while the driving position is excellent and can be set fairly low for a sporty feel, you can also sit higher for that commanding SUV view of the road ahead. Space and storage in the front and back are decent, but alternatives such as the Jaguar F-Pace SVR offer considerably more room.

It’s a similar story in the boot, where the 525-litre capacity will be fine for most, but alternatives offer a bit more (the Jaguar actually offers loads more). The Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S is the exception and lags well behind.

It’s not just interior space where the Stelvio Quadrifoglio doesn’t quite stack up to those other cars, because while the cabin feels suitably sporty, the design is fairly bland and the infotainment system is, frankly, pretty rubbish. A new-for-2024 digital instrument binnacle does help though, and there’s loads of carbon fibre trim. It’s rough so you can feel the natural texture, which is cool but perhaps feels a bit cheap in reality.

When you’re not enjoying the performance on offer and just want the Stelvio to settle down for a quiet drive around town, it’s a bit jiggly over bumps but no worse than most alternatives. The Porsche Macan GTS, with its adaptive suspension system, is the most comfortable fast SUV at lower speeds.

While the Stelvio Quadrifoglio’s interior is a touch disappointing for the price, if you’re a keen driver and want the most fun SUV possible then it should be first on your shopping list. See how much you can save with Carwow’s Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio deals, or browse used Stelvio Quadrifoglio models. You can also check out other used Alfa Romeos, and Carwow can help when it’s time to sell your car, too.

The Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio starts at around £78,000, which makes it fairly reasonably priced among alternatives. The Porsche Macan GTS starts about £6,000 less and has more badge appeal, but is down on power quite a bit, while a fully loaded Audi SQ5 is a similar price to the Stelvio.

Everything else is more expensive. The Jaguar F-Pace SVR is probably the closest in character to the Alfa Romeo and starts at nearly £90,000, though it’s bigger and more powerful. The BMW X3 M is a bit more again, then it’s a big leap to the Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S’s £110,000 starting price, which is largely down to its high-power hybrid engine.

Quadrifoglio models come with 20-inch alloy wheels, a Harman Kardon sound system and all of the performance-focused mechanical upgrades as standard. The Akrapovic exhaust that improves the engine sound is worth paying extra for, and carbon ceramic brakes for better stopping performance, though the latter is only really relevant if you plan on spending a lot of time on race tracks.

It’s a bit jiggly over bumps, but the Stelvio Quadrifoglio is utterly brilliant on a twisty road

In town

There’s very little compromise to be made going for the Quadrifoglio version over the standard Stelvio. That model is quite uncomfortable over bumps compared with alternatives, and while you will notice potholes and rough roads a bit more in the go-faster version, it’s nothing drastic by performance car standards.

That said, you don’t sit quite as high as you do in other SUVs, so visibility isn’t amazing, particularly out of the back. The turning circle isn’t great either, so tight manoeuvres can be a bit of a faff. Front and rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera are standard fit and help make things a bit easier, though.

On the motorway

Things are better out on the motorway, where there’s not much in the way of wind and road noise, and you don’t notice bumps quite as much. The powerful engine means you have no trouble getting up to speed on a slip road or when pulling off swift overtakes.

Adaptive cruise control is included as standard, which keeps your distance to the car in front, but if you want the system that can automatically keep you centred in your lane it’s a fairly pricey optional extra. It does add the ability to use the cruise control system in stop-start traffic, though, which is nice to have.

On a twisty road

If you’re after a family SUV that’s also fantastic to drive on a twisty road, then the Stelvio Quadrifoglio is the car for you, and you’ll quickly forget about the minor niggles with everyday driving mentioned above.

One of the key reasons the Stelvio Quadrifoglio is so good in corners is because it’s quite light by SUV standards. But you also get grippy tyres and, as part of the 2024 update, a mechanical limited-slip differential. This essentially helps the rear tyres put the power into the road and makes the car more predictable when accelerating out of corners.

It also helps that the power mostly goes towards the rear wheels, so it feels like a rear-biased sports car with the bonus of all-wheel drive grip if it’s required. There’s very limited lean from the car too, so you don’t feel like you’re wobbling around like in some SUVs.

There are a couple of optional extras to consider. The Akrapovic exhaust is a no-brainer if you want to really enjoy the car’s sound, but the carbon ceramic brakes are expensive overkill unless you regularly take your car on race tracks.

The driving position is great, but alternatives offer more space inside and bigger boots

One of the main appeals of an SUV is the high driving position, and while you do get that to a certain extent with the Stelvio Quadrifoglio, it never feels quite as commanding as most other SUVs. The plus side to this is that it feels much sportier, and with good adjustability of the wheel and seats, it’s easy to find a comfortable driving position.

Space overall is fine, though again, bigger alternatives such as the Jaguar F-Pace SVR feel roomier in the front. Storage is excellent, with big cupholders and door bins, a useful storage box under the armrest and even a little tray by the driver’s right knee that’s good for a secret stash of travel sweets.

