New Alfa Romeo Stelvio on sale in South Africa – Pricing and features

Alfa Romeo has updated the Stelvio for South Africa, changing its look and adding significant new features to the SUV.

For now, the Italian car is only available in its Veloce trim at a starting price of R1,205,500, with the Quadrifoglio or “Q” model to be added to the line-up later this year.

Each purchase comes with a 5-year/100,000km warranty and maintenance plan.

What’s new

The new Stelvio has taken design cues from the Tonale that launched at the end of last year, which are intended to give “a strong family feeling” between the two models, said the company.

The biggest change is a new “Trilobo” grille with two main air ducts, which are flanked on either side by a set of “3+3” adaptive Matrix LED headlights which can respond to oncoming traffic to avoid blinding other drivers.

These new head beams are intended to complement the other lighting modules on the SUV, namely its daytime running lights, dynamic turn signals, LED tail lights, and welcome lights that function whenever a door is opened.

Inside, a similar overhaul has been afforded to the dashboard which received a “telescopic” digital instrument cluster with a 12.3-inch screen that can be customized with three different layouts – Evolved, Relax, and Heritage.

These new additions join the list of equipment already found on the Alfa, which includes rain-sensing wipers, 20-inch alloy wheels, dark matte exhaust tips, aluminium sports pedals, a leather multifunction sports steering wheel with paddle shifters, an 8-inch media screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, ambient lighting, a hands-free electric tailgate, a wireless charger, electronically-adjustable and heated front sport seats, dual-zone climate control, leather upholstery, and an eight-speaker stereo.

It can also be had with autonomous emergency braking, driver alert monitoring, lane-keep assist, active cruise control, a rear-view camera, front and rear parking sensors, and blind-spot monitoring.

Customers can additionally purchase a sunroof at a cost of R20,000.

Performance

The Stelvio has retained its sporty nature thanks to a near-perfect 50:50 weight distribution and Q4 all-wheel-drive technology, which retains all the benefits of 4WD while providing the reactivity and driving pleasure of a rear-wheel-drive car, said the automaker.

The vehicle can be driven entirely in 2WD but is capable of delivering up to 50% of its engine torque to the front wheels in less than 150 milliseconds if it detects the front tyres are reaching their traction limit.

“This virtually eliminates any wheel slip in most conditions and ensures maximum vehicle performance and driving effectiveness,” it said.

The Veloce is then equipped with a 2.0-litre, turbocharged petrol powerplant, giving it an output of 206kW and 400Nm while averaging 7.0l/100km on a typical fuel cycle.

It sends power to the axles via an eight-speed automatic gearbox and takes just 5.7 seconds to reach 100km/h, and it maxes out at 230km/h.

Alfa Romeo Stelvio