What can I say that I haven’t before about Alfa Romeo’s sporty Stelvio?
I reviewed this stylish compact luxury crossover just over a year ago and outside of the 2025 being bathed in a brilliant Alfa Rosso red ($695 extra) that excited the neighbors, and this a base level model, nothing really has changed.
Alfa, part of the Stellantis portfolio that includes brands like Dodge, Ram and Chrysler, which we all know, is a small player in the U.S. market. But its reputation for Italian style and sporty performance is legendary, and Stelvio certainly does nothing to tarnish that image.
There’s the traditional three-sided shield grille that immediately identifies Stelvio as a product of Italy’s Alfa and the red screamed Italian racer. Indeed, Alfa won a LOT of European road races in the 1930s and Formula 1 races in the early 1950s.
Oh, there’s plenty of power here too, for a 2.0-liter turbocharged I4. This cranks 280 horses and delivers 306 pound-feet of torque. So, if this weren’t AWD it might even chirp the tires, 20-inchers by the way. Those, plus the super fancy 5-hole aluminum wheels add $1,750 to the price tag. For looks, yes!
Stelvio corners well too, easily making it among the top handling crossovers or SUVs of this size. Take a run up to Holy Hill and carve some curves and it’ll be way more fun than say a Ford Escape or Honda CR-V. Plus, as with most vehicles in the past five years, there are drive modes to accentuate the performance, or save gas.
Alfa labels its console dial to enable these as DNA, clever. That stands for Dynamic, Natural and Advanced Efficiency, what otherwise is universally known as Eco mode. That’s the gas saver.
Dynamic tightens up the steering and enlivens the shifting of the 8-speed automatic to give it more oomph. Note too I had no major turbo lag in this tester, much better than the previous model.
Ride? Well, sure it rides like a sporty crossover, meaning firm. Apparently, roads are smooth in Italy. For youngsters, not a problem, maybe for the 50 and older crowd this might be too firm on crumbling Midwestern roads. If you live in a warm climate with smooth asphalt (looking at you Texas, Nevada, California), no problem.
Q4, Alfa’s AWD system is standard too, giving Stelvio good traction on some light snow-covered streets during the test drive. I was a bit surprised though that I managed just 20.2 mpg in my week’s jaunts, with a few on single-digit weather days. Last test I’d managed 24.9 mpg in a highway drive and 23.8 mpg in a mix. The EPA still rates this at 22 mpg city and 28 highway. Sadly, premium fuel is preferred.
Inside, the Stelvio continues to be stylish with comfy black leather seats, satin chrome trim on air vents and door handles, plus a textured metal dash, console, and door trim. Sharp!
But there are issues too, starting with the black textured plastic dash top that feels cheaper than the rest of the interior. Some other bugaboos still haven’t been addressed, too.
Primary is the info screen that remains a modest 8.8 inches. That just seems small in a luxury-leaning crossover and its home page is divided into thirds, making all nearly impossible to read. That means a driver must immediately move to the radio or navigation screen to get a full-screen view that’s readable.
When starting the home page is the standard so slipping the transmission into Reverse turns on a tiny backup screen camera that’s nearly useless the view is so small.
Also concerning is the smallish inside rearview mirror that has been an issue since Stelvio debuted. The issue? The mirror either isn’t wide enough for a short driver to adjust and see fully out the rear window, or the mirror isn’t able to be adjusted fully. I vote for the later because that mirror will not rotate far enough left so a short driver with the seat fairly far forward can see out back properly.
As I said a year ago, the huge A-pillar/side mirror creates another monster blind spot that can be disconcerting at busy intersections as a driver looks to the right watching for oncoming traffic or the now less than occasional red-light runner. A smaller issue is the driver’s sun visor latch opening that features a gaping hole allowing the sun to beam into a driver’s eyes during winter when the sun is at low angles. Poor design, and not a problem I’ve ever encountered in any other vehicle.
