Alfa Romeo’s Stelvio Intensa – ALFA MAIL

Alfa Romeo’s Stelvio Intensa

ALFA MAIL

The scheduled Kia Sportage, a redesigned plug-in hybrid, was in for scheduled service. With that, for the holiday, Alfa Romeo’s Stelvio Intensa was pulled forward. And while its color is a metallic black (Vulcano Black Metallic!) rather than red, it proved to be all that I wanted – or needed – for Christmas. It comes with the mistletoe, and with 280 horsepower of turbocharged four, it’s a bit of a missile.

But first, full disclosure: Since reading about pre-war Alfas as a teenager in the ‘60s, I’ve been smitten. Driven by Tazio Nuvolari and with the Alfa team managed by Enzo Ferrari, Alfa Romeo was at once the giant and, as Mercedes and Auto Union advanced in the latter part of the ‘30s, became a giant killer. With inline six and eight-cylinder powerplants topped by exquisitely-machined dual overhead cams, the Alfa chassis in and of itself was inevitably a work of art. But as you’d expect, the chassis were almost always clothed in that era’s most seductive bodywork. As a kid not yet hooked up with girls, I hoped to hook up with an Alfa…

It’d be another ten years before I was able to own one, a ’74 Berlina purchased (new) in ’76. And that an Alfa sedan could sit on the lot of Precision Motors in Dallas for two model years tells you all you need to know about Alfa’s business model then – and know the business model is all-too-similar now. With Audi, BMW and Benz showrooms almost as common as Buick showrooms (and – obviously – far more common than Olds or Pontiac showrooms), to shop for an Alfa Romeo you first need to find an Alfa dealer. We’re here to tell you: It’s worth the effort – but it’s gonna’ take an effort.

The Alfa Romeo Stelvio is at the top of Alfa’s U.S. food chain, which begins with the entry-level Tonale, moves to the Giulia 4-door and ‘graduates’ (for you oldsters, the pun’s intended) to the Stelvio. The Giulia and Stelvio share a platform and powertrain. And while the Giulia is either rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, the Stelvio comes only with all-wheel drive. Given that the crossover’s namesake, Italy’s Stelvio Pass, is closed during the winter, all-wheel drive is fully appropriate. 

In its sheetmetal the Stelvio isn’t as compelling – in this subjective view – as its Giulia sibling, which I regard as the most artfully designed 4-door in anyone’s showroom. But the Stelvio is attractive, looking lithe and athletic despite its raised profile, and from the front – with that iconic grille – is unmistakably Italian. Its proportions (for comparison, the Stelvio sits on a wheelbase 5 inches longer than a RAV4, and is 3 inches longer overall) communicate its rear-wheel drive bias, and while the Stelvio is intended for Milan and not Moab, abbreviated overhangs front and rear suggest an ability to navigate that gravel path to the weekend hideaway. 

The Stelvio Intensa is recognizable by its 20-inch alloys trimmed in a black/gold combo, along with the Italian flag affixed to the rearview mirror caps. But it’s inside where Alfa Romeo’s design team did what I regard as their best work. Sport buckets feature perforated black leather accented with contrasting stitching. And while the shape is intended to hold you in place, there’s still room for the billfold if you’re an Alfa male, or the United Colors of Benetton sweater if you’re his companion. 

In front of the ‘pilote’ is one of the nicest wheels since OEMs gave up the tiller, perfectly proportioned without going all F1. And in front of that wheel is a tach and speedo offering three formats: Evolved, Relax and Heritage; the Heritage is not too dissimilar from what I enjoyed in that ’74 Berlina or my later acquisition, an ’82 Spider. And since the Stelvio debuted – at the Los Angeles Auto show in 2016 – its modest infotainment remains modest. In short, if you prefer your autos almost analog, Alfa’s still building them. For now.

The essence of an Alfa remains its platform, and while a turbocharged four delivering around 280 horsepower and all-independent suspension can be found under any number of Euro or Asian brands, what Alfa does with the menu borders on automotive magic. With three drive modes – its DNA, if you will – you can move from ‘Dynamic’ to ‘Natural’ to ‘Advanced Efficiency’ in milliseconds. Obviously, if you still enjoy a sporting ‘DNA’ you’ll opt for Dynamic, which gives you more of what you bought an Alfa Romeo for, with an engagement in the throttle, trans and suspension that better justifies the $60K you’ve invested. But there will be those that just want to get to work or pick up the kids, and for those ‘N’ is the word. Happily, ‘Advanced Efficiency’ not only improves the Stelvio’s very average economy, but works better in marginal weather.

If looking for a compact crossover with performance in its DNA, you’ll find valid, credible offerings from a wide variety of established OEMs. But if intending to infuse your daily drive with an overdose of brio, you’ll not do better than Alfa Romeo’s Stelvio. The showroom will – for the foreseeable future – remain hard to find, but soooo worth it once behind the wheel.