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2020 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio Road Test | The driver's choice becomes less compromised

The 2020 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio marks the third model year of the Italian SUV. And every time we’ve driven it, weÂ’ve come away smitten with its driving dynamics but disappointed in areas of technology and finish. So, Alfa Romeo has made some changes, upgrading some interior pieces, revamping the infotainment system and upgrading the driver assist systems. Wisely, everything mechanical has been left alone. The result: This is the best version of arguably the best-driving performance crossover on the market. But it still has room for improvement that could continue to sway some buyers to the competition. WeÂ’ll start with a recap of the best part of this crossover: how it drives. The now famed Ferrari-derived 505-horsepower V6 is the headline grabber, for good reason. It delivers loads of power and does so smoothly and across most of the rev band. It sounds great when driving in Dynamic or Race mode. The transmission itÂ’s connected to, an eight-speed automatic, shifts smoothly and reasonably quickly, but some of the competition can crack off shifts faster. But what really makes the Quadrifoglio shine is the combined capability of the chassis and all-wheel-drive system. They provide enormous amounts of grip and a neutral feeling that encourages you to keep adding power through every corner. It feels light and responsive, more like a car than a crossover. ThereÂ’s a bit more body roll than you might expect for such a serious sporting machine, but itÂ’s not unwelcome. It gives the Stelvio a fluid, lively feel, not unlike what you would find in a Miata, which is also slightly roly-poly. The Stelvio is never upset by bumps, either, and the ride ranges from compliant to bouncy depending on the driving mode. The steering in Dynamic and Race mode is extremely well-weighted and progressive, though in Normal mode, itÂ’s a bit light and numb. On the whole, though, the Alfa is wonderful to drive. Nevertheless, itÂ’s also a luxury crossover starting at over $80,000, so it canÂ’t just drive well. It needs to provide a premium experience with plenty of gizmos to justify the price. In this area, the Quadrifoglio makes a solid initial impression. Every surface is covered in either leather or carbon fiber, and features double stitching at every seam. It looks and feels lovely. The interiorÂ’s crown jewels, though, are the huge aluminum shifter paddles.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: The next five years

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past 24 hours, you've no doubt read about all of the big future product news coming out of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles today. We had individual brand reports from Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Maserati and even Ferrari, but in the interest of simplifying and summarizing, we're going to list out the hard facts once more. Of course, with all of this still off in the future, there's still the possibility that a few changes will be made. But as of what we know right now, here's what's coming, and what's going away.
Chrysler
2014: Refreshed 300/300C, debuting at Los Angeles Auto Show

Alfa Romeo flagship EV due in 2027 with 18-minute recharge time

Last July, Alfa Romeo boss Jean-Philippe Imparato said his Italian concern would develop a new battery-electric vehicle in the U.S. that would launch here in 2027. It would take the new top spot in the lineup, being larger than the Stelvio, full of tech and full of performance. During the launch of the Tonale in Japan, the boss shared provisional specs of the "high-performance SUV" with Automotive News Europe. The pack of some unknown size would juice motors putting out from 300 to 800 horsepower in the standard range, and around 1,000 horsepower in a Quadrifoglio trim. Here's the big stat: In ANE's words, an 800-volt architecture would enable "recharging times of 18 minutes max, [Imparato] said." We'd sure like to know the qualifications required to get an 18-minute charge. Porsche advertises the Taycan's 93.4-kWh Performance Battery Plus as being able to go from 5% state-of-charge to 80% in 22.5 minutes when the sedan's been optioned with the $460 On-Board DC Charger. Naturally, that's under ideal conditions and when plugged into a charger that can feed the Taycan at its max 270-kW rate. When veteran hypermiler Wayne Gerdes took a Taycan across the U.S. in five days, he said his first charge at a 350-kW Electrify America unit took 22 minutes to get the battery from 6% to 82%. Knowing that the initial few percent and those last 20% take longer than the meaty bit in the middle, we going to guess Imparato's time assessment leaves out the time-consuming portions of charging the battery near empty and close to full. But hey, four years is a long way away in the EV-verse.  The CEO said the Alfa Romeo will compete with the BMW X5, a crossover almost exactly ten inches longer than the Stelvio (pictured), which is currently the largest product in the portfolio and the best-seller in the U.S. The Italian might not share a traditional CUV shape with the German, Imparato having said that aerodynamic needs could lead to a shape between a sedan and a crossover. If things are on track in Milan, executives approved the design before the end of 2022.  We'll begin to see what Alfa Romeo's EV-only future when the brand's first dedicated EV shows in 2025. Related video: