[Finesse]

Here's the launch video of the Alfa Romeo Stelvio. Felt like it would be a good idea to post up the official beginning. To see the part with the Stelvio skip to 9:08

 

[ilhatch]

The stelvio intro is pretty much everything Alfa Romeo stands for; luxury and performance rolled up in a beautifully designed package. The brand is finally bringing an SUV to the market and it's good news for everyone even those who don't care for it. The more they make from the SUV, the more money they have for vehicle development.

 

[Finesse]

That's it. It'll be great to see Alfa Romeo have a more "full" vehicle line up. As much as I hate to say it, I would hate for them to be so mass produced and sold that you see them everywhere though, I like to know that a vehicle I have is kind of exclusive.

 

[ilhatch]

Even mass produced, it won't be on the scale of Toyota and there won't be that many on the street. Even the standard model is going to cost a pretty penny and the QV will feel even more exclusive.

 

[Fiver]

The Stelvio will help Alfa Romeo sell more units but it won't be what you're thinking of. So far, a bit over 500 Giulia has been sold in the States since it's initial release and we don't know how many are of the QV trim. Even if they manage to sell more Stelvio than Giulia, it still probably won't hit 1,000 in North America if the current numbers are a good indication.

 

[Khan22]

500 in what time frame and those are NA sales only??

They definitely won't be as massively sold as Toyota or the likes and that's pretty obvious. You really won't have to worry about being "common". I would just want enough of them to have a little group in my area where we could hang out sometimes or whatever and feel like the cool kids from back in the day haha.

 

[poormansferrari]

One thing you can bet on for better sales is the fact the Stelvio resonates more with what people want these days which is an SUV. The sedan they have is great but at the same time people have been ditching vehicles in that segment for the Stelvios segment. The numbers tell it all.

 

[Khan22]

Not only just an SUV but a compact to mid-sized SUV. Incorporate a high performance trim to challenge the likes of AMG and M and you got a winner.

 

[ilhatch]

Not world premier, but Alfa Romeo will be debuting the 2018 Stelvio SUV lineup at the upcoming 2017 New York International Auto Show that's taking place next week. they'll be introducing the 2018 Stelvio and Stelvio Ti to North America at that time.

I'm guessing Ti is the equivalent of QV in NA?

 

[Khan22]

Ti is not the equivalent to QV. NA gets the QV as well

The Ti is above base and the QV is above Ti

 

[Fiver]

Can't wait to see the specs for the Ti trim, how it compares to the base model and if it's worth the additional cost.

 

[Finesse]

Could probably look at the Giulia and see what separates the trim levels and go based off of that. It'll essentially be around the same thing

 

[Khan22]

Just to make life easier, here's the difference between the Giulia base and Ti via MotorTrend

The Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti starts at $40,990, and features the same 2.0-liter turbo-four as the base model but more luxury and convenience features. The Ti gets the same equipment as the base, but adds standard 18-inch alloy wheels, genuine wood interior trim, an 8.8-inch infotainment touchscreen, SiriusXM satellite radio capability, a heated steering wheel, and heated front seats. All-wheel drive is again a $2,000 option. Two packages are available, Ti Sport and Ti Lusso, priced at $2,250 each. The Ti Sport package includes unique front and rear bumpers, 19-inch dark “five-hole” alloy wheels, gloss-black window trim, painted brake calipers, and a sport leather steering wheel with aluminum paddle shifters. The Ti Lusso package replaces the standard leather upholstery with Pieno Fiore Italian leather with cannelloni inserts, and also includes a leather-wrapped dash and door panels, accent stitching, genuine wood trim in dark gray oak or light walnut, and a luxury steering wheel. A Ti Performance package adds an adaptive performance suspension, mechanical limited-slip differential, and aluminum paddle shifters.

 

[Fiver]

Difference in luxury and convenience features pretty much sums up entry level model and the Ti. Then you get into the packages and they're generally for aesthetics sake aside from the Performance package, which IMO should come with Brembo brakes.

 

[Finesse]

Performance packages I feel like should always come with big brake kits. Not necessary for carbon ceramics or anything but a big brake kit from Brembo with an nice big red caliper is always a huge plus.

 

[ilhatch]

I find that most sport packages these days aren't really sport performance orientated, just more of a sporty aesthetics with nicer bucket seats, upholstery, etc. A splitter, larger brakes, or diffuser is more in tune with what I describe as sporty.

 

[Khan22]

I find that there's a difference with sport packages and performance packages. Sport packages are typically more aesthetics like you mentioned. Performance packages cater to the actual performance of the vehicle ie engine upgrades, suspension, etc.

 

[Fiver]

If we take a look at the Giulia, there is a performance package available. It comes with active suspension and mechanical limited slip differential, so we may see something similar for the Stelvio once it goes on sale.

 

[ilhatch]

A limited slip differential has an advantage in off-roading or snow situation where one wheel can lose traction. Wouldn't want excessive power being allocated to one wheel with the least traction.

 

[Fiver]

For a more practical model like the Stelvio, AWD combined with a limited slip differential will look very attractive to buyers especially those who experience winter.