Yahoo Autos 2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Competizione Adds Luxury, Not Sportiness
We're in something of a golden age of high-performance and luxury SUVs and crossovers. If you're in the market for a two-ton people mover that corners harder than your dad's old Corvette, you're spoiled for choice. Alfa Romeo entered the conversation with the power-rich Stelvio Quadrifoglio for the 2018 model year. Now the 2024 Stelvio Competizione—with an active suspension and a host of luxury items—arrives as a stepping stone between the more humdrum models and the pricier 505-hp Quadrifoglio.
Like the Veloce trim it is based upon, the Competizione's main focus is luxury. From the outside, this Alfa fully looks the part. The Comp-exclusive matte Moonlight Gray paint option gives the car a more premium feel, and the Stelvio follows in lockstep with its Giulia sedan partner by getting new LED matrix headlights that glare menacingly out of the darkness with three half-rings on each side. An updated version of the V-Scudetto grille rounds out the front-end highlights, while the rear features new taillights.
Step inside the Stelvio Comp, and you find that the double-humped upper dash is covered in leather (the real stuff), ditching the coarse-grain finish found on lesser versions. There's a 14-speaker Harman/Kardon audio system, though the infotainment system's laggy software muddled our experience. Switching to Apple CarPlay seemed to solve that particular issue. The Comp's leather seats are finished with red stitching and special "Competizione" badging on the sides and headrests. Unfortunately, the Alfa also suffers with some parts-bin switchgear, resulting in a sort of teeth-grating grimace every time you go to change the climate setting. The leather-wrapped shifter is nice enough, though dare to lower your forearm to the surrounding transmission tunnel, and you're met with a cheap grooved-plastic finish.
Fortunately, the Competizione is more or less redeemed through Alfa's ability to build an emotional powertrain. At the Competizione's $58,520 starting price, you might be expecting something closer to the deliciously enticing 505-hp twin-turbo V-6 from the Quadrifoglio, but no dice. Still, the standard 2.0-liter turbo four is no slouch, generating 280 horsepower. Those ponies are shipped to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission. The last Stelvio we tested with this powertrain managed an adequately speedy 60-mph time of 5.3 seconds.
Power delivery is swift, and the exhaust is pleasantly gruff in spirited driving. Stomping on the accelerator from a stop results in a quick chirp of distress before the tires hook up and spring the Alfa forward with vigor. Even with the mode selector in the default Natural setting, the Stelvio is a shockingly engaging drive for the segment. The steering is quick and direct, though it could offer more feedback.
Twisting the mode selector over to Dynamic brings more fun. Like the QF, the Competizione is equipped with Alfa's adaptive-damper setup, allowing you to swap between a softer setting for the daily commute and a stiffer mode for spirited drives. In its mellower mode, the suspension mutes all but the sharpest bumps, while the sportier setting sends more minor reverberations through the seat bottoms. In either setting, the chassis feels lithe and agile. The Stelvio's athleticism silently urges you to grab the massive shift paddles on the steering column and overtake slower traffic.
The Competizione is all Alfa, but its high price tag leaves us wanting something a bit closer to what the Quadrifoglio has on offer. Like with a curry missing key spices, we're left feeling full but wanting something more.
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