I drove the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio – the coolest SUV you’ve probably never seen

YOU’VE probably only seen a handful on the road, and you’re not really sure how to pronounce its name.

But the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio is possibly one of the coolest SUVs on the roads today.

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Q7s and X7s are ten a penny these days, so bagging an Alfa Romeo is certainly one way to stand out.

I tried one for a week in glorious Competizione Red, which certainly helped in that regard.

This is an enormous car, so its zero-to-62mph speed of 3.8 seconds is blistering.

It’s not quite Lamborghini Urus territory, but this is roughly half the price – and about as fast as you’d need a family car to go anyway.

It’s powered by a very musical 2.6-litre V6 petrol engine.

If they don’t see you coming, they’ll certainly hear you.

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The bi-turbo engine delivers 510hp, 600Nm of torque and a blistering 176mp top speed that seems frankly ludicrous for a 15.5ft SUV.

You’ve got an automatic 8-speed gearbox, but controlling the transmission using the gear paddles behind the steering wheel is much more fun.

This is an Alfa Romeo, after all.

It’s four-wheel drive, befitting of an SUV, and handles brilliantly thanks to real-time torque vectoring.

A drive-mode selector tagged with ‘DNA’ in the car lets you switch it into RACE mode.

This opens up the car, giving it more oomph, sharpening the steering and offers up some sportier sounds.

On the tech front, you’re covered.

Driver assistance includes active blind spot tracking (so you don’t change lanes into a vehicle and ruin that lovely paint job), as well as an attention system to alert you if you’re nodding off.

Traffic sign recognition, lane keeping assist and active cruise control all work to make motorways less of a slog.

But the more time you spending properly driving the car, the more fun you’ll have.

Inside you’ve got an 8.8-inch touch-friendly Alfa infotainment system, which works great.

You can also opt to use the eternally slick Apple CarPlay too – effectively emulating your iPhone on-screen.

The car has two USB ports, which is just about enough these days.

A wireless charging port is available too, if you happen to be carting around a trio of people who didn’t bother powering up their mobiles before your road trip.

And if you’re really geeky, you can connect to Alfa Romeo’s app and monitor your car from anywhere.

This includes checking fuel levels, and even monitoring tyre pressure.

The model I drove had an absolutely whomping Harman Kardon sound system – an optional extra.

It sounded great, delivering thumping bass and plenty of clarity and volume to break over the roaring V6.

Alfa Romeo has done a cracking job with the Stelvio Quadrifoglio.

It takes all the best bits of the standard Stelvio, and gives it the racy chops you’d expect from a Quadrifoglio.

It’s got an eye-catching look that’s clearly Alfa Romeo, and will help you stand out in just about any car park.

And most importantly, it’s good fun – with a sporty feel, plenty of tech, and a sonorous engine that consistently delights.

Plus, it starts at £74,000, which is good value when you consider the size of the car, the luxury on offer, and the rampant speed being delivered.

And if you do decide to buy one, get it in red. Obviously.

The Sun tested an Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio in October 2021 with an on-the-road price of £92,940. The model starts at £74,065.

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• Stelvio Quadrifoglio at Alfa Romeo – buy here

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All prices in this article were correct at the time of writing, but may have since changed. Always do your own research before making any purchase.

In other news, Ford’s Mustang Mach-E is the electric car of your dreams.

Check out the new Bentley Bentayga Hybrid – a silent 17-foot “dream machine”.

The new Mercedes S-Class has sci-fi sat-nav arrows – just like a video game.

Give our tech overview of the impressive Lamborghini Urus.

And take a look at the gadget-mad BMW X5.

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