Compare the2023 Lincoln NautilusVS 2023 Alfa Romeo Stelvio

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Lincoln Nautilus 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 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 Nautilus 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.

The Nautilus has standard Post Collision Braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Stelvio 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.

The Nautilus (except Standard) offers an optional 360-Degree Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Stelvio 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 Nautilus 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 and available all wheel drive.

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, and daytime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Nautilus the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 53 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Stelvio has not been tested, yet.

Lincoln’s powertrain warranty covers the Nautilus 2 years and 20,000 miles longer than Alfa Romeo covers the Stelvio. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 6 years or 70,000 miles. Coverage on the Stelvio ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are almost 5 times as many Lincoln dealers as there are Alfa Romeo dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Nautilus’ 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 Nautilus’ reliability 43 points higher than the Stelvio.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Nautilus first among midsize premium suvs in their 2022 Initial Quality Study. The Stelvio isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Lincoln vehicles are better in initial quality than Alfa Romeo vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Lincoln above average in initial quality. With 44 more problems per 100 vehicles, Alfa Romeo is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Lincoln vehicles are more reliable than Alfa Romeo vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Lincoln above average in long-term dependability. With 12 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Alfa Romeo is rated below average.

The Nautilus’ optional 2.7 turbo V6 produces 55 more horsepower (335 vs. 280) and 74 lbs.-ft. more torque (380 vs. 306) than the Stelvio’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

The Nautilus has 1.1 gallons more fuel capacity than the Stelvio (18 vs. 16.9 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Nautilus 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 Lincoln Nautilus higher (6 out of 10) than the Alfa Romeo Stelvio (5). This means the Nautilus produces up to 6.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Stelvio every 15,000 miles.

For better stopping power the Nautilus’ front brake rotors are larger than those on the Stelvio:

The Nautilus stops much shorter than the Stelvio:

For better traction, the Nautilus has larger standard tires than the Stelvio (245/60R18 vs. 235/60R18). The Nautilus’ optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Stelvio (265/40R21 vs. 255/45R20).

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Nautilus’ wheelbase is 1.3 inches longer than on the Stelvio (112.2 inches vs. 110.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Nautilus is 1.3 inches wider in the front than on the Stelvio.

The Nautilus Reserve AWD handles at .83 G’s, while the Stelvio Ti AWD pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Nautilus 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 Nautilus has 10.7 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Stelvio (108.3 vs. 97.6).

The Nautilus has 6.2 inches more front legroom, 1.4 inches more front shoulder room, .3 inches more rear headroom, 7.7 inches more rear legroom and 3 inches more rear shoulder room than the Stelvio.

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

The Nautilus has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Stelvio with its rear seat up (37.2 vs. 18.5 cubic feet). The Nautilus has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Stelvio with its rear seat folded (68.8 vs. 56.5 cubic feet).

The Nautilus’ cargo area is larger than the Stelvio’s in almost every dimension:

Maximum trailer towing in the Alfa Romeo Stelvio is limited to 3000 pounds. The Nautilus offers up to a 3500 lbs. towing capacity.

The Nautilus 2.7 Turbo can be flat towed on all four wheels (dinghy towed), allowing recreational vehicle owners to bring it with them on the road. When they reach their destination, the Nautilus can be unhitched and driven around locally. The Stelvio can’t be towed flat on the ground.

Optional Trailer Sway Control on the Nautilus uses the AdvanceTrac™ sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The Stelvio doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

If the windows are left open on the Nautilus 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 also lower the windows the same way. The driver of the Stelvio can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Nautilus’ exterior PIN entry system. The Stelvio doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

The Nautilus’ 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.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Nautilus Reserve/Black Label keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Stelvio doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The Nautilus Reserve/Black Label offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Stelvio.

The Nautilus (except Standard)’s optional Enhanced Active Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The Stelvio doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Insurance will cost less for the Nautilus owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Nautilus will cost $675 to $2595 less than the Stelvio over a five-year period.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Lincoln Nautilus, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Alfa Romeo Stelvio isn't recommended.

The Lincoln Nautilus outsold the Alfa Romeo Stelvio by almost three to one during 2022.