Alfa Romeo delivers a small SUV with real passion. Jonathan Crouch drives the Tonale.

Ten Second Review

Striking, sleek and significant, Alfa Romeo's Tonale could hardly matter more to the Milanese maker. This compact SUV comes with electrified engines, a styling nod to the past and a very lovely cabin. Can it win over Teutonic brand customers looking for a change? It'll be interesting to see.

Background

So Alfa Romeo reinvents itself. Again. A few years ago, it was as a maker cable of credible SUVs. Now, it's as an electrified brand. Well, a partly electrified brand anyway. There's no Alfa EV yet, but we do at least have a proper hybrid product - and a car that will set a course for the next generation of Alfas, this one, the Tonale. It's a small SUV that sits just below the Stelvio in the company's line-up.

Driving Experience

This isn't an EV but it is partly electrified. Our market won't get the conventional diesel and 2.0-litre petrol options that Alfa offers in other countries. Most UK Tonale customers will instead choose the 1.5-litre 48-volt mild hybrid four cylinder variable geometry turbocharged unit, offered here with only with 160hp. Strong, linear acceleration is promised, the e-motor filling in at low revs, before the turbo cuts in.

Your alternative at the top of the range is a potent 280hp Plug-in Hybrid petrol AWD Q4 model. This pairs a 180hp version of an old Fiat 1.3-litre MultiAir engine with a rear-mounted 121bhp electric motor powered by a 15.5kWh battery which, when fully charged, can deliver a 49 mile EV range. The engine turns the front wheels via a 6-speed torque converter auto gearbox, while the e-motor powers the rear wheels, completing the Q4 AWD system. The Tonale Plug-in Hybrid Q4 accelerates from zero to 62mph in 6.2 seconds and onto a top speed of 84mph in full-electric mode (and 128mph in hybrid mode), with the e-AWD system providing instantaneous deployment of 100 per cent of available torque from the electric motor on the rear axle. The 4x4 hybrid system doesn't physically connect the two propulsion systems, but rather coordinates them.

Design and Build

If you know your Alfas, you'll recognise plenty of historical brand cues here. The Zagato SZ-style headlights, with three beams on each side; the 'telephone dial'-style wheel design; and the curved rear screen, which apparently references a Bertone Coupe from the 1960s. All of this is pretty faithful to what we saw from the inspiration model here, the concept car that the brand showed at Geneva back in 2019. Size-wise, think BMW X1 or Audi Q3. The 1.6-metre height is much the same. The length is 4.53-metres and the Tonale is 1.84-metres wide.

You might be equally sold on the cabin, which places you snugly behind the chunky wheel and looks lovely when specced out with the brand's sumptuous leather upholstery. Veloce variants have beautiful aluminium shift paddles. There's new territory for Alfa with digital screens. The centre dash one is 10.25-inches in size, while the display you view through the wheel is 12.3-inches across and features some neat animations of those lovely '3x3' headlamps.

Market and Model

The Tonale is available in two trims; 'Ti' and 'Veloce', with an additional 'Speciale' launch version. Think pricing comparable to better versions of this car's most obvious three rivals, the BMW X1, the Audi Q3 and the Mercedes GLA. That means a price span for conventional models in the £40,000 to £42,500 bracket. For the Plug-in Hybrid Q4 version, you're looking at paying in the £45,000 bracket.

All variants do at least come well equipped for that. All get Alfa's usual 'DNA' drive mode selection system and quite a few variants will come with niceties like a wireless charging mat, heated and ventilated seats, a powered tailgate and a 14-speaker Harman Kardon audio system. The two cabin screens come included too, the 10.25-inch centre monitor and the 12.3-inch instrument binnacle display.

Every model gets a bespoke-developed Integrated Brake System and 'Veloce' variants have four-piston fixed callipers supplied by Brembo. As for damping, well mainstream versions have Frequency Selective Damping, which switches between high and low rates depending on driving style and road conditions. Top 'Veloce' trim gets you Marelli electronically switchable dampers developed specifically for the Tonale, which work through the modes of the DNA system. 'Normal' and 'Advanced Efficiency' DNA settings leave the spring in a comfort setting; they become stiffer in 'Dynamic' mode. 'Advanced Efficiency' clicks you into full-EV drive in the PHEV model.

Cost of Ownership

This Alfa in 1.5-litre 48V Hybrid form, is a Hybrid that uses the electric motor by completely disconnecting the petrol engine, which can remain idle for up to 47% of the time - or up to 62% in town. The powertrain's built-in e-motor acts to shift the operating point of the combustion engine, ensuring that it can reach maximum efficiency even in a cold vehicle. This function speeds up the catalyser warm-up transition, with further benefits in terms of fuel consumption and emissions.

The hybrid power supply has multiple advantages, not least in start-up in 100% electric mode, which is smooth and silent with no fuel wasted. Subsequently, the Tonale can continue to be driven in full-electric mode, compatible with power demand and the battery charge level. The car can also be parked in 100% electric mode, either in first gear or in reverse (Alfa calls this 'e-parking'). In addition, the hybrid power supply is designed to recover energy during both braking and deceleration.

The alternative to the 1.5-litre 48V Hybrid is the Plug-in Hybrid Q4 model. Here, the 306-volt, 15.5 kWh lithium-ion battery supplies an electric range of over 49 miles in the urban cycle and more than 372 miles of total range, making the Tonale Plug-in Hybrid one of the most efficient plug-in hybrid SUVs. The PHEV powertrain reduces CO2 emissions to 29g/km and improves fuel consumption to deliver 217.3mpg in the WLTP cycle. With the aim of providing maximum efficiency, it takes less than 2.5 hours to fully charge the battery from a 7.4 kW charger.

Summary

The Tonale combines these two approaches better than any small Alfa we can remember. The looks and the cabin are, as advertised, pure Alfa Romeo. The engineering isn't, but a lot of work's been put in to give it an Alfa feel. Enough work to justify a test drive if you've a sneaking admiration for the Milanese marque? Absolutely.

FACTS AT A GLANCE

CAR: Alfa Romeo Tonale

PRICES: £39,995-£44,595 – On The Road

CATEGORY: SUV-PREMIUM C-SEGMENT

INSURANCE GROUPS: 28-38

CO2 EMISSIONS: 29-142 g/km

PERFORMANCE: 0-62mph 6.2s / top speed 132mph

FUEL CONSUMPTION: 49.6 mpg {combined}

BOOT CAPACITY: [litres] 500

WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height 4528/2082/1601