Test: Alfa Romeo Tonale – Hard search for Alfa DNA

Well, how long did that take!

You can say that, yes. After all, Alfa Romeo already showed the Tonale as a concept car in 2019. However, the first buyers of the compact Italian SUV were not able to set off with their new car until the summer of 2022. The Tonale is below the Stelvio in the range, and actually follows the Giulietta. Although that was a five-door hatchback, traditional C-segmenters are being pushed further and further into the background. For example, you could see the Volvo XC40 as the successor to the V40. However, competing brands such as Audi (A3/Q3), BMW (1 Series/X1) and Mercedes (A Class/GLA) still offer their customers the choice of two different models.

Touch of Alfa Romeo flair in the digital instrumentation of the Tonale.

The Tonale is now a Stellantis product, but what exactly is it based on?

Alfa Romeo already had the Tonale in preparation when the old FCA (Fiat, Alfa, Lancia, but also Jeep and Dodge) was swallowed up by Stellantis (Peugeot, Citroën, DS Automobiles and Opel). The Italian SUV is therefore on the platform of the Jeep Compass. He has nothing to do with the new family members at Stellantis, in this class the Peugeot 3008/5008, Citroën C5 Aircross and Opel Grandland. The engines with which the Tonale is supplied also date from the FCA era. In the case of our test car, it is a 1.5-liter four-cylinder with turbo, which is linked to a hybrid system. Good for a power of 160 hp.

How do the dimensions of the Alfa Romeo Tonale compare with the competition?

The Tonale has a length of 4.53 meters, making it almost ten centimeters longer than the most popular compact SUV in the Netherlands, the Volvo XC40. It has a wheelbase of 2.64 meters, the same as the Jeep Compass. There is no shortage of interior space: as a person of just over 1.80 meters you also have enough freedom of movement for your head and legs in the back. The length difference compared to the Volvo XC40 mainly translates into the larger trunk. 500 to 1,550 liters of luggage fits in the rear (XC40: 460-1,336 litres). The Volkswagen Tiguan does offer more liters (615-1,655 l), a competitor such as the BMW X1 has a cargo space of comparable size.

Space in the trunk of the Tonale is not disappointing.

The luggage compartment has a double floor. A handy click system has been incorporated into the sides so that you can tilt the floor in the highest position and slide the shopping bags under it. A trailer of 1,500 kilos can be attached to the towbar. With all these values, the Tonale is definitely convincing as a family car.

But you buy an Alfa Romeo for the brand experience.

The Tonale certainly does not disappoint. The designers have succeeded in giving it the look of a real Alfa Romeo, although it does not have the dynamic looks of the Stelvio. Because the larger SUV is on the platform of the Giulia – with engines placed longitudinally – it has a long nose. With the Tonale, the technical layout is completely different, with front-wheel drive and transversely mounted engines. And you can clearly see that.

The fact that the Alfa Romeo Tonale has no physical affinities with the SUVs from Peugeot, Citroën and Opel also has its advantages. If you open the door, you will be immersed in an Alfa bath. Although Stellantis deals very well with the own ‘look and feel’ of all car brands, the enthusiast’s heart will beat faster from the characteristic Alfa interior. As in the Giulia and Stelvio, the start button is placed on the steering wheel.

The layout of the digital instruments is also imbued with Alfa Romeo DNA, with the classic basic shape with two deep bell tubes being preserved. The DNA button for the driving programs (Dynamic, Normal and Advanced) also catches the eye. It sits high on the center console, within easy reach, close to the steering wheel.

Now Alfas are not immediately known as the epitome of ease of operation …

By today’s standards, the central screen is small, and the physical buttons below it have a Jeep look. Still, it is nice that they are there, because then at least not all functions are cluttered into the screen. However, the buttons look and feel cheap and do not belong in a car of almost 52,000 euros.

The ventilation outlets are in typical Alfa style, and the lighting in the dashboard gives a red glow, which creates a special atmosphere in the dark. The materials in the center console and the center section of the dashboard are of questionable quality, but that does not mean that Alfa Romeo has skimped on the interior. Compliment for the platform on which your phone can charge wirelessly. In many cars, your smartphone shifts all the time and you have to put it back in place. In the Tonale it keeps loading continuously.

Beautiful design, lesser materials.

In the test car, which was designed as a Veloce, the seats are upholstered in leather. They are not too wide, but have a good shape. The seating position is optimally adjustable because the steering wheel can go far towards you. You are quite encapsulated for an SUV and certainly not on the box.

Striking: the Tonale has an ‘old-fashioned’ automatic lever that you have to pull through resistors. Most SUVs with an automatic transmission have an electrical switch that always moves back to the starting position. In the Tonale you can also switch gears yourself, with huge paddles behind the wheel. They are the same size as in the Giulia and Stelvio and are very reminiscent of the ones you find in Ferraris.

