DRIVEN + VIDEO: Consumer Reports Weighs In On The All-new Alfa Romeo Stelvio — And The Verdict Is...

The all-new Alfa Romeo Stelivo is something I don't think many of us expected from an Italian auto manufacturer. That's because it's a sport-utility vehicle.

I guess you could say it's a sign of the times.

But you have to go where the buyers are. Considering the demand for sporty, compact SUVs, it only makes sense for Alfa to try and give its sales figures a boost.

Hell, it worked for Jaguar.

In a world where the Porsche Macan is priced sky high, it's going to be interesting to see if the Stelvio can be the "poor man's Porsche." See what Consumer Reports has to say about the all-new SUV.

Alfa Romeo leaps into the premium SUV market with its all-new Stelvio. But with its inconsistent transmission, quirky interior, and frustrating infotainment system, the Stelvio will need more that character to survive its fierce competitors.

MDarringer - 8/20/2017 8:10:52 PM

-1 Boost

It will be a blessing if it does not turn out to be a quality/reliability crap storm like the Giulia. It sounds like it was not well thought out and given the noted driver unfriendliness, probably rushed to market.

CANADIANCOMMENTS - 8/20/2017 9:32:53 PM

0 Boost

I will be interested to see how quickly they will follow it up with a bigger X5 competitor. But this needs to be the bread winner of the lineup in a big way for the brand to succeed and grow in North America.

MDarringer - 8/20/2017 10:27:12 PM

-1 Boost

Product development at FCA is pretty dire at the moment. After the Wrangler and the new Ram, not much is in the pipeline.

TomM - 8/21/2017 12:34:19 PM

+2 Boost

FCA plans to produce the Next Jeep Cherokee on this platform - to I guess this the way to sort it out first - with a lower volume vehicle.

Since today - most warranty problems are electrical/computer in nature - largely programming problems - and are NOT mechanical problems - we have seen both the Jeeps and NOW the Giulia suffered through poor programming that required major updates of software. But I would rather that - than something mechanical break. On My Mini-van - with the exception of a Brake rotor with too much run-out (Ie - it shuddered and was easily replaced) - the only other real problem I have had was a needed reprogram of the Heater/AC system - which resulted in only a handful of cars developing a mechanical problem before they did the software update - otherwise - no major things.

If you follow my advice and wait for the second year of a new vehicle -the software update tend to have been already done - and with few mechanical problems - the cars of today are so much more reliable than they were 20 years ago - that I am not sure complaints are as justified.

AS far as an X5 competitor - I doubt it - that is Maserati territory.

CANADIANCOMMENTS - 8/21/2017 8:54:21 PM

0 Boost

I guess that is the 64 thousand dollar question. They have a little coupe. They have a 3 series A4 competitor. They now have an X3 / Q5 competitor. With high performance versions of each. Do they have to stay small? Go even smaller to A3/Q3 X1/M2 sizes? Alfa's are not cheap. Neither are Maserati's. Time will tell.