The Alfa Romeo Stelvio Ti Sport is the BEST driving sport SUV in the cross over segment hands down. Over the last few months I had the opportunity to drive every vehicle in this category as I was helping a friend shop for a sport cross over SUV. I drove the Mercedes GLE, GLC, GLA,BMW X3, X5, Volvo XC, Jaguar F Pace and Infiniti QX50. Many of these vehicles in this class and price segment are great options for a majority of consumers. Let’s be honest and face the reality, a majority of this market segment is taken up by women with children and they stereotype it as the ‘soccer mom” image. Then we see manufactures taking their SUV platforms and injecting some muscle into them with bigger engines, fancier wheels, big brakes and nice aero treatments but that is where almost all of these others fall short. You see manufactures know the cross over SUV segment is the bread and butter especially for the USA market, they spend enough time analyzing the core audience and demographic who will be driving these vehicles so the execution from the get go is always on these main criteria: comfort, visibility, all season traction, cargo storage, rear seating room and of course luxury image.

 Alfa Romeo may have taken those same criteria into consideration but the Giorgio platform which is the foundation of the Stelvio and Giulia was developed initially for driving dynamics as their core priority.

The Stelvio is Sporty, Sexy, Athletic & Iconic in design, what would you expect from Italy.

As I discuss in both of my Alfa Romeo review videos for FCA to become a success they had to develop this platform unlike no other in the marketplace. By hiring some of the best of Maranello’s engineers and adopting race car engineering construction techniques and suspension geometry they were able to offer a winner in the SUV and Midsize sedan segments regardless of what variant you decided to choose.

The Alfa Romeo Stelvio offers true Italian front end sport car suspension geometry and feel by incorporating the same cast aluminum suspension mounting points as I highlight in my videos. By incorporating a fully cast aluminum front subframe with strut uprights it not only stiffens the front end but also cancels out NVH that comes into the unibody of the chassis and into the cabin. Cast aluminum and aluminum extrusions have a much lower “resonance” frequency compared to the conventional use of stamped steel. By having a lower resonance frequency you not only  dampening the shock into the chassis and to the driver but your offering a much stiffer platform to mount your entire suspension architecture. When you mount your suspension in this manner it enables the cross axis ball joints, uprights, steering rack, spring and strut assembly to work in perfect harmony without having unsettling NVH counteract affects into the chassis that can transmit into harshness and a jiggly feeling vehicle.

Here is a quick look at the Alfa Romeo Unique Alfa Link Front End Design and Geometry. This is where the magic starts and forms the foundation of a truly dynamic chassis. High Ackerman angle and positive caster lend to the razor sharp steering and feedback unmatched by any other automaker at the present time. Full Cast Aluminum Front Subframe cradle and suspension uprights. Fixed upper triangulation from the cowl, A Pillars, Shock Towers all tie into the lower subframe for the dynamic solid feel of these vehicles.

Sport Bolstering of these seats are outstanding with great lateral bolstering and comfort.

I am not one to ever be impressed with an SUV type of vehicle as I discuss in my Stelvio review video because my inputs while driving are so sharp and aggressive it makes driving an SUV for ME a very scary experience. From the first 5minutes behind the wheel I knew right away that the Alfa Romeo Stelvio is much more special beneath it’s sexy clad body. There is a reason why I bought a Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio and it is because that car evokes a level of passion and technical appreciation for a performance engineer like myself who understands what is beneath the skin to make cars so special.

Unlike most my brain and nervous system is on constant overload pertaining to cars and the mechanics of how things work and how they are manufactured. It drives me insane daily because when I drive my brain and central nervous system is taking in every noise, input, vibration and force while processing this data in my head to visualize what is going on as I drive. I have a hyper sensitive sensory condition that enables me to feel things in cars most can not,  it’s a quirk that haunts me but it is my constant pursuit to learn and understand the progression of automotive engineering that makes me so good at setting up chassis and developing performance products and custom building cars. No car today is perfect and the Alfa has it’s own quirks but for a driving enthusiast like myself you overlook the fact that the car lacks the greatest tech. The car also has the smallest and worst screen for it’s back up camera. You also overlook silly things like the cup holders and a lack of a spare tire. You see to me none of this matters because my personal belief is performance oriented cars are meant to be driven and not meant to be some interactive tour de force for the driver to play with. The more distractions you implement into cars the greater chances you can cause the driver to take his focus off the road hampering safety of not only themselves but other innocent motorists.

The Alfa Romeo Stelvio’s interior is spacious, well built and shows quality throughout. The level of passion that goes into an Italian car with such legendary DNA is evident when you simply look at the aesthetic touches throughout the vehicle inside and out. The Stelvio’s audio system is clear and dynamic with great low frequency response and impact, this is very important to a music lover like myself but even in our modern times we still see cars with bad audio systems in this price range.

Beautifully bolstered and stitched bucket seats with signature Alfa Romeo embossments.

A sporty cockpit with real Ferrari inspired aluminum paddles and flat bottom steering wheel and soft touch material and aluminum trim.

Dual Panoramic sunroofs offer a nice greenhouse effect for all seasons without taking away any headroom front or rear.

The Alfa Romeo Stelvio Ti Sport is the variant I am reviewing which had a 2.0 Turbo 4 cyl engine. Yes it is not a powerhouse but it reduces weight over the front end, offers a more mid engine layout, better balance front and rear, great fuel economy and enough torque for spirited driving  when you need it. It also offers the highest frontal and offset crash impact scores all based on the triangulations of the front structure and the incorporation of the Continental MKC-1 brake by wire system. This will also place this vehicle in a better class for insurance coverage which is a very important part of budgeting a new car purchase these days that nobody talks about.

I hope you all enjoyed my Alfa Romeo Stelvio Ti Sport review on my website and in my review video all I can say is please take into consideration all I discuss and take one for a drive if you are in the market for a sport cross over SUV, you will not be disappointed. I think soon enough we are going to see some very spirited and fast soccer moms hauling ass in these around town. Stay tuned for more automotive content. Auto Fanatic.