{"id":23605,"date":"2019-03-28T16:28:36","date_gmt":"2019-03-28T20:28:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=23605"},"modified":"2019-03-28T16:28:36","modified_gmt":"2019-03-28T20:28:36","slug":"payne-which-suv-is-more-italian-maserati-levante-vs-alfa-stelvio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2019\/03\/payne-which-suv-is-more-italian-maserati-levante-vs-alfa-stelvio","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Which SUV is more Italian? Maserati Levante vs. Alfa Stelvio"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Italian<\/p>\n<\/div>

Italian stallions: The Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio (left) and Maserati Levante have become their brand’s best-selling vehicles. But the Levante’s big V-8 makes it feel more like an American muscle car than the fine-tuned Alfa.<\/em><\/p>\n

The marriage of Italy and Detroit is producing some interesting DNA. All you have to do is look at the dashing Maserati Levante and Alfa Romeo Stelvio SUVs I’m hanging out with this week.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s right, Detroit, I said Maserati and Alfa SUVs.<\/p>\n

Since the Italians bought Chrysler, the Auburn Hills family dinner table has gotten a lot bigger. Christmas dinner would be worthy of a “Saturday Night Live” sketch with Fiat Chrysler papa Mike\u00a0Manley presiding.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s huuuuge Ram 3500 sitting next to a tiny Fiat 500:\u00a0Yo, tiny, pass the cornbread.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Chrysler minivan compares\u00a0notes with the Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglio:\u00a0OK, OK, so you can fit 505 horses under your hood, but can you fit six kids in your back seats?<\/em><\/p>\n

Alfa and Jeep swap\u00a0war stories:\u00a0Mama mia, was I happy to see your great-grandfather Willys liberating Italy in \u201943!<\/em><\/p>\n

There would be ham and meatballs and potatoes and pasta and beer and wine. There would be Italian mixing with English and arguments about which cultural traditions were richer as the spirits flowed.<\/p>\n

But for all the differences, everyone loves a five-door ute. Take the Maserati brand:\u00a0The house of the Trident. The chariot raced by Fangio. The sultan of style. Its storied racing and luxury past put\u00a0it in the same league as Italian brands\u00a0Gucci, Prada and Versace.<\/p>\n

Of course, saner heads prevailed. The late company chief Sergio Marchionne intervened. Engineers tore up the Jeep Levante plans and developed it\u00a0off the Ghibli large sedan\u2019s rear-wheel drive platform. Costs be damned, it must be a Maserati!<\/p>\n

But after spending a week with the Doge of Modena, I\u2019m struck with how American the Maserati Levante feels. Interesting, because the Alfa Stelvio feels more Italian.<\/p>\n

Yes, this Italian-American marriage is making some interesting siblings.<\/p>\n

While Maserati flirted with Jeep-platform cost-saving, the Alfa purposely ignored its American family from the get-go. Without Maserati\u2019s premium brand cache in the U.S. market, the Alfa had to make a splash for its first-ever U.S. luxe-mobiles. There was no talk of chassis sharing, no\u00a0parts-bin mixing. The Alfa even eschews Chrysler\u2019s best-in-autodom touch screen for an inferior, remote-operated Italian rotary dial.<\/p>\n

Taking the stage after Alfa\u2019s opening act \u2014 the brilliant, rambunctious, exhaust-farting 4C sports car \u2014 the Giulia compact sedan and Stelvio SUV were introduced off the same\u00a0stiff Giorgio platform and were instantly hailed as the best-handling cars in class.<\/p>\n

I first tested the 505-horsepower Stelvio Quadrifoglio at Circuit of the America\u2019s Formula One track in Austin, Texas \u2014 proof the world has gone completely mad for SUVs.<\/p>\n

There I was in the Stelvio\u00a0\u2014 an Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglio on stilts (the two vehicles are nearly identical under the skin) \u2014 doing banzai laps on the continent\u2019s most epic race track. Madness, I tell you. But if you\u2019re a performance brand selling SUVs, you have to have performance versions like the Quadrifoglio. The Stelvio is no Giulia (which I first tested on California’s Sonoma Raceway), but with its nimble, quick-ratio steering it\u2019s the best-handling premium compact ute.<\/p>\n

The Alfa\u2019s engine speaks with a husky Italian accent. Basically a Ferrari V-12 sawed in half, the twin-turbo V-6 barks and farts with a personality all its own. The acceleration is insane,\u00a0its 3.4 seconds zero-60 quicker than a Corvette Grand Sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhoa! That\u2019s too fast\u201d said my motorhead friend Caroline as she mashed the Stelvio\u2019s throttle out of a Southfield stoplight. The red whale gulped\u00a0traffic like it was\u00a0plankton.<\/p>\n

You think that\u2019s madness? Behold the bigger, mid-size Levante GTS with 550 horsepower, 538-pound feet of torque, and V-8 accent. BRAAGHAGHAGH!<\/p>\n

