2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio - A Macan Competitor?

22591 Views 61 Replies 43 Participants Last post by copex, 7 mo ago

rcristobal

Discussion Starter · Nov 16, 2016

StelvioForum.com - The Largest Alfa Romeo Stelvio Forum And Community!

"The Stelvio comes with two available engines. A 2.0-liter direct-injected turbo four powers the base and mid-range Ti models, making 280 hp and 306 pounds-feet of torque. A 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 engine (505 hp, 443 pounds-feet of torque -- good for a 3.9-second 0 to 60 mph time) powers the top-end Quadrifoglio. The V6 also features cylinder deactivation, shutting off half of its cylinders when not under load, for better fuel economy."

Read more: 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio at the 2016 LA Auto Show

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yrralis1

· #41 · Nov 18, 2016

StelvioForum.com - The Largest Alfa Romeo Stelvio Forum And Community!

PaulW said:
At least the Alphas spared you the American car experience from those years.

I went from a 76 Trans Am to the Alfa . It was the only American car I ever had . They sure were different but the Pontiac was more reliable .

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brmacans

· #42 · Nov 18, 2016

Side and back look nice. The front is hideous.

RJMcInnis

· #43 · Nov 18, 2016

Stunning looks. I would certainly consider one. I really liked the GQ when I saw it at the car show, but was disappointed that initially it was only going to be available with a manual tranny and, consequently, no intelligent cruise control. I believe they are now going to offer an auto, but heck, they are so late on delivery, who knows...

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Macanuck

· #44 · Nov 18, 2016

You can't judge any manufacturer on the basis of its '74-'79 cars. Porsche 911s of those years were atrocious too. Not the body hardware and stuff, but the engines blew up regularly because they ran too hot with the emissions control equipment.

A concours '73 911S is worth 300 grand. A '74 911S is worth about 20 grand.

That said, Alfas were pretty bad.

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bob m

· #45 · Nov 19, 2016

Bluestraveler said:
Looks nice. I'm not an Alfa Romeo guy but it looks like Macan competition to me.

I don't see it that way, unless just going by looks and specs. It's a beautiful looking CUV, stunning actually and I bet handles incredibly well. BUT the reality is that Italian cars have the looks, style and handling, but simply don't have the reliability nor the dealer network to pose any challenge to the Macan. I guess you could argue that the enthusiast could put aside reliability for thrills and handling, but this also not a sports car, this is a CUV and the market is quite different. If Porsche Macans were as quirky and unreliable, they would not be selling anywhere nearly as well as they do.

loki007

· #46 · Nov 19, 2016

bob m said:
I don't see it that way, unless just going by looks and specs. It's a beautiful looking CUV, stunning actually and I bet handles incredibly well. BUT the reality is that Italian cars have the looks, style and handling, but simply don't have the reliability nor the dealer network to pose any challenge to the Macan. I guess you could argue that the enthusiast could put aside reliability for thrills and handling, but this also not a sports car, this is a CUV and the market is quite different. If Porsche Macans were as quirky and unreliable, they would not be selling anywhere nearly as well as they do.

Alfa is TRYING to increase their dealer presence? Since they're Fiat, and Fiat is expanding, there does seem to be more and more dealers around (saw an Alfa/Fiat dealer in Salt Lake this week), but servicing will become an issue quickly. I live in Houston and we have 1 real dealer and 1 half-assed one for Alfa, which in a city this size isn't great. You're spot on: if it's going to be a competitor, it needs the network or insane reliability, and Alfa isn't known or has either.

That being said, I'm sure there will be cross shopping and comparisons made, but the ownership experience will be much different.

Jonathan Tjokro

· #47 · Nov 26, 2016

I love what Mazda did with this new cx-5!!!

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BatuKMan

· #48 · Nov 26, 2016

The old italian cars had dreadful electrics, the mechanical part were mostly ok but nowadays the electric/electronic system are all outsourced and the are basically the same brands across the board.
Yes, the details won't be the same as the as the Italians will spend millions in the design rather than getting the best pressure of the switch gear like Audi does, other than that I think the reliability won't be comparable to cars from the 90's or earlier.

I have a Ducati motorcycle since 2012 (prior to Audi acquisition) and an Aprilia since 2008 and haven't had an issue with them, everything works perfectly.

limulus

· #49 · Nov 26, 2016

For those of you wondering why Porsche does not milk more power from the 3.0L...that will be announced around March, 2017. That is when my GTS will be delivered so, it's practically guaranteed

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loopless

· #50 · Nov 27, 2016

limulus said:
For those of you wondering why Porsche does not milk more power from the 3.0L...that will be announced around March, 2017. That is when my GTS will be delivered so, it's practically guaranteed

I assume the current generation of engines in the Macan are a dead-end.
The new 2.9 V6 Turbo in the Panamera gets 440hp. It's a new design. I assume that at some point the Macan will get this engine in various states of tune. I can't imagine Porsche wanting to keep multiple V6 engine designs around.

rhoyle

· #51 · Nov 27, 2016

loopless said:
I assume the current generation of engines in the Macan are a dead-end.
The new 2.9 V6 Turbo in the Panamera gets 440hp. It's a new design. I assume that at some point the Macan will get this engine in various states of tune. I can't imagine Porsche wanting to keep multiple V6 engine designs around.

They already do... in the Macan even.

