Alfa Romeo Stelvio review

The Alfa Romeo Stelvio is a pretty big vehicle and this is certainly good news for front-seat occupants. There’s plenty of head room even for taller drivers and the seat goes back far enough for the longest of legs. It’s also wide enough to ensure you won’t be rubbing elbows with your passenger.

You’ll also find a decent amount of storage up front, with door pockets that can hold a bottle of water and other assorted items, and a space in front of the gear selector where you’ll find a couple of cupholders plus a 12V socket and USB port. There’s also plenty of storage under the centre armrest, including a wireless phone charger if specified.

A six foot tall passenger might be able to fit behind a driver of similar height, but their knees will be very close to the back of the front seats. Likewise, the curved roofline eats into rear head room. That said, four people of average height should be able to get comfy, while kids will have no problem at all. There’s much more rear space in the Land Rover Discovery Sport and Volvo XC60, though.

As for storage, the rear door pockets are smaller, but you can still get a small bottle of water in there. You also get a pair of cupholders in the rear armrest and a couple of USB sockets between the front seats.

Unlike some SUVs, the Stelvio doesn’t offer rear seats that recline or slide backwards and forwards. They do split into 40/20/40 segments, though – more flexible than the common 60/40 arrangement – and they have handles in the boot so you can fold them without having to open a side door. Once they’re down, there’s no step in the extended boot floor, just a slight incline.

At 525 litres, the Stelvio trumps the XC60 but can’t quite match the Audi Q5 or BMW X3. The load area is a usefully square shape with no internal load lip; it’s just a shame that there aren’t more hooks for bags or eyelets to hold loads down. The standard electric tailgate is handy, though.