Grey Alfa Romeo Stelvio Rental in Los Angeles

This is a dark grey with a warm bronze cast rather than a cold silver one, and it is the shade that flatters the Stelvio's face. The scudetto — the shield grille offset into the nose — needs something to stand against, and against a warm dark grey it reads as the piece of design it is instead of disappearing.

It is also the colour that makes the car look rare, which it genuinely is: there are not many Stelvios in Los Angeles and almost none in this shade. Take it when you want an SUV nobody at the hotel can immediately name, and when the week has a canyon road in it — this is the one in the fleet that will make the drive back from Malibu worth taking the long way.

The Stelvio is Alfa Romeo's SUV, and it is built around the same conviction as the Giulia saloon it shares a platform with: that a car should steer better than its rivals even if that costs something elsewhere. The rack is the fastest in the class by a distance, the weight distribution is close to even, and the result is an SUV that changes direction like a much smaller car. On a canyon road it is genuinely, obviously better than what it is priced against.

It is a usable one, too. Five seats, a proper boot, all-wheel drive, and a ride that is firm but never brittle. The cabin is simpler and more driver-focused than a German rival's — fewer screens, a deep instrument binnacle, and column-mounted aluminium paddles that are among the best-feeling controls at this price.

Honest hook: interior materials and infotainment are a step behind the German cars. You are buying the chassis and the badge, and both are worth it.