I’ve gotten used to the steering wheel start push button, so that’s off my complaint list, and it is a logical location and easy to see.
Naturally there are some goodies here too.
Front and rear seats are heated as is the steering wheel and the seats are well cushioned for a comfy ride. Those sport seats are part of the Veloce package that adds $2,000 to the cost and gets you Veloce badging on the front fenders. Veloce means fast by the way, so you’d think a performance upgrade might be included, but it’s mostly trim, the better sport seats, a rear diffuser, and red brake calipers along with gloss black roof rails. Whatever!
Stelvio also features a driver’s seat with three memory settings and the steering wheel is a flat-bottom model that adds to the interior’s sporty flair. That Veloce package also delivers a power front passenger’s seat, something I’d expect it to be standard in a luxury crossover.
Overhead was an optional panoramic dual-pane sunroof ($1,500) and the hatch in back is powered, as one might expect.
Likewise there’s a solid lineup of safety gear including remote start, smart cruise, collision warnings front and rear along with parking sensors (a bit sensitive), cross-traffic detection, and blind-spot warning. For another $700 the tester added an Active Assist package with lane-keeping assist, traffic sign recognition, driver attention alert among other goodies.
If one wants more safety features, a $700 preferred package adds active driving assist, lane-keep assist, highway assist, traffic sign recognition, traffic jam assist, driver attention alert, active blind-spot assist, that power hatch, a cargo cover, anti-theft system, and intelligent speed assist.
On the practical side rear seat room is just OK for average-sized folks, but a little tight on knee space for taller passengers. While the rear cargo space is a bit below average for a compact crossover at 18.5 cubic feet with the second row seats in place. Those split three ways with releases in the cargo area to allow quick fold-downs. Seats down that cargo bay bumps up to 56.6 cubic feet.
Pricing? This base model lists at $50,990 including delivery and all those options pushed it to $57,635. Ironically about the same as the better equipped next level up Intensa trim at $57,390. A Tribute Italiano trim runs $600 more and is coming soon.
Sad news for Stelvio fans wanting the raging 505-horsepower Quadrifoglio model that listed at nearly $90,000 last year. It has been discontinued.
FAST STATS: 2025 Alfa Romeo Stelvio AWD
Hits: Stylish nose and profile, excellent handling, good power with 3 drive modes, big sunroof, heated front and rear seats, heated steering wheel, comfy seats with 3 memory settings, abundant safety equipment, plus power hatch and flat-bottom steering wheel.
Misses: Small info screen so hard to see rearview camera, inside rearview mirror won’t adjust to help short driver see fully out rear window, huge A-pillar blind spot, sun visor has opening that lets sun in. Drinks premium, ride can be stiff.
Made in: Cassino, Italy
Engine: 2.0-liter turbocharged I4, 280 hp/306 torque
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Weight: 4,007 lbs.
Wheelbase: 110.9 in.
Length: 184.6 in.
Cargo: 18.5 - 56.5 cu. ft.
MPG: 22/28 (EPA)
MPG: 20.2 (tested)
Base Price: $50,990 (includes delivery)
Invoice: $48,540
Options:
Veloce pkg. (Limited tailgate applique, Vulcano gloss black body kit, sport leather seats, power seat bolsters, limited-slip differential, 8-way power front passenger seat, sport rear diffuser, red calipers w/white script, gloss black roof rails, Alfa connected services), $2,000
Alfa Rosso paint, $695
20-inch sport 5-hole aluminum wheels and all-season tires, $1,750
Dual-pane sunroof, $1,500
Preferred pkg. 22M (active driving assist, lane-keep assist, highway assist, traffic sign recognition, traffic jam assist, driver attention alert, active blind-spot assist, power tailgate, cargo cover, anti-theft system, intelligent speed assist), $700
Test vehicle: $57,635
Sources: Alfa Romeo, www.kbb.com