That promises something for the performance of the Alfa Romeo Tonale!

With the 160 hp 1.5T engine, the car is certainly no slouch, but you might expect more from an Italian car. The hundred sprint takes 9 seconds, the intermediate sprint from 80 to 120 km/h takes 6 seconds. Not slow, but not blood-curdling fast either.

Now the test-Tonale has ‘hybrid’ behind its name, and that tempers expectations somewhat. Incidentally, it is not a true full hybrid. It has both a starter generator and a 48-volt electric motor, which, with an output of 15 kW, sits between the petrol engine and the dual-clutch automatic transmission. The storage capacity of the battery is 0.8 kWh. In traffic jams and residential areas, you can see the EV light in the display light up briefly, so you actually travel electrically. But not nearly as much as, for example, the real hybrids from Toyota and Kia. The average consumption (in the windy, soaking wet test week) is therefore not impressive. We get 1 in 14.0.

But what if you want more?

Then you have to rely on the Tonale Plug-in Hybrid. It has a 1.3-liter turbo engine with an output of 180 hp. Indeed: a smaller engine that delivers more power than the 1.5. An electric motor is coupled to the 1.3 four-cylinder, which works according to the economical Miller principle. This is located between the rear wheels, which makes the Tonale PHEV a four-wheel drive vehicle. The electric motor transfers a power of 122 hp to the rear wheels. The combined power is 280 hp, and with that the Tonale 1.3T Plug-in Hybrid reaches one hundred in 6.2 seconds. That’s more like it! While an average consumption (WLTP) of 1 to 71.4 is specified. The Tonale can also be ordered in a 130 hp hybrid version.

Does the Tonale drive like a real Alfa Romeo?

Finished as a Veloce, the Tonale comes standard on 19-inch wheels. Under the test car are optional 20-inch wheels with very sporty Pirelli P Zeros. When it is dry, they stick to the asphalt and that gives the car a lot of grip. The nose quickly seeks the inside of the turn. The flip side of the Tonale’s set-up is the firm shock absorption. Even though these are adaptive with the Veloce, you continuously feel what is rolling under the wheels and there is never any rest in the chassis. The dribbling is somewhat reminiscent of earlier Fiat chassis. The car therefore lacks a certain maturity. Yes, hard corners through bends, this SUV can do that.

The driving experience also depends to a large extent on the driving mode you choose with the DNA button. In the N position, the little communicative control is very light, briefly around the middle position a bit dead and then immediately after that the car reacts immediately to the steering input. In N, the gearbox is also often in doubt, and allows the combustion engine to run at speeds that you do not want. The switching moments fall at the wrong times.

In D from Dynamic it becomes a completely different story. Then the Tonale steers very directly, the car seeks closer contact with the driver and the box and the engine also respond fanatically. The Alfa grows a bit more around you and you will notice that the SUV has quite a sharp edge. You will experience that the car is light for this genre, because at 1,500 kilos it weighs little by today’s standards.

It takes a while to find the finest settings.

Then there is the A position in the DNA driving modes, from ‘Advanced Efficiency’. As if there is a large rubber band on the car that is being pulled tight. Due to the limited engine torque, life disappears from the powertrain. In short, you really have to look for what you like in the Tonale.

Operating the paddles of the automatic gearbox yourself helps enormously in choosing the right times to switch gears. In addition, the huge selector levers feel good; through the light resistance you clearly feel that the box chooses a different resistance. We often leave flippers for what they are at vending machines, but in the Tonale they offer added value: the machine knows and cannot do it very well itself. Whether that is the intention of modern technology, you may wonder …

How much does the Tonale cost and what do you get in return?

As said: as a Veloce, the Tonale 1.5T Hybrid with 160 hp costs almost €52,000. The 20-inch wheels under the test car raise that amount, together with various other options and packages, to more than €57,000. For that money you get a very well equipped car. A selection of the standard equipment: automatic air conditioning with two temperature zones, a digital instrument panel (12.3 inches) and infotainment system with a 10.25-inch screen, navigation, the aforementioned wireless phone charger, matrix LED headlights, an electrically operated tailgate, a reversing camera and adaptive shock absorbers.

The Tonale’s safety equipment includes forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition, active lane departure warning and fatigue detection. Remarkable: blind spot warning is not provided.

Under the Veloce version there are three less complete versions of the Tonale, the Super, Sprint and TI. However, the 160 hp version comes exclusively as TI and Veloce.

The choice of AutoWeek Test coordinator Marco Gorter

Given the relatively limited extra cost, the Plug-in Hybrid is the best powertrain because of the higher power and especially the greater refinement. At the equipment level, the TI is a nice middle ground, supplemented with, for example, the Winter Pack for seat and steering wheel heating and possibly a package with extra extensive driving aids.