Test drive Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio: sports vector

Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio promises to impress not only sworn alfists

Acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h in 3,8 seconds, a top speed of 283 km / h, an intelligent all-wheel drive system, torque vectoring on the rear axle, an adaptive electronically controlled suspension - the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio promises to impress not only sworn Alfiists.

The Italians have chosen an extremely interesting and unusual place for the presentation of this model. Away from the hustle and bustle of Dubai, deep in the mountains in the UAE desert, a closed pass with magnificent serpentines, long arched turns and an incredible series of turns awaited us.

Sounds promising, especially when you're driving an Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio. The 2,9-liter Biturbo V6, as in the Giulia sedan, achieves an impressive 510 hp. Compared to its cousin, the Stelvio is about six centimeters longer, 9,5 centimeters wider and, most importantly, 25,5 centimeters taller.

This in itself sounds like a serious problem in terms of dynamic road behavior. At least that's what we thought, until we got our hands on the most powerful SUV of the Alpha ...

The Stelvio changes direction extremely spontaneously, taking corners at surprisingly high speeds with noticeable downforce from the rear. The 12: 1 steering system provides excellent information on traction and wheel position on the rear axle at all times.

Pirelli tires start to whistle in tight corners at speeds above 70 km / h, but the dynamic potential of the car is not exhausted there. The rear axle differential automatically accelerates the outer wheel to turn – in the popular science of “torque vectoring”.

Thus, the turning radius is automatically reduced and the large SUV rushes to the next turn. The Italian model has no traction issues even on heavily sanded surfaces.

Even before the rear wheels begin to lose traction, up to 50 percent of the traction is automatically transferred to the front axle. Otherwise, most of the time, Stelvio Quadrifoglio did not shy away from showing a character comparable to that of a rear-wheel drive car.

A controlled drift is only possible in Race mode, as in all other situations, the electronic stability system intervenes with ruthless rigidity. Fortunately, this sport mode leaves a little more room for the pilot to act.

If you want to save fuel, there is also Advanced Efficiency mode, in which the Stelvio becomes much more economical thanks to the function of temporary shutdown of three of the six cylinders and inertia mode. According to official data from Alpha, the average consumption is nine liters per 100 kilometers. Quite an optimistic value, especially with a sportier ride.

Biturbo V6 with powerful thrust

We're in Race mode again, which significantly boosts the engine's throttle response, but not enough to make up for a noticeable turbo pit. The true leap in power occurs at around 2500 rpm (when the maximum torque of 600 Nm is reached), and above this value the Stelvio develops its power evenly, providing remarkable traction.

The biturbo powertrain spins at over 7000 rpm before the eight-speed automatic shifts into a higher gear. You can also do this manually using the paddle on the right side of the steering wheel.

Alfa's engineers installed the appropriate software for this procedure differently from the Giulia QV, promising greater harmony between engine and gearbox. With every gear change, the Stelvio emits thunderous sounds from the exhaust system, followed by a new powerful roar - exciting and truly mechanical sounds without any electronic modeling.

Thus, Quadrifoglio continues to develop at an enviable rate. At the same time, the 1830kg SUV does a good job of absorbing bumps in the road, providing a tough, but not uncomfortable ride. This positive machine will be able to impress not only strong alpha players.