Elite Traveler May-June 2018

elite traveler MAY/JUNE 2018 39

Corsica is home to the Tour de Corse rally, also known as the ‘Rally of 10,000 Bends.’ The mountainous French island is the perfect

place to test Jaguar’s E-Pace First Edition

A QUAD FOR ALL SEASONS ALFA ROMEO STELVIO QUADRIFOGLIO

First drive: Jaguar E-Pace First Edition

Although Alfa Romeo roared back onto American shores in 2017 with a trio of Super Bowl ads featuring its much-lauded Giulia Quadrifoglio sedan, the sophomore year of the new line is certainly off to the races with the Stelvio Quadrifoglio SUV. When let loose on Germany’s Nürburgring, the 505-horsepower twin-turbocharged Stelvio Quadrifoglio, with an all-aluminum Ferrari-sourced 2.9L V6 engine and optional but impressive Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes, annihilated Porsche’s Cayenne Turbo S by eight seconds, securing the fastest-ever lap time for a production SUV. Alfa Romeo adapted its triangular scudetto grille, first unveiled on the 1949 6C 2500 Villa d’Este Coupe, double-wishbone front suspension system and shrewdly named DNA Pro chassis-control system (with Dynamic, Natural and Advanced Efficiency driving modes) from the lesser-powered Stelvio. It adds a fourth mode — Race —which switches off all stability and traction- control enforcement; let the throttle thumping commence. Behind the wheel, the four-leaf-clover-badged Quadrifoglio (Italian for ‘quatrefoil’) SUV evokes words such as ‘balanced,’ thanks to its 50/50 front/rear weight distribution, and ‘thoughtful,’ in part due to its torque- vectoring rear differential, a command that allows 100 percent of its torque to be sent to either rear wheel, keeping in mind traction and driving modes. The end result is a premium crossover automobile that sits wheel-to-wheel with its German and Italian SUV competitors. Inside, the 8.8in infotainment system is buttressed by a 14-speaker Harman/Kardon sound system and Alcantara sport seats. Outside, model-specific larger front air intake and hood vents, quad exhaust tips and expressly developed 20in Pirelli P Zero summer tires ensure inevitable double takes from passersby. Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio from$81,590, alfaromeousa.com

For the kids

The undulating landscape of the mountainous French island of Corsica proves unrelenting in its hairpin turns and sharp corners. The Tour de Corse rally, held on this Mediterranean isle since the 1950s, was long ago dubbed the ‘Rally of 10,000 Bends.’ Hyperbole it is not. Laricio pine forests are punctuated by stone-walled towns and glacial reliefs. Putting Jaguar’s freshly minted compact crossover through its paces is certainly no challenge here. Much like Corsican-born Napoleon Bonaparte, the SUV is petite, commanding and chic. With an arched hood and minimal front and rear overhangs, the car measures 173in in length, roughly a foot shorter than its German counterparts. E-Pace’s beauty, though, comes via three additional inches of width. A well-apportioned axle-to-dash ratio grants the Jaguar a handsome robustness. Winding through granite and sedimentary rock formations and down past chilly windswept beaches, E-Pace performs best in dynamic mode (the others are snow, rain, ice, eco and normal). Stronger exiting corners than entering, when its snout raises and its line tightens, E-Pace features a 2.0L transverse-mounted turbocharged four-cylinder engine. As the first four-cylinder-only model in Jaguar’s history, the front-biased all-wheel-drive E-Pace is not built off its larger predecessor, an aluminum-intensive F-Pace, but rather the predominantly steel platform of Range Rover’s Evoque (minus two inches of ground clearance). Further differentiating it from its feline family, E-Pace ditched the verdant hills of jolly England for Graz, Austria, to be assembled in the same factory that constructs BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz G-Class vehicles. For sports enthusiasts, the ‘activity key’ is a waterproof rubber RFID wristband. For techies, there’s Arrival Mode, which pinpoints parking spaces, as well as a Share ETA capability that allows the driver to alert contacts of their arrival time. Everyone will appreciate the 4G LTE Wi-Fi hot spot for up to eight devices and five USB ports. This forward-thinking connected car technology bridges the gap between raw sport utility vehicle and sedan, proving it’s the ultimate compact crossover. Jaguar E-Pace First Edition from $53,550, jaguarusa.com

Words Alexandra Cheney. Photos David Shepherd, Diego Vigarani, Nick Dimbleby, FCA US LLC