2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Diesel 2.2L

I have always been intrigued by the Alfa Romeo emblem - one of two automobile favourites (Ferrari being the other).

Automobilismo Storica Alfa Romeo tells us: On the left, the cross symbolises Milan, Alfa Romeo’s hometown. On the right, what appears to be a snake eating a human, is the symbol of one of Milan’s most important families in history - the Visconti family, who ruled Milan.

It all harks back to the Crusades, Otone Visconti and a noble Saracen knight skirmish. Otone Visconti won and, following tradition, took the symbols the Saracen carried on his shield. What looks like a snake eating a human is, in fact, a snake with a human coming out of it a ‘new man’, purified, renewed. A rebirth. How I love emblems and their stories.

Apart from the Alfa emblem and being drawn to the Giulia name of an Alfa vehicle model, Alfa Romeo hasn’t been on my radar. I have never driven or been a passenger in one, even when I have been in Italy. Now I see them everywhere since test driving one over the weekend. Specifically a 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Diesel 2.2L Veloce Pack with Harmon Kardon Sound System (fabulous system).

The Veloce Pack has dark 5 spoke 19” alloy wheels, heated steering wheel - a personal favourite, heated front seats, Frequency Selective Dampening by Koni (meaning a more comfy ride), sports seats, aluminium sports pedals, sports steering wheel and roof rails.

The Stelvio has many other features too numerous to mention here including emergency braking, forward collision warning (big tick from me) and lane departure warning. The lane departure warning, although a great safety feature, irritated me slightly. Mr PN and I both thought Alfa could have come up with a more acceptable warning noise. Picky, I know. I’m sure there have been screeds of tests done to determine what noise works best.

The Stelvio we drove was white with bright red leather interior. On the outside, the Stelvio isn’t the prettiest car on the lot in my opinion (looks being totally subjective, of course). It is very front heavy. A curvy car, and has quite a high back window. The inside, however, is gorgeous. I have never been drawn to red leather in cars, or red leather anything, but it grew on me. Quickly. This was sumptuous leather and just the perfect shade of red that made me want to keep running my hands over it. The Stelvio is made for red leather.

I motored around the inner city and suburbs for a while, intending to deliver the vehicle back after an hour or so but I wanted to keep driving this car. Or, as I rapidly began to call it, ‘my’ car. The North Western motorway beckoned. Mr PN reclined his luxury seat, relaxed back and took in the scenery. He’s stopped checking the speedometer. The motorway whizzed by underneath us. 0 to 100 in 6.6 seconds. Heaven. Noise is minimal.

I took the turnoff for Kumeu, an old stomping ground. I know the country roads well out there and wanted to test the car on them. It’s high up in the driver’s seat but there wasn’t a smidge of any roll dynamics as the Stelvio handled windy, narrow roads with aplomb. This Alfa’s handling poise is top class.

Reluctantly, we turned for home as I fantasised about the key being pressed into my hand on our return with a: “You keep it, it suits you,” from the car dealer.

The Stelvio is pure Italian class in an SUV. An Amazon in pearls. I’ve come over all Alfa Romeo. (DEIRDRE THURSTON)