Alfa Romeo Stelvio - thoughts?

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Have not driven one but it is a very handsome car and imagine it drives beautifully.

Only thing I cannot get on board with is the Fiat and Chrysler reliability. My '12 Fiat 500 needed over $1k of work to be able to pass emissions when it had 68k on the clock and was only ~4 years old, it was only worth $8k trade in at the time. It was a serious burn because I had a '99 Plymouth Neon that had a must need repair list that cost ~75% of its value at 90k miles so I traded it in for $1800 when it was only 5 years old w/90k miles. In my opinion and experience Fiat Chrysler makes junk throw away cars unless you want to keep sinking $$$ in them, both products I purchased from them I bailed out before 100k miles because they were just rolling $$$$ pits.

The movie Money Pit would be an excellent representation of Chrylser, Daimler Chrysler and now Fiat Chrysler. Beautiful to look at and experience but overall just a steaming pile.
 
Pezzy''s thoughts are my thoughts-- he did leave out that time under Cerberus Capital Management-- what does it tell you when your parent company is named after the Hound of Hades. Anyway, Chrysler has been ridden hard and put away wet by a number of masters and I'm afraid there's not a lot there.

As to Fiat-- owned two of those in the sixties. One was the original Fiat 600 that got 50 mph, 50 mpg and 50 miles to a quart of oil. The other was a Fiat 124 coupe. Remember taking that in to the dealership at about 30,000 miles and saying "I can't believe that this thing's having this kind of trouble at this mileage and having the service manager say--"Wouldn't know, no one's ever had one that long"

With the exception of an early Dodge Lancer and some Mitsu rebrands, my experience with Chrysler is no better.

I do agree, however that the Alfa's look like beautiful cars.
 
Originally Posted by Vern_in_IL
I'd take a Mazda Miata any day over that hunk of junk.

You'd take a Miata over an SUV?

Well I would too but they're not exactly comparable, are they?
 
I've sat in a few, but haven't been able to drive one yet. From what I understand though, the driving dynamics is similar to the Giulia but not as planted nor as good around corners. Which is to be expected considering the increased ride height. I could be wrong about this, but I don't think that the Stelvio comes with DNA, which if you're looking for performance is a BIG plus. I can tell a massive difference in the Giulia when I switch from N to D.

As much as I love my Giulia, i'm not certain I'd go with a Stelvio if I was in the market for another crossover. If I were, I'd take a real hard look at the F-Type.
 
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Originally Posted by Vern_in_IL
I'd take a Mazda Miata any day over that hunk of junk.

You'd take a Miata over an SUV?

Well I would too but they're not exactly comparable, are they?
Well, they both have 4 wheels and a steering wheel. Isn't that enough to compare them?
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Originally Posted by Vern_in_IL
I'd take a Mazda Miata any day over that hunk of junk.

You'd take a Miata over an SUV?

Well I would too but they're not exactly comparable, are they?


apples to elephants comparison.
a guy down the street has one, and bought his son a 4c for graduation. they love both vehicles.
vern -- what problems have you had with this vehicle, over how many miles? I will mention any issues to my neighbor. I mean, you must have driven one, for some period of time, in order to make such a comment. or, is this typical bitog keyboard bashing.IF it is, then your opinion means nothing.
anyone having REAL experience with one, for a decent period of time, please chime in, and tell us the issues.
 
My first auto was a 72 Fiat 124. Thankfully I worked at garage pumping gas during my teen years and was able to work on it. It hated the cold and I would have to push it down the street and pop the clutch to start it on those days. One of the mechanics at that shop laughed when I bought it and taught me what acronym Fiat stood for.
 
Originally Posted by yeti
vern -- what problems have you had with this vehicle, over how many miles? I will mention any issues to my neighbor. I mean, you must have driven one, for some period of time, in order to make such a comment. or, is this typical bitog keyboard bashing.IF it is, then your opinion means nothing.
anyone having REAL experience with one, for a decent period of time, please chime in, and tell us the issues.


