{"id":45703,"date":"2026-01-24T13:46:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T12:46:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.italpassion.fr\/?p=45703"},"modified":"2026-01-24T13:46:32","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T12:46:32","slug":"this-professional-audi-driver-tested-the-alfa-romeo-stelvio-quadrifoglio-and-despite-one-flaw-its-the-best-suv-ive-ever-driven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.italpassion.fr\/en\/alfa-romeo\/ce-pilote-professionnel-audi-a-teste-lalfa-romeo-stelvio-quadrifoglio-et-malgre-un-defaut-cest-le-meilleur-suv-que-jai-jamais-conduit\/","title":{"rendered":"This professional Audi driver tested the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio and despite one flaw it's \"the best SUV I've ever driven\"."},"content":{"rendered":"
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When a professional driver competing with an Audi claims that the SUV Alfa Romeo<\/a> is quite simply the best he's ever driven, the statement is worth making. And there's nothing marketing about it. It comes from Matteo Poloni, an Italian driver who competes in the Italian TCR class in an Audi RS3, and also runs a workshop specializing in gearboxes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unexpected face-to-face<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It all began almost by chance. One evening, in his Gear Works workshop, which specializes in the overhaul and repair of automatic and manual gearboxes, Matteo Poloni came across a very unusual car: an Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio in Vesuvio gray, with yellow calipers. A configuration strictly identical to the one he owned for two years. Not only does he know this car by heart, but above all because he's actually driven it: over 30,000 km in all conditions, on the road, in the mountains, on a daily basis. Enough to form an unfiltered opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An outstanding machine, even today<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

From the very first words, the conclusion is clear. For Poloni, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio was already \"out of its league\" when it came out, and it remains so today. He claims to have tried almost all SUVs capable of offering such chassis, driving precision and mechanical feel. None of them left the same impression on him. What strikes the driver is the feeling of a car designed without compromise, with real mechanics, natural balance and a direct link between driver and road. The Giorgio platform, developed in the days of Sergio Marchionne, is at the heart of the matter here. For Poloni, it symbolizes a bygone golden age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On the road, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio is no pushover. Its ultra-direct steering, extremely precise front end and deliberately aggressive tuning demand experience. At low speeds, it's surprisingly agile. At high speeds, it can be intimidating if you don't know exactly what you're doing. But on a mountain road, everything lines up. Poloni describes an SUV capable of cornering with disconcerting speed, braking very hard, transferring mass violently, then exiting curves with a slight, perfectly controllable oversteer. An efficiency that he compares, in no uncertain terms, to that of the Ferrari Purosangue, while pointing out that Alfa Romeo's Italian model offers a much rawer, less filtered feel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More efficient than a Giulia Quadrifoglio in certain conditions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Interesting fact from a purist: Poloni claims that in certain contexts, particularly in mountain and winter conditions, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio can go faster than a Giulia Quadrifoglio. The reason? Its all-wheel drive capable of sending up to 50 % of torque to the front, enabling much earlier acceleration out of bends. Where a rear-wheel drive car struggles to find grip, Alfa Romeo's SUV literally catapults its driver out of the bend, with the front axle \"pulling\" the car towards the exit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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