Nearly new buying guide: Alfa Romeo Stelvio

Until pretty recently, an SUV from Alfa Romeo would have seemed as likely as Raymond Blanc donning the head chef apron at McDonald’s. But here we are.

And the truth is that the Alfa Romeo Stelvio offers the same characteristics of engaging handling and charismatic styling that made so many of Alfa Romeo’s cars popular in its long, romantic (and chequered) history.

Built on the same platform as the Alfa Romeo Giulia saloon, its remarkably light aluminium body fat-shames all of its rivals. And while one of its main drawbacks from new was its poor residual values, that in turn makes it worthy of focus in these used pages.

Click here to buy your next used Stelvio from Autocar

For power, you have the choice of a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine with 197bhp or 276bhp or a 2.2-litre turbodiesel with 188bhp or 207bhp.

As for trim levels, the most basic gets no name but plenty of standard kit, including a 6.5in infotainment screen, automatic emergency braking, cruise control, front and rear parking sensors and a powered tailgate, but it’s uncommon on the used market.

Instead, you’ll find more range-topping Speciale models with 19in 10-spoke alloy wheels, red-painted brake calipers, xenon headlights, power-folding door mirrors and leather seats (heated in the front).

Used Stelvios cost from around £25,000. Incredibly, at this entry point, there are a lot of examples of the punchy 2.0 Turbo 280 petrol in Speciale trim – our pick of the lot.

From here up to £30,000 is where the best value lies in the used Stelvio pickings. There’s a strong choice of all engines in varying trims and with low mileages, while £31,000 to £35,000 gives you the choice of 2019 and 2020 cars with very low mileage.

The elephant in the room here is the Stelvio Quadrifoglio. With a 503bhp 2.9-litre twin-turbocharged petrol V6 that was created with help from Ferrari and a four-wheel-drive system borrowed from Maserati, it’s a truly exceptional hot SUV – and it can be yours for just £50,000.