Compare the2023 Audi SQ8VS 2023 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Audi SQ8 have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

Both the SQ8 and Stelvio Quadrifoglio have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The SQ8 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The SQ8’s standard pretensioning seatbelts also sense rear collisions and remove slack from the seatbelts to help protect the occupants from whiplash and other injuries. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The SQ8 has a standard Secondary Collision Brake Assist, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the SQ8 Prestige helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio doesn’t offer a night vision system.

The SQ8 has a standard Top View Cameras to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

Both the SQ8 and the Stelvio Quadrifoglio have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras and rear cross-path warning.

The Audi SQ8 weighs 967 pounds more than the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its available headlight’s “Acceptable” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the SQ8 the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2022, a rating granted to only 164 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio has not been tested, yet.

The SQ8’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the Stelvio Quadrifoglio’s (12 vs. 5 years).

There are over 2 times as many Audi dealers as there are Alfa Romeo dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the SQ8’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Audi vehicles are more reliable than Alfa Romeo With 13 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Audi higher than Alfa Romeo.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Audi vehicles are more reliable than Alfa Romeo vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 15 places higher in reliability than Alfa Romeo.

The SQ8’s 4.0 turbo V8 hybrid produces 125 lbs.-ft. more torque (568 vs. 443) than the Stelvio Quadrifoglio’s 2.9 turbo V6.

Regenerative brakes improve the SQ8’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

The SQ8 has 5.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the Stelvio Quadrifoglio (22.5 vs. 16.9 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

For better stopping power the SQ8’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Stelvio Quadrifoglio:

For better traction, the SQ8 has larger tires than the Stelvio Quadrifoglio (285/45R21 vs. 255/45R20).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the SQ8 has standard 21-inch wheels. Smaller 20-inch wheels are standard on the Stelvio Quadrifoglio. The SQ8’s optional 22-inch wheels are larger than the 21-inch wheels optional on the Stelvio Quadrifoglio.

The SQ8 has a standard space-saver spare tire so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the Stelvio Quadrifoglio; it requires you to depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

The SQ8 Prestige offers active sway bars, which help keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnect at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

The front and rear suspension of the SQ8 uses air springs for a smoother, controlled ride than the Stelvio Quadrifoglio, which uses coil springs. Air springs maintain proper ride height and ride more smoothly.

The SQ8 Prestige offers an available adjustable active suspension system, which counteracts cornering forces actively, limiting body roll and improving handling and stability. Alfa Romeo doesn’t offer an active suspension on the Stelvio Quadrifoglio.

The SQ8 has a standard automatic front and rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The SQ8’s height leveling suspension allows the driver to raise ride height for better off-road clearance and then lower it again for easier entering and exiting and better on-road handling. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the SQ8’s wheelbase is 7 inches longer than on the Stelvio Quadrifoglio (117.9 inches vs. 110.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the SQ8 is 4.9 inches wider in the front and 3.3 inches wider in the rear than on the Stelvio Quadrifoglio.

The SQ8 has 5 inches more front legroom, 2 inches more front shoulder room, 8.3 inches more rear legroom and 2.5 inches more rear shoulder room than the Stelvio Quadrifoglio.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the SQ8’s rear seats recline. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio’s rear seats don’t recline.

The SQ8 has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Stelvio Quadrifoglio with its rear seat up (30.5 vs. 18.5 cubic feet). The SQ8 has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Stelvio Quadrifoglio with its rear seat folded (60.7 vs. 56.5 cubic feet).

The SQ8’s cargo area is larger than the Stelvio Quadrifoglio’s in every dimension:

The SQ8 has a 7700 lbs. towing capacity. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio has no towing capacity.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Audi service is better than Alfa Romeo. J.D. Power ranks Audi 8th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 64% lower rating, Alfa Romeo is ranked 32nd.

The SQ8 Prestige has a standard heads-up display that projects speed and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

If the windows are left open on the SQ8 the driver can close them all at the outside door handle or from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Stelvio Quadrifoglio can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The SQ8’s LED headlights produce a white, bright light using less electricity than the Stelvio Quadrifoglio’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.

A manual rear sunshade and power rear side window sunshades are optional in the SQ8 to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio doesn’t offer a rear or rear side window sunshades.

When the SQ8 is put in reverse, the passenger rearview mirror tilts from its original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirror into its original position. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio’s mirror doesn’t automatically adjust for backing.

Optional air-conditioned seats in the SQ8 keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The SQ8 has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel isn’t available on the Stelvio Quadrifoglio w/Sparco Racing Seats.

The SQ8 offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Stelvio Quadrifoglio.

The SQ8 Prestige’s Park Assist Plus can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Park Assist Plus will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Audi Q8/SQ8/RS Q8 outsold the Alfa Romeo Stelvio by 19% during 2021.