On BITOG the only opinions worth considering are from people who haven't even sat in the vehicle that they are discussing.
I do have two friends with Stelvios, Both are the type of owner who will tell everyone in a 500 mile radius if their cars are giving them a problem. In each case they love their Stelvios. One noted that his nav system rebooted itself once, but I don't think that's a big deal- my 2er did the same thing. I may yet pick up a Giulia Q4 in a couple of years- either that or an M2 Competition.
 
I love the comments basing purchasing decisions on vehicles from 40-50+ years ago.
lol.gif


Anyway, while shopping for a vehicle mainly for the wife, we drove a Stelvio. Nice enough, but after driving lots of vehicles, we found a BMW we liked best.
 
Originally Posted by pezzy669
Have not driven one but it is a very handsome car and imagine it drives beautifully.

Only thing I cannot get on board with is the Fiat and Chrysler reliability. My '12 Fiat 500 needed over $1k of work to be able to pass emissions when it had 68k on the clock and was only ~4 years old, it was only worth $8k trade in at the time. It was a serious burn because I had a '99 Plymouth Neon that had a must need repair list that cost ~75% of its value at 90k miles so I traded it in for $1800 when it was only 5 years old w/90k miles. In my opinion and experience Fiat Chrysler makes junk throw away cars unless you want to keep sinking $$$ in them, both products I purchased from them I bailed out before 100k miles because they were just rolling $$$$ pits.

The movie Money Pit would be an excellent representation of Chrylser, Daimler Chrysler and now Fiat Chrysler. Beautiful to look at and experience but overall just a steaming pile.


If you noticed, my DD is a 500 as well. What emissions work needed to be done on yours? Mine has been great so far!!!
 
Originally Posted by 02SE
I love the comments basing purchasing decisions on vehicles from 40-50+ years ago.
lol.gif


Anyway, while shopping for a vehicle mainly for the wife, we drove a Stelvio. Nice enough, but after driving lots of vehicles, we found a BMW we liked best.


This would be for my wife as well. She has had an X3, and a ML350, and now the Renegade. She thought she would be super happy with the Jeep, but obviously after her previous two cars, she is finding the lack of refinement leaving her wanting more. The X3 has been her favorite car of all time, but I hate the idea of owning the same car twice. The ML was nice, but pretty soft, and not much fun to drive. Was thinking of treating her to an early Christmas present of the Stelvio. We will see...certainly interested in driving one.
 
Originally Posted by 02SE
I love the comments basing purchasing decisions on vehicles from 40-50+ years ago.
lol.gif


Anyway, while shopping for a vehicle mainly for the wife, we drove a Stelvio. Nice enough, but after driving lots of vehicles, we found a BMW we liked best.

I was thinking that as I was reading down the thread. Many of the comments criticizing reliability are from people who I'm sure don't even know anyone who owns a Giulia or Stelvio.
 
Originally Posted by DriveHard

Yes This would be for my wife as well. She has had an X3, and a ML350, and now the Renegade. She thought she would be super happy with the Jeep, but obviously after her previous two cars, she is finding the lack of refinement leaving her wanting more. The X3 has been her favorite car of all time, but I hate the idea of owning the same car twice. The ML was nice, but pretty soft, and not much fun to drive. Was thinking of treating her to an early Christmas present of the Stelvio. We will see...certainly interested in driving one.


My wife considered a Cherokee but she found a CPO E84 X1 and it was Game Over. Our local BMW dealer provides outstanding customer service and as a result we are both somewhat reluctant to stray from the Bavarian fold. That said, I'll still give an Alfa a hard look when the time comes.
 
I think I've seen two of them on the street so far...clearly not flying out the dealership door.

I'm no FCA fan-boi but I must confess that the build quality of my wife's Grand Cherokee is superb. There is a lot of 1980s-era Mercedes feeling here, all the way down to the way the power locks sound...that expensive-sounding THUNK.

Having said that, could I take a chance on a new FIAT or Alfa?!? Dunno, I guess a lease would be a safe way to limit my exposure if something goes awry. The Stelvio is pretty in a curvy, sort of feminine way. Tough call, there are lots of cool, reliable vehicles out there.
 
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