It’s about time that Alfa Romeo did a mid-life refresh to the Stelvio. Their first SUV took to our streets in the fourth quarter of 2018, which was actually very late, since production commenced two years prior. The Stelvio, and its sedan sibling, the Giulia are significantly important cars for Alfa Romeo, as they marked the “proper return” of the.
PHOTO: CarBuyerIt’s about time that Alfa Romeo did a mid-life refresh to the Stelvio. Their first SUV took to our streets in the fourth quarter of 2018, which was actually very late, since production commenced two years prior. The Stelvio, and its sedan sibling, the Giulia are significantly important cars for Alfa Romeo, as they marked the “proper return” of the brand.
The return of the Giulia marked a turn in the brand’s product direction, and quite literally a turn in direction the engine faced… which wheels were driven, and more importantly signalling to the world that the Giulia was not to compete against something like a Volkswagen Arteon or more accurately a Passat, but rather, it had the BMW 3 Series zeroed in its sights.
The signature Trilobo grille, and side intakes have also been re-worked, doing away with the honeycomb theme, in favour of a glossy three-dimensional abstract interpretation. At the rear, the tail lights feature smoked lens segments, finished in gloss black… and that is about all the changes for the exterior.
With the facelift, I hoped that Alfa Romeo would take the opportunity to give the dashboard, especially the bulk of its touchpoints a sprucing-up as-well. The dash leaves much to be desired in this day and age, as some of the materials, and even switchgear still feel cheap. As for the rest of the cabin, it is still rather decent.
The steering does take a while getting used to, as it is too light for my liking; and that is even with more weight dialled-in, in ‘Sport’ mode. But once used to it, you can appreciate that it is progressive in nature.