The Alfa Romeo Tonale begins a new era

Last year, 909 Alfa Romeos were sold in Canada. Admittedly, the Italian manufacturer did not benefit from a particularly favorable context, but this figure reflects both the thinness of the Italian manufacturer’s range and the rather specialized market of the Stelvio and Giulia, despite their undeniable expressiveness. The Milanese brand now wants to expand its target customer base with an all-new model, a hybrid subcompact SUV named Tonale.

Charles Rene
The Press

Last year, 909 Alfa Romeos were sold in Canada. Admittedly, the Italian manufacturer did not benefit from a particularly favorable context, but this figure reflects both the thinness of the Italian manufacturer’s range and the rather specialized market of the Stelvio and Giulia, despite their undeniable expressiveness. The Milanese brand now wants to expand its target customer base with an all-new model, a hybrid subcompact SUV named Tonale.

Named after the Passo del Tonale, a pass in the Italian Alps, this newcomer stretches 4.5m in length and is 1.6m in height, figures very similar to those of a Jeep Compass. This is no coincidence, because it shares its original Fiat platform with the American, a way of reducing development costs.

The designers, however, took the time to infuse the manufacturer’s DNA into her dress. Proudly sporting the iconic Scudetto shield at the front, the Tonale employs thin headlights in which three LED hooks are embedded. It looks harmonious, at least in the photo.

First hybrid in the history of the brand

The most remarkable advance, at least with regard to Alfa Romeo’s traditionally sporty positioning, can be seen when you lift the hood. There, we discover the very first hybrid mechanics in the history of the manufacturer, pluggable in addition.

It is a 1.3 L four-cylinder turbocharged 180 hp, again drawn from Fiat’s engine bank, which serves as the base material. It is coupled with a 90 kW (121 hp) electric motor placed on the rear axle that can propel the SUV alone over an estimated distance of 48 km. When these two engines work together, the power obtained reaches 272 hp. Alfa Romeo uses a traditional six-speed transmission, unlike many players who use CVTs in these configurations.

The standard engine is a very conformist 2.0L four-cylinder, also turbocharged, whose power is increased to 256 hp and torque to 295 lb-ft.

A bit of technology in the recipe

Alfa Romeo will employ NFT technology – or non-fungible tokens in French – in the Tonale for the first time. This will allow, according to the manufacturer, to generate maintenance certificates with the agreement of the owner, ensuring a better resale value of the vehicle.

Stellantis’ new Uconnect 5 system, increasingly used in the vehicles of the group’s North American subsidiaries, will also be used in the Tonale. This will allow Alfa Romeo to provide a much better technological offer, whereas until now it had to fall back on a really poor infotainment system, despite improvements made not long ago.

With everything slowing down in the industry, those interested will have to wait until early 2023 to get their hands on a copy. One thing is certain, the model will increase the manufacturer’s starving sales, if the price range is competitive with that of the Audi Q3, BMW X1 and Mercedes-Benz GLA of this world.