Compare the2024 Lincoln NautilusVS 2024 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.

Both the Nautilus and Stelvio have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Nautilus 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’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.

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.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Nautilus has standard Reverse Brake Assist 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.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Nautilus. But it costs extra on the Stelvio.

The Nautilus has a standard 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 Stelvio have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Nautilus has Rear Cross Traffic Braking (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Stelvio’s Rear Cross-Path Detection doesn’t automatically brake.

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, 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 and rear cross-path warning.

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 over 4 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.

The Nautilus has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Stelvio doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

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 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 20 more horsepower (300 vs. 280) than the Stelvio’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the Nautilus gets better mileage than the Stelvio:

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

The Nautilus Hybrid’s standard fuel tank has 3.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the Stelvio (20.1 vs. 16.9 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Nautilus’ standard fuel tank has 3.4 gallons more fuel capacity than the Stelvio (20.3 vs. 16.9 gallons).

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.

The Nautilus 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.

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

For better traction, the Nautilus has larger tires than the Stelvio (255/60R19 vs. 235/60R18).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Nautilus has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Stelvio Sprint. The Nautilus’ optional 22-inch wheels are larger than the 21-inch wheels optional on the Stelvio.

The Nautilus’ drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Stelvio doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Nautilus’ wheelbase is 3.3 inches longer than on the Stelvio (114.2 inches vs. 110.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Nautilus is 1.7 inches wider in the front and .3 inches wider in the rear than on the Stelvio.

For better maneuverability, the Nautilus’ turning circle is 1 foot tighter than the Stelvio’s (37.5 feet vs. 38.5 feet).

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 15.9 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Stelvio (113.5 vs. 97.6).

The Nautilus has 6.9 inches more front legroom, 1.4 inches more front shoulder room, .9 inches more rear headroom, 11.2 inches more rear legroom and 2 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 (36.4 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 (71.3 vs. 56.5 cubic feet).

The Nautilus Hybrid 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.

Standard 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 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.

When the Nautilus is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Stelvio’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Nautilus 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 Black Label has standard massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Stelvio.

The Nautilus’ standard oscillating air vents move back and forth and distribute air evenly inside the vehicle, making everyone more comfortable. The Stelvio doesn’t offer oscillating vents.

The Nautilus’ Active Park Assist 2.0 can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Stelvio doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Lincoln Nautilus outsold the Alfa Romeo Stelvio by almost five to one during 2023.