The $61,000 Alfa Romeo Stelvio is an improvement on the original that made driving this Italian SUV sheer bliss

Alfa Romeo fixed everything I disliked about the first-iteration of the Stelvio. The interior now exudes a true, premium vibe, and the infotainment system is greatly improved.

As far as the driving goes ... well, I was spoiled. I made a pair of roughly 200-mile round-trips in the Stelvio, driving through nearly deserted Manhattan streets and on traffic-free New Jersey and New York highways. This provided me with the rare opportunity to see what the Stelvio could do as a relatively high-performance SUV (I didn't have the Stelvio Quadrifoglio, but in some ways sampling this less powerful trim level was better for the freeway-cruising test).

For starters, the Stelvio is quick, and notably so for a machine that's underpowered on paper, with a mere 280 horsepower. How does 0-60 mph in about 5.5 seconds strike you? It struck me dandy, but while straight-ahead speed is lovely, what the Stelvio does best is what I really like about most Alfas of the current vintage: it feels light and dynamic.

I say "most" because I didn't enthuse over the Stelvio's tossability when I reviewed it in 2018. The 2020 refresh shouldn't have changed that impression — the SUV is mechanically unchanged. But I think having more open road to work with showed what the Stelvio could really do.

I should have wanted for the the 505-horsepower, 2.9-liter, twin-turbo V6 in the Quadrifoglio, formerly a Euro-only option but now available on these shores. But I didn't! My Ti Sport was satisfying, even when giving up over 200 horsepower. My case here is that while 505hp is awesome, you're going to feel it only when accelerating, and unless you're willing to see blue flashing lights in the rearview, those feelings should be brief. But with the Ti Sport Stelvio, you can get into all the vehicle's power.

The four-banger should struggle at higher speeds, or even showcase its lack of displacement under throttle pressure, but it doesn't. I knew about this already; the 2018 version of the Stelvio offered punchy performance with no turbo lag and no bothersome engine strain. In the 2020 version, I was just able to enjoy it even more.

It's a shame that I didn't more enthusiastically use the long paddle shifters, but that's a feature I find more fun in a beefier-motored car. You make up for the inability to violate the speed limit by working the engine through its torque curve, evoking growls and snarls from the exhaust ports. I was content to fly along the open highway on full automatic as the wind rushed around the Stelvio's stylish curves.

As for making a pretty good car better, it wasn't a daunting proposition for Alfa. I wasn't the only reviewer or customer who disliked the infotainment system and thought the interior failed to live up to the brand's luxury promise. A new infotainment setup and some moderate interior upgrades here and there did the trick. This vintage of the Stelvio is now fully competitive with the likes of Jaguar and Porsche, and might actually have a slight edge over the more austere aesthetic that BMW and Audi favor.

2018's Stelvio was $53,000 as-tested, and 2020's was just over $61,000, benefiting from some extra goodies and advanced driver-assist technology. That's a decent price difference, but the package I tested this year was significantly more appealing than what I drove in '18, so the additional cost is mostly justified. The refreshed Stelvio is demonstrably a more premium ride.

The bottom line is that while I certainly liked the Stelvio in 2018, I love the snazzy SUV in 2020. In a word, "Bravo!"