I would walk out of my house and remote-start the Levante in my driveway just to hear the V-8 clear its throat like King Kong. Even muffled by twin-turbos, the V-8 baritone is so irresistible. So naughty. So … American.<\/p>\n

Though half-a-second slower to 60 mph than the Alfa at 4.0 seconds, the Maserati felt faster. Perhaps because of its heavier\u00a04,738-pound girth. This time\u00a0Caroline deferred to me, taking the passenger seat like a soldier bracing for a cannon round.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo a zero-60 run!\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Simulating launch-control (only the top-line Trofeo edition, not my GTS, has true electronic launch-control), I floored the brake and accelerator at the same time. Revs bounced to 3,000 rpms, then I released the Kraken. The beast exploded forward like a bullet from a Beretta. BRAGGHHHHHHHH!<\/p>\n

The satisfying twin-turbo V-8 is actually made by Ferrari. It’s mated to a silky\u00a0eight-speed transmission that fires off shifts as effortlessly as Klay Thompson fires three-balls.<\/p>\n

Merging with authority onto interstates around town, I found it nearly impossible to keep the car at legal speeds. It\u2019s an Italian with a Hellcat heart.<\/p>\n

Which begs the question, why drop $121,475 for a Maserati Levante when a Hellcat-engine 707-horsepower, 3.5-second zero-60 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk (which I first tested at New Hampshire\u2019s Club Motorsports race track, natch) costs $36,000 less?<\/p>\n

The Maserati\u2019s interior pales compared to, say, the corner-office-crisp, $100,000\u00a0Audi A8 I recently drove. The Levante\u2019s cabin is more Jeep-like, sharing the Grand Cherokee’s windshield-wiper control stalk and Uconnect screen.<\/p>\n

Buy the smoldering Italian because trident-badged grilles are irresistible. But that begs another question: If it\u2019s an Italian-American SUV you want, what about Signore Quadrifoglio?<\/p>\n

As a compact SUV, the $81,590 Alfa Stelvio Quadrifoglio is smaller than the mid-sized Levante (and Grand Cherokee for that matter), but not uncomfortable. I could still sit easily behind myself in the back seat. And it gives up only one cubic foot in cargo space.<\/p>\n

The rotary controller is more continental. The handling tighter. The accent more Italian.<\/p>\n

Pass the Quadrifoglio pasta, please.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Side<\/p>\n<\/div>

Side hood vents and big rear haunches define the side view of the Maserati Levante GTS ute, Maserati’s first entry in the SUV market.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

2019 Maserati Levante GTS<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Vehicle type: Front-engine,\u00a0all-wheel drive, five-passenger SUV<\/p>\n

Price: $77,475 base price for V-6 Levante, including $1,495\u00a0<\/strong>destination fee ($138,285 V-8 GTS as tested)<\/p>\n

Powerplant: Twin-turbocharged\u00a03.8-liter V-8<\/p>\n

Power: 542\u00a0horsepower,\u00a0548 pound-feet of torque<\/p>\n

Transmission: 8-speed automatic<\/p>\n

Performance: 0-60 mph, 4.1 seconds (Car and Driver); top speed, 181 mph<\/p>\n

Weight:\u00a04,738 pounds<\/p>\n

Fuel economy: EPA: 14 city\/18\u00a0highway\/15\u00a0combined (GTS as tested)<\/p>\n

Report card<\/p>\n

Highs: Maserati face; V-8 fury<\/p>\n

Lows: Feels like a Jeep inside; megabuck price tag<\/p>\n

Overall: 3\u00a0stars<\/p>\n

\u00a0
\"The<\/div>\n<\/div>
The Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio is the Italian brand’s first five-door SUV.<\/em><\/div>\n
\n

2019 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Vehicle type: Front-engine, all-wheel drive, five-passenger SUV<\/p>\n

Price: $41,590 base Stelvio turbo-4, including $1,595\u00a0<\/strong>destination fee ($84,390 Quadrifoglio\u00a0as tested)<\/p>\n

Powerplant: Twin-turbocharged 2.9-liter V-6<\/p>\n

Power: 505 horsepower; 443 pound-feet of torque<\/p>\n

Transmission: 8-speed automatic<\/p>\n

Performance: 0-60 mph, 3.4\u00a0seconds (Car and Driver); top speed, 176 mph<\/p>\n

Weight: 4,360 pounds<\/p>\n

Fuel economy: EPA: 17 city\/23\u00a0highway\/19 combined<\/p>\n

Report card<\/p>\n

Highs: Giulia handling on stilts, Italian vibe inside and out<\/p>\n

Lows: Jeep has a better infotainment system; awkward paddle shifters<\/p>\n

Overall: 4\u00a0stars<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Italian stallions: The Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio (left) and Maserati Levante have become their brand’s best-selling vehicles. But the Levante’s big V-8 makes it feel more like an American muscle car than the fine-tuned Alfa. The marriage of Italy and Detroit is producing some interesting DNA. All you have to do is look at the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,87],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23605"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23605\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}