Many online discussions about the Alfa Romeo Stelvio focus on the hot Quadrifoglio, which makes sense from an enthusiast’s standpoint, as the 505-horsepower Ferrari V6 is an absolute delight. However, most Stelvios are powered by the turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder powerplant, so when planning an 800-mile road trip, I happily accepted the offer to test a 2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Veloce on that long drive.
The 2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Veloce is essentially a “sport design” package, adding things like a “sport rear diffuser”, gloss black body accents, red brake calipers and sporty 20-inch wheels, but there are some functional bits, including shift paddles on the steering wheel and a mechanical limited slip rear differential. Overall, the Veloce package gives the Stelvio a sporty appearance with obvious European design. Many people on my trip assumed that it was a European luxury SUV with a performance package, and even with the standard engine that is shared across most of the lineup, the Veloce is a solid sport package.
Alfa Romeo Stelvio Veloce Fuel Economy
More importantly, the Stelvio Veloce is a European luxury SUV, so it was comfortable for my long road trip. My drive began with 335 miles of highway driving, the majority of which takes place on the Ohio Turnpike. That long stretch of road is pretty much straight and flat, so as highway drives go, this is about as fuel economy-friendly as possible. With the cruise control set at 77, I recorded 29.9 miles per gallon on that stretch. When I got to Pennsylvania and hit the hills, my fuel economy dropped to down into the high 27 MPG range, but that stretch also included stopping for toll booths – it was not constant cruising. Based on the EPA mileage rating of 28 MPG on the highway, I was happy to see nearly 30 when cruising just above the highway speed limit with the air conditioning running.
After my 335-mile highway drive, I spent a few days driving around rural Pennsylvania, which was not great for my fuel economy numbers, but it was great for exercising the performance capabilities of the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Veloce. After that spirited driving coupled with some time sitting in traffic and the drive back to Michigan, I averaged 24.6 MPG over the course of about 800 miles. About 700 miles of that driving was on the highway, but the non-highway driving was very inefficient, leading to a lower overall fuel economy figure for the trip.
European Comfort on the Open Road
If you have never driven across the Ohio Turnpike from Michigan to Pennsylvania, there is not much to see. The long highway drive in the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Veloce was flanked mostly by gigantic fields without much traffic, so the infotainment system becomes a key focus. The Stelvio has a wireless charging pad in the center console, but the case on my phone makes it too large for almost every OEM charging pad, so I always connect to the car via USB. This keeps my phone charged while also providing the most seamless connection to Android Auto, which handles the navigation and music through the vehicle’s large infotainment screen.
Navigation is easily controlled through using your voice and the music – Spotify in my case – is controlled through the scroll knob on the steering wheel, but the Alfa Romeo infotainment system also has a joystick type interface on the center console. When your elbow is on the center armrest, this joystick is right at your fingertips, allowing you to flip through all of the different readout options on the large center screen. For me, that joystick made it quick and easy to flip through different artists and albums in Spotify. You can also make adjustments to the climate control with this joystick, but there is also a tradition button-and-knob panel under the screen that makes for quicker access to the HVAC controls. I like having those dedicated controls that are easy to use for the driver without digging through a screen menu, and these Alfa controls are as user-friendly as it gets.
The Alfa Romeo Stelvio Veloce features front bucket seats that have deep side and base bolsters, giving them a very sporty look while also keeping you soundly in place during stints of spirited driving. They cradle your body like a racing seat through the upper portion, but the base bolsters are small enough that they don’t restrict the movement of your legs – especially for bigger drivers. The smaller base bolster also makes getting in and out of the front seats easier than with some designs with deeper base bolsters. They are a nice balance of sport and luxury, and I found the driver’s seat to be comfortable for the long drive while also keeping me in place when I was hammering the corners in the counrtryside.
Carving through the Corners
My destination was an area of Pennsylvania that is mostly farmland separated by twisty, narrow roads with a surprising level of topography changes. These roads are perfect for experiencing how well a vehicle handles, and the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Veloce handles remarkably well for a mid-sized SUV. When using the DNA drive mode selector to pick the most aggressive setting, the throttle is sharpened and the transmission shifts later, hanging at higher RPM to keep the turbocharged engine in its peak powerband. This allowed me to carve through the corners, using the paddle shifters to downshift when needed, but even when the transmission is left in Drive, the shift pattern yields the best power application for spirited driving.
The turbocharged 2.0-liter engine, with 280 horsepower and 306 lb-ft of torque, takes a second to spool up from a stop, but when moving, the power hits quickly. While I would prefer the bigger power of the Ferrari V6 in the Quadrifoglio, the smaller engine in the Veloce model does a great job of motivating this mid-sized SUV – never feeling underpowered. While I understand that not everyone will drive their Stelvio Veloce like a rally car on a tight country road, normal driving situations like speeding up suddenly to pass a slow-moving vehicle are a breeze for this four-cylinder engine.
Many mid-sized SUVs are bland and boring from the driver’s seat, but the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Veloce is more fun to drive than the vast majority of the competitors in the non-performance-focused segment. More importantly, it is also very smooth and quiet inside, muting much of the road noise on the highway, but it does so without numbing the feel of the road for the driver. The driver can feel the road, but the little bumps and inconsistencies in the surface don’t beat you up on a long drive.
If you are shopping for a mid-sized luxury SUV that delivers a sporty driving experience without any compromise of daily driving comforts – the 2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Veloce is a great option. The exterior and interior design are distinctly European luxury with a sporty flare and all of the modern interior technology that you could want for your daily commute or a cross-country road trip.
My 2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Veloce test vehicle had a price-as-tested of $58,455. That price includes options such as the gorgeous Misano Blue exterior paint ($660), the Premium Interior and Sound Package with the great-sounding Harman Kardon 14-speaker system ($2,225), the Active Assist Package ($700), the black 21-inch wheels ($1,750) and destination charge ($1,595).
