Compare the2023 Honda CR-VVS 2023 Alfa Romeo Stelvio

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Honda CR-V have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The Alfa Romeo Stelvio doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the CR-V are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Stelvio doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the CR-V deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The CR-V’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Stelvio’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The CR-V has a standard Low-Speed Braking Control that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Stelvio doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

Both the CR-V and the Stelvio have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive and rear parking sensors.

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the CR-V its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 29 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Stelvio has not been tested, yet.

Honda’s powertrain warranty covers the CR-V 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Alfa Romeo covers the Stelvio. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the Stelvio ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

Honda pays for scheduled maintenance on the CR-V for 2 years and 24,000 miles. Honda will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Alfa Romeo only pays for the first scheduled maintenance visit on the Stelvio.

There are almost 8 times as many Honda dealers as there are Alfa Romeo dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the CR-V’s warranty.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the CR-V’s reliability 40 points higher than the Stelvio.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Honda vehicles are better in initial quality than Alfa Romeo vehicles. With 28 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Honda higher than Alfa Romeo.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Alfa Romeo With 15 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Honda higher than Alfa Romeo.

On the EPA test cycle the CR-V gets better mileage than the Stelvio:

The CR-V has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Stelvio doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Honda CR-V higher (6 out of 10) than the Alfa Romeo Stelvio (5). This means the CR-V produces up to 6.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Stelvio every 15,000 miles.

The CR-V has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Stelvio doesn’t offer a CVT.

The CR-V stops shorter than the Stelvio:

For better maneuverability, the CR-V’s turning circle is 1.2 feet tighter than the Stelvio’s (37.3 feet vs. 38.5 feet).

The Honda CR-V may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 350 to 400 pounds less than the Alfa Romeo Stelvio.

The front grille of the CR-V uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Stelvio doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The CR-V uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Stelvio doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The CR-V has 5.9 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Stelvio (103.5 vs. 97.6).

The CR-V has 4.7 inches more front legroom, .4 inches more front shoulder room and 8.5 inches more rear legroom than the Stelvio.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the CR-V’s rear seats recline. The Stelvio’s rear seats don’t recline.

The CR-V has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Stelvio with its rear seat up (39.3 vs. 18.5 cubic feet). The CR-V has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Stelvio with its rear seat folded (76.5 vs. 56.5 cubic feet).

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the CR-V easier. The CR-V’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 26 inches, while the Stelvio’s liftover is 28.5 inches.

The CR-V’s cargo area is larger than the Stelvio’s in almost every dimension:

On a hot day the CR-V’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance with the keyless remote or at the outside door handle. The driver of the Stelvio can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The CR-V’s LED headlights produce a white, bright light using less electricity than the Stelvio’s xenon high intensity discharge (HID) headlights. HID headlights can be slow to reach full brightness or power cycle, causing issues when flashing them to signal other vehicles; LED headlights light instantly. LED lights also last about three to four times as long.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Honda CR-V, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Alfa Romeo Stelvio isn't recommended.

Motor Trend selected the CR-V as their 2018 Sport Utility of the Year. The Stelvio has never been chosen.

The Honda CR-V outsold the Alfa Romeo Stelvio by almost 31 to one during 2022.