Sporty and attractive, the 2022 Alfa Romeo Stelvio is fun to drive but has a compromised rear seat. Based on the Giulia sport sedan, the Alfa Romeo Stelvio is a sporty compact crossover with standard rear-wheel drive and optional all-wheel drive. It takes on excellent crossovers like the Audi Q5, BMW X3, Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class, and Porsche Macan.
Alfa Romeo switches around its lineup again this year, replacing the Ti Sport with a model called Veloce. It joins Sprint, Ti, and Quadrifoglio models. Alfa also adds standard safety and convenience features, with a roughly $4,000 price increase to match.
The new safety features include active blind-spot monitors, adaptive cruise control, automatic high beams, and front and rear parking sensors. It also gets standard heated front and rear seats, navigation, and wireless smartphone charging.
Engine, Transmission, and Performance
The 2022 Alfa Romeo Stelvio‘s turbocharged four-cylinder sends a hearty 280 horsepower through an eight-speed automatic transmission. Rear-wheel drive is standard on the base model, but all-wheel drive is optional and standard on the rest of the lineup.
While the engine was effortlessly quick in our testing and sounded great, the Stelvio’s sole setup—aside from the high-performance Quadrifoglio—eliminates choices for the buyer and limits towing to a maximum of 3000 pounds.
During daily driving, we were particularly fond of its responsive throttle and smooth power delivery. Its raspy exhaust note sounded enthusiastic and appropriate for this application. In addition to its beautiful design, the 2022 Alfa Romeo Stelvio boasts athletic handling and a compliant ride.
Even with its 20-inch wheels, the version we tested provided sufficient isolation from all but the harshest bumps. While its maximum cornering grip was similar to rivals, the Alfa is the alpha dog when it comes to driving engagement.
The chassis, which is shared with the Giulia sedan, had damping that was composed and comfortable. Although the Stelvio’s steering isn’t as sharp as the Giulia’s, its light effort and quick reflexes were still exceptional—especially for a crossover.
Fuel Economy and Real-World MPG
Although the 2022 Alfa Romeo Stelvio‘s real-world fuel economy and highway range are unremarkable, they align with four-cylinder competitors. The rear-drive model is rated at 22 mpg city and 29 highway. Adding all-wheel drive drops that highway rating by 1 mpg.
The Stelvio we ran on our 75-mph highway fuel-economy route, which is part of our extensive testing regimen, returned 26 mpg on our test route.
The Alfa’s unrivaled performance and unique persona make this a nonissue in our minds, but alternatives such as the X3 and the Lexus RX are thriftier at the pump. For more information about the 2022 Alfa Romeo Stelvio’s fuel economy, visit the EPA’s website.
Interior, Comfort, and Cargo
Like the Giulia sedan, the 2022 Alfa Romeo Stelvio offers a stylish interior and a comfortable driving position. Sportier models can be had with carbon-fiber trim, but those seeking a more upscale appearance can choose wood inlays.
In addition to a wonderful driving position, leather upholstery covers its supportive front seats, and handsome aluminum accents adorn the dash, doors, and center console.
The 2022 Alfa Romeo Stelvio has some useful storage tricks up its Italian sleeve, but with a small cargo area behind the back seat, it’s not the most capacious crossover among this set.
Although the Alfa’s other cubbies only held average amounts, we appreciated the useful smartphone slot between its cupholders and the tray near the driver’s left knee. The center console also has a nifty removable tray at the bottom.
Infotainment and Connectivity
The infotainment system comes only in one size—8.8 inches—and responds to touch inputs as well as the handy rotary controller on the center console as a redundant control. Built-in navigation, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto integration are standard.
We found the infotainment system to be visually attractive, but navigation alerts occasionally occurred too late, resulting in missed turns. Using one of the two standard smartphone-integration interfaces for navigation solves this minor issue.
Safety and Driver-Assistance Features
The Italian-bred crossover has a host of standard driver assists. For more information about the 2022 Alfa Romeo Stelvio‘s crash-test results, visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) websites.
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