It’s fair to say that the Giulia and Stelvio Quadrifoglio models hardly lacked for visual impact, – nor for performance for that matter – but that hasn’t stopped Alfa Romeo announcing a raft of updates. Available to order now, prices start from £67,195 for the Giulia and from £73,195 for the Stelvio.
External changes are mostly of the blink-and-you’ll-miss-them variety. There are new LED light clusters with dark lenses at the rear, badges get a gloss black finish, while the Stelvio gets new 21-inch alloy wheels. A choice of ‘classic colours’ that draw on Alfa Romeo’s heritage arrive later in the year, the shades on offer being 6C Villa d’Este Red, GT Junior Ocra and Montreal Green.
Cabin revisions are equally subtle for the most part. The centre console is said to look and feel better and offer more storage space, and there’s new leather for the steering wheel, gear knob, and the electrically-adjustable sports seats fitted as standard. Buyers can now also choose red or green seatbelts, while carbon-shell Sparco seats are optional.
The infotainment system has received rather more extensive changes, though, and now features a touchscreen for the main 8.8-inch display along with greater functionality. The 7-inch TFT display within the instrument cluster is now standard across both ranges.
Quadrifoglio models also get new ‘Performance Pages’ that display all manner of information, from temperatures for key driveline components to digital chronometers for measuring speed and acceleration. And that’s not all, Alfa Connected Services are now fitted as standard and offers the likes of My Assistant that connects the driver to a call centre and My Remote that enables remote operation of some functions and alerts via a smartphone, smartwatch, or Amazon Alexa. With My Navigation, drivers can now send routes to the car from their smartphone or computer. Finally, a new Advanced Driver Assistance System, developed with Bosch, offers Level 2 autonomy.
While the changes make both models a touch more habitable, and the improved infotainment is welcome, the good news is that Alfa Romeo hasn’t tampered with the bits that make the Quadrifoglio models so alluring. That means you’ll get the same 510bhp 2.9-litre, twin-turbocharged V6 allied to ZF’s 8-speed automatic gearbox. An optional Akrapovič exhaust system adds some aural muscularity, but outright performance is unchanged – the Giulia despatches the 0-62mph sprint in 3.9 seconds with a 190mph maximum, with the Stelvio managing 3.8 seconds and 176mph.
Find more info:
https://www.alfaromeo.co.uk
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