Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by petrol engines and utilizing the 5-door suv body style within the same 'SUV' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (4 x 4 for the Cupra and front in the case of the Alfa Romeo). The first one has a Volkswagen-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 5-cylinder, 20-valves 390hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 160hp engine designed by Stellantis.

Both vehicles got tested by European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), with the same number of safety stars gained in the process. That aside, let's consider some other aspects which affect safety. Both vehicles belong to the suv segment, which is generally a very good thing safety-wise, still it doesn't help us solve our dilemma, does it? Furthermore, if we'd like to consider vehicle mass in this context too, which we definitely should, the Spanish car offers a marginal difference of 1% more metal.

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that Cupra is significantly less fault-prone, when all the models are taken into account. These are the results of an independent reasearch, while our visitors describe reliability of Cupra with an average rating of 4.7, and models under the Alfa Romeo badge with 4.2 out of 5. Unfortunatelly, I don't have enough insight that would allow me to comment in more details on the specific models level. That apart, owners of different cars powered by the same engine as the Spanish car rank it on average as 3.0 out of 5, exactly the same as the other one.

Cupra is way more agile, reaching 100km/h in 4.6 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 250 kilometers per hour, 38km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy an obvious choice would be the Italian car, averaging around 6.5 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (43 mpg), in combined cycle. That's 43% difference compared to the Spanish car!

Cupra appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, the Spanish car offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. It all continues in the same direction, with Cupra outracing its opponent in any situation possible, making it better choice for boy racers. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... It's really tough to make a final decision here, but if I'd need to, I'd say Alfa Romeo. Nevertheless, let's not forget that people have different preferences and needs, so what really counts is your personal feel. I'm only here to help. In case you have two minutes to spare I invite you to define your needs, desires and budget and see which car would be chosen by the virtual adviser™, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.