Alfa Romeo's product range gets a number of updates for 2020
The Giulia and Stelvio receive the bulk of these enhancements, though the 4C Spider does gain a new variant.
Alfa Romeo is enhancing its product range for the 2020 model year. Even though there are only three vehicles in its US portfolio, each one will benefit from some important changes.
Despite looking quite different, the Giulia sports sedan and Stelvio utility vehicle are closely related, sharing powertrains and riding atop the Italian automaker's oh-so-good Giorgio platform. For 2020, each of these vehicles gains an updated infotainment system and more driver-assistance technology, as well as interior and exterior enhancements.
Both the Stelvio and Giulia get a new 8.8-inch touchscreen on the dashboard. This display is home to a revamped infotainment system with interactive widgets that are driver configurable. There are also new vehicle-performance pages, an expanded navigation view and revised graphics.
Providing drivers with additional vehicle-related information is a 7-inch TFT screen nestled in the gauge cluster. Standard equipment, it also boasts of a fresh layout, redesigned visuals and updated information pages, plus it now supports the new driver-assistance technology offered in these vehicles.
Beyond all this juicy goodness, Alfa Romeo is enhancing connectivity for 2020. This includes things like an in-vehicle Wi-Fi hotspot, emergency-calling capability and a stolen-vehicle locator. Over-the-air firmware updates have also been added and a new mobile app is offered. SiriusXM radio is included at no extra cost, along with a one-year complimentary subscription.
Features like leather seating surfaces, Apple CarPlay , Android Auto and remote start are standard across the model range for both these vehicles. It's the same story with features like remote start and bi-xenon headlights.
For added safety and convenience, the Giulia and Stelvio can be had with a range of advanced, driver-assistance technologies. Depending on trim level and option packages, this includes things like traffic-jam assist, blind-spot monitoring and lane-keeping assist. Adaptive cruise control with full-stop capability is also on the options menu. If nothing else, the automaker's Full Speed Forward Collision Warning Plus feature is standard across the board.
For 2020, the Giulia and Stelvio gain similar interior enhancements. Their center consoles have been upgraded with increased storage capacity and an available wireless charging pad for supported mobile devices. The gear selector is now leather wrapped and adorned with new accents, though it still appears to be of the wonky, electronic variety. You win some, you lose some. Designers also fitted these models with nicer control knobs, some improved materials and reworked steering wheels.
If you've noticed a pattern, the Giulia and Stelvio's upgrades for 2020 have essentially been identical. Things don't really diverge until you start looking at their exteriors.
On the SUV, a new body-color appearance kit is offered, slathering the fender flares, side sills and rear fascia in the same paint color as the rest of the vehicle. This is standard on Sport, Ti, Ti Sport, Ti Sport Carbon and Ti Lusso models. Additionally, the Stelvio can now be had with a Dark Miron appearance kit. It treats the same exterior components listed above to a new dark color. This package is available on Sport, Ti Sport and Ti Sport Carbon variants of the vehicle.
And if all this weren't enough, Alfa Romeo is also offering a new carbon fiber package on the range topping Stelvio Quadrifoglio model. This options group brings a special grille, carbon-fiber mirror caps and different badging to the table.
Two new exterior colors are coming to the 2020 Stelvio: Anodized Blue and Lunare White Metallic. The Giulia gains these hues, too, in addition to another called Verde Visconti Metallic, which has already been offered on the utility vehicle.
One area where these two models needed no real enhancement is under the hood. The standard engine offered in each one is a 2.0-liter turbo-four that doles out 280 horsepower with 306 pound-feet of torque. Ultra-high-performance Quadrifoglio variants are still graced with a Ferrari-sourced V6 that delivers 505 ponies with 443 lb.-ft. of twist. An eight-speed automatic transmission is standard across the board.
Finally, we come to the 4C Spider , Alfa Romeo's ridiculously fun though completely impractical sports car. The changes made to this machine for 2020 are far more limited that what was done to its mainstream -- and much more popular -- stablemates.
Still, the automaker is offering a new Italia variant. Models so equipped are dressed in Misano Blue Metallic paint, a color that's not available on any other version of the 4C. They also gain a special livery, which includes 4C Spider Italia graphics. Other enhancements include the addition of piano-black trim on the front air intake and rear diffuser, plus some special badging inside, including a numbered placard affixed to the center console.
For 2020, six exterior colors are offered on this pint-size exotic, including Misano Blue Metallic. Half a dozen interior combinations are also on the menu. Like its bigger siblings, no powertrain alterations have been made, meaning drivers are still treated to a raucous little four-cylinder engine with 237 turbocharged horses in its stable.
Alfa Romeo's revival in North America has been something of a tragedy. The fabled Italian brand has struggled on this side of the Atlantic, partly from issues of its own making and because the luxury-vehicle market is so competitive these days. Through the third quarter of this year, dealerships sold fewer than 13,500 Alfa Romeos in the US, a year-over-year decline of 27 percent. It remains to be seen if the enhancements made for 2020 will at all improve this troubled brand's outlook.