• All versions offer unimpressive fuel economy
• Diesel best of the bunch for running costs
• Depreciation is proving to be heavy

What are the running costs?

If you want the most economical Stelvio, the 2.2-litre diesel will be the one for you. Alfa Romeo claims 47.9mpg – in everyday driving, a figure of around 40mpg should be easily achievable. The petrols aren’t quite as frugal. The 280hp model manages between 28-30mpg in real-world driving, so the diesel is your best option if you need to keep an eye on costs.

Official CO2 emissions of more than 190g/km put the petrol models in the highest bracket for BIK company car tax, too. The diesel is more reasonable with emissions of 162g/km – but this still pales in comparison to rivals with their plug-in hybrid powertrains emitting official CO2 in the twenties and thirties.

Servicing and warranty

Alfa Romeo offers a number of service plans, depending what you want to spend on it up-front. The most comprehensive is what Alfa Romeo calls Easy Care, which covers all servicing and can be paid for when you buy the car or factor it into your monthly payments. Service Care is a similar package designed for Alfa Romeos older than a year, while Oil Care allows you to buy oil and filter services in advance.

Service plans are transferable between owners as long as the schedule is adhered to via Alfa Romeo dealers. You do get a three-year, unlimited mileage warranty which is now rather off-the pace.

Reliability

• Alfa reliability isn’t traditionally a strong point
• But things have improved in recent years
• Three-year, unlimited-mileage warranty

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The Stelvio shares its platform with the Giulia, and while the company has seen its reliability improve in recent years, the Stelvio has still been the subject of three recalls so far.

This doesn’t mean you should expect the Stelvio to be unreliable, but you should be prepared for the possibility. Especially since Alfa Romeo has never built a vehicle of this type before, so doesn’t have any historic experience understanding the different stresses that SUVs have to withstand.

On early models we experienced some niggles with the sat-nav system, while some quality issues in parts of the cabin could struggle to stand the test of time.