30 Minutes With: The 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio AWD

The 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio AWD.

Publisher's note: Normally, the cars you read about here at TireKicker are loaned to us by the press fleets of the various manufacturers for several days. Seven is typical.  Occasionally, we'll get a longer period of time, and sometimes it'll only be three or four days.  Our "30 Minutes With" series features cars we spent half an hour driving during the just-concluded Western Automotive Journalists Media Day in Monterey, California.

Needless to say, these are quick drives and brief impressions that we hope to be able to flesh out with a full review of the vehicle at some point in the near future.

Media Days is a driving program, with journalists taking cars from the staging area at Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley over Laureles Grade and back or off-road on the acclaimed Land Rover Experience on the grounds of Quail Lodge.

My third drive of the day was at the wheel of the 2018 (the 2019 is the same, as will be the 2020) Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio AWD.

30---Okay, 75---Minutes With: The 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Ti Sport AWD

The 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Ti Sport AWD.

Publisher's note: Normally, the cars you read about here at TireKicker are loaned to us by the press fleets of the various manufacturers for several days. Seven is typical.  Occasionally, we'll get a longer period of time, and sometimes it'll only be three or four days.  Our "30 Minutes With" series features cars we spent half an hour driving during the just-concluded Western Automotive Journalists Media Days in Monterey, California.

Day one of Media Days is a driving program, with journalists taking cars from the staging area at Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca via Laureles Grade.  Once there, you swap cars with another journalist for the drive back, get a different car at The Quail, and repeat. Apart from an hour's lunch (this year sponsored by Nissan), this is the day from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., although heavy rains forced us to call it a day at 2:30 this year, reducing the number of cars we could drive.

Car number four for the day was the second Alfa Romeo I've ever driven, just minutes after the first, the 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Ti Sport AWD.