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Kannassee

· #52 · Aug 31, 2017

hmmm......really nice looks, and 0 to 60 in 3.9 sec....??.....that's interesting!!!.....but I think the Stelvio Quadrifoglio is not available yet.....I also wonder if the handling would be comparable to the Macan's......I just drove this weekend a Maserati Levante......and doesnt feel like a Macan at all....its too heavy!!

akisf226

· #53 · Aug 31, 2017

I test drove the base Stelvio and it does offer an attractive package especially considering the overall lower price including options. I also drove the base Macan and the GTS (wanted to check out the air suspension with PASM). I felt that the Stelvio's setup with the 4 cylinder/auto/suspension wasn't up to par to the Macan base. I also drove the base Giulia which I liked better than the Stelvio. That was probably because of the better setup due to lighter weight of the Giulia. At this point, I don't believe that the base Stelvio is a direct competitor to Macan. It's certainly an entertaining car/SUV at a much lower price. Dealer reliability and competency (more than the car itself) needs to be proven.

Baronetto

· #54 · Sep 10, 2017

akisf226 said:
I test drove the base Stelvio and it does offer an attractive package especially considering the overall lower price including options. I also drove the base Macan and the GTS (wanted to check out the air suspension with PASM). I felt that the Stelvio's setup with the 4 cylinder/auto/suspension wasn't up to par to the Macan base. I also drove the base Giulia which I liked better than the Stelvio. That was probably because of the better setup due to lighter weight of the Giulia. At this point, I don't believe that the base Stelvio is a direct competitor to Macan. It's certainly an entertaining car/SUV at a much lower price. Dealer reliability and competency (more than the car itself) needs to be proven.

Thanks for sharing.

I went to see a Stelvio this weekend. Like you, it was just a base model.

I thought it looked pretty good from the outside. Inside I was a less impressed. I was surprised to see how cheap the dashboard is. Lots of not very nice plastic. I spoke to the dealer who said it could be upgraded to all leather for not very much. Options are definitely more reasonably priced than Porsche's.

I currently have a Macan Turbo (MY17) so, in all honesty, I'm not interested in the 276bhp engine. However, I will be keen to test drive the Quadrifoglio once it launches.

The discussion above around reliability is an interesting one. I've owned 2 Alfas: a GTV 3.0 V6 in the 90s and a 147 in the 2000s. Both proved to be very reliable. Even when my wife put petrol in the diesel engined 147

it still powered on. My experience with Porsche hasn't quite been the same. I appreciate this is unusual but I've had to call out Porsche Assist 3 times with my Macan Turbo. So personally my experience of German reliability is very different from the perceived wisdom.

That said, I do agree that the Stelvio will suffer far greater depreciation than the Macan.

I will give my Macan the benefit of the doubt for now but I do think the Stelvio Quadrifoglio could be the only other SUV to prise me away from my prized possession...

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Drew89891

· #55 · 10 mo ago

Hi All
I currently drive a Stelvio TI 2.0 and it’s a great CUV but I crave more power and exhaust noise. I found a Macan GTS and it’s impressive.
Anyone have any major issues with their GTS? Anyone gone from Alfa to Porsche?
Thanks I’m advance

hitmonlee

· #56 · 10 mo ago

Has someone had major issues with their GTS? Probably.

Is Porsche more reliable than Alfa Romeo overall? Definitely. Just look up car brand reliability rankings.

Drew89891

· #57 · 10 mo ago

hitmonlee said:
Has someone had major issues with their GTS? Probably.

Is Porsche more reliable than Alfa Romeo overall? Definitely. Just look up car brand reliability rankings.

Thanks but I hoped for a more concrete answer. My Alfa has been solidly reliable so i don’t pay attention to reliability rankings. I value true owner feedback

hitmonlee

· #58 · 10 mo ago

Drew89891 said:
Thanks but I hoped for a more concrete answer. My Alfa has been solidly reliable so i don’t pay attention to reliability rankings. I value true owner feedback

That's my point. I bet if you try hard enough, you can find owners with major issues for every car model ever existed, your Stelvio included. 100% reliability doesn't exist. Are you going to start walking everywhere then?

PorschePhD

· #59 · 10 mo ago

Other than the four posts above this, this is an old thread. Our 22 S 2.9 is sitting in our garage next to our 2018 Alfa Giulia Ti Q4 Lusso 2.0 4 cylinder. I have been a member of the Alfa Romeo Owner's Club since the 80's and have owned dozens of 60's-90's Alfas. Currently, in addition to the 18 Giulia, we have an 86 Graduate Spider, a 74 Spider, and a 74 GTV. I'm in the biz; buy low and fix them and sell for more. FYI, our Giulia (same platform as the Stelvio) has been virtually trouble free. A few updates (one bricked a module that needed to be replaced) and that is all. She has a tune, an intake tube, and a slightly louder muffler. Butt dyno says maybe 40-50 HP added. In comparison, I would say that the two (Giulia and 22 Macan S) are about dead even on acceleration. The Giulia has a heavenly steering/handling feel. The ZF 8 speed auto box with paddle shifters is great. Dare I say even better that the Macan in everyday driving. The Macan is certainly more refined with attention to detail, engineering, interior, etc. The Giulia/Stelvio products are truly a joy to drive, for most drivers. The weakest link for Alfa is Manufacturer/Dealer support. Porsche is leaps and bounds ahead. I happen to have a great Alfa Dealer who really cares. The experiences of others vary. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio 2.9 505HP version is an edgy beast. Some prefer it over the Macan and the BMW and Audi, etc. To each his/her own.

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solis

· #60 · 10 mo ago

I have no direct experience with the Stelvio except that it looks great on the outside while being slightly dated in my humble opinion on the inside. I have no doubt that the quadrofoglio edition, which is most commonly bought in Switzerland, would give any Macan a run for its money.

But 2nd hand values absolutely plummet here, which tells some story about reliability.

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