Space in the back seats

Much like the front seats, the Stelvio’s back seats are adequately roomy, though the F-Pace in particular offers more legroom, headroom and space for three. There are good quality materials and sporty styling touches, such as carbon fibre in the doors, so you don’t feel short-changed compared with the front.

Storage isn’t quite as impressive as the front, though, and all you get are a couple of cupholders in the armrest, small door bins and nets on the seat backs.

Fitting a child seat is easy, because the ISOFIX mounting points sit beneath flip-up covers that you can’t lose. The Stelvio sits higher from the ground than a saloon, which means you’re not bending down to get your child buckled up. Just be aware that if you have a really big, bulky seat it might mean you have to move the seat in front forwards.

Boot space

The Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio’s boot space is best described as adequate. At 525 litres, its capacity sits around the middle of alternatives. There’s more space than you get in the Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S (470 litres) and Porsche Macan GTS (500 litres), but the BMW X3 M and Audi SQ5 are a bit bigger at 550 litres and the Jaguar F-Pace SVR’s cavernous 650 litres beats all.

Regardless, the Stelvio’s boot should be big enough for most people most of the time. Its square space means you can maximise the load area and there’s no lip to lift heavy items over. You can fold the rear seats (in a useful 40:20:40 configuration) with a lever in the boot to reveal 1,600 litres of space.

The interior feels focussed and sporty, but the design isn’t particularly flashy and the infotainment system is hugely dated

Considering its stunning-for-an-SUV exterior design, you might expect the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio to have a similarly eye-catching interior. Well, you’d be wrong. It’s in no way ugly, it’s just a bit simple and doesn’t feel special enough for a car at this price point.

As part of the 2024 update, Alfa Romeo has fitted a new 12.3-inch digital instrument display, which is bright and clear, with all the relevant driving information and configurable screen designs. However, the 8.8-inch infotainment screen in the middle lets the side down, because the display is a bit dull and it’s really slow and laggy to respond to your inputs. It’s better using Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which both come as standard.

The cabin itself feels well put together, but there’s no denying the likes of the BMW X3 M and Jaguar F-Pace SVR feel more upmarket. One neat touch in the Alfa Romeo is the liberal use of carbon fibre, most noticeable on the centre console and dashboard – there’s no shiny coating like you’d usually see, so you can feel the roughness of the weave, which is a cool idea but it feels weirdly at odds with the soft, smooth materials used elsewhere.

If you want your posh, expensive SUV to feel suitably posh and expensive inside, consider the X3 M or the tech-heavy Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S.

There’s just the one engine available in the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio, but what an engine it is. The 2.9-litre V6 is technically derived from a Ferrari unit, and it feels every bit as special as you might expect as a result.

You get 520hp, up from 503hp in the pre-2024 model, and thanks to all-wheel drive you can get from 0-62mph in just 3.8 seconds – that’s 0.1s faster than the rear-driven Giulia Quadrifoglio. Its top speed is down on the saloon though, at 177mph compared with 191mph.

All of this is proof that a great performance car is about more than just numbers on a page, because despite its brilliance the Stelvio Quadrifoglio is far from the most powerful fast SUV. That honour goes to the Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S and its monstrous 680hp hybrid engine, followed by the 575hp Jaguar F-Pace SVR’s V8. The Alfa Romeo’s V6 does just beat the BMW X3 M’s 510hp, and is a long way ahead of the Porsche Macan GTS’s 440hp.

Unsurprisingly fuel economy isn’t great, with official figures of 23.9mpg, though we saw around 18mpg in testing. CO2 emissions are high too at 267g/km, which puts it into the most expensive first-year Vehicle Excise Duty banding and company car tax rates. It also faces an extra car tax charge in years two to six because its list price is more than £40,000.

The regular Alfa Romeo Stelvio was put through Euro NCAP safety testing in 2017. Its five-out-of-five rating has expired, but the 97% adult occupant protection score is still worthy of note.

You get all the basic assistance kit you would expect, such as blind spot warning, lane-keeping assistance and adaptive cruise control. However, if you want the upgraded system that can help keep you centred in your lane, as well as control your speed in stop-start traffic, you’ll have to pay extra for the Driver Assistance Pack.

Alfa Romeo doesn’t have a great reputation for reliability, and while the Stelvio is perhaps not as likely to go wrong as you might expect, it’s certainly not as reliable as you would probably hope. That being said, the likes of Jaguar, BMW and Mercedes aren’t exactly known for building bullet-proof cars themselves, so it’s probably no more or less likely to go wrong than any of their alternatives.

Peace of mind does come in the form of a three-year, unlimited mileage warranty as standard. That’s a bit better than the minimum you would expect, and about the same as you get from most premium car manufacturers.