Alfa Romeo Tonale

The car market has changed a lot since Alfa Romeo introduced the Tonale. Cars now look more like computers on wheels, and their appearance is more focused on functionality than beauty. The Chinese newcomers in particular are all about technology and there is hardly any room for passion.

And that is where Alfa Romeo sees an opportunity! At Alfa Romeo, tradition, design and experience are central. That is why the exterior has been embellished wherever possible. It now looks more like that of the recently introduced Junior, while details come from the highly exclusive 33 Stradale. Specifically, chrome has given way to black. The grille is more prominent and extends into the headlights. As the number plate is now centrally mounted, the face is more symmetrical. As a result, all lines seem to converge on the logo. The slats behind the logo are concave for a more exciting effect. Thanks to these modifications, the Tonale looks more modern and undeniably desirable.

Space and equipment

The Tonale retains Alfa Romeo's classic style with a cockpit built around the driver, round clocks, round air vents, plenty of decoration and controls with physical buttons. Because of the design, there is little room to move around the front seats, but head and legroom is good. Rear space is moderate for a car of this size. What has been updated, however, is the upholstery of the seats, which is very nice indeed.

The gearshift lever on the centre console has been replaced by a rotary knob that selects "drive", "neutral" and "reverse". This has made room for an induction charger, so mobile phones can now be charged wirelessly in the Tonale.

When Alfa Romeo designed the Tonale, it was not yet part of Stellantis, the parent company of Fiat, Opel, Peugeot and Citroën, among others. The Tonale still uses its own electronics and so cannot hitch a ride on the new technology from the new parent company. However, the infotainment system did undergo a software update and so past bugs were effectively fixed. The Tonale does not feature a voice-activated assistant based on artificial intelligence, and in Alfa Romeo's eyes that is an advantage. According to the Italian manufacturer, humans should be the focus, not computers.

Since the European Union requires it, active safety features have been greatly expanded. Fully in line with the philosophy that not computers, but people should, be in control, driver-assistants are easy to disable. Given their usual meddling, this was also done within minutes of starting the test drive.

Plug-in hybrid

The models seen by Alfisti as the last true Alfa Romeos were virtually unaffordable at the end due to sky-high CO2 taxes. For those who don't want to drive electric, but also don't want to pay tens of thousands of pounds in tax, the plug-in hybrid is the last remaining option. This powertrain was already available when the Tonale was introduced in 2022, but has been slightly modified to reduce emissions.

As indicated earlier, the Tonale does not share technology with other Stellantis brands. The plug-in hybrid is therefore of the classic type with a petrol engine on the front wheels and an electric motor on the rear wheels. This eliminates the need for a complex construction to combine two engines on one drive axle. Moreover, it has the nice bonus of having all-wheel drive as standard. Also classic is the electric range of around 65 kilometres, while more recent competition can now cover over 100 km all-electric.

The powertrain's software has been modified to allow more frequent electric driving, which would give the Tonale more of the character of a rear-wheel-drive car. More frequent electric driving logically requires more energy to be recovered during braking and coasting, and unfortunately this is quite noticeable. For passengers in particular, it makes the Tonale less comfortable. When the petrol engine takes care of propulsion, there is a raucous sound that, together with the prominent tyre noise, detracts from comfort. Thanks to the combined power of 270 hp, performance is good, but it lacks the clout that might be expected with so much horsepower. As before, consumption is relatively high when the high-voltage battery is empty (test consumption: 7.2 litres per 100 km).

Driving behaviour

Because the Tonale does not share technology with other Stellantis models, this is not yet another variant of the exact same SUV. To further differentiate itself, Alfa Romeo has even increased the track width by 1 cm (more was not possible due to the width of the wheel arches). Consequently, the steering has also been modified and this is where Alfa Romeo missed an opportunity. For a sporty car, the Tonale steers far too lightly, lacking the necessary feeling with the mechanics. Unfortunately, the same applies to the revamped Tonale.

However, the steering is very precise. In doing so, the larger track width ensures less lean and even more stability than before.

Conclusion

The Alfa Romeo Tonale has been updated for model year 2025. In doing so, Alfa Romeo is not taking the traditional approach with more computers and more technology. This is partly to preserve the car's character and partly because the manufacturer cannot do otherwise. Because the Tonale does not share technology with Stellantis, no new technology from the parent company can be used.

The exterior has changed only in details, but here Alfa Romeo shows itself to be a true master by making a big difference with small changes. Weak points, such as the prominent tyre noise, the raucous engine noise, the light steering, the high consumption without electric assistance and the awkwardly small wing mirrors, have  not been addressed.

Instead, Alfa Romeo simply puts the Tonale in a new perspective. It argues that the lack of artificial intelligence, a state-of-the-art infotainment system and on-screen controls are advantages. The plug-in hybrid powertrain is presented as a way to keep the Tonale affordable for those who don't want to drive (fully) electric. And that is a very clever idea! After all, those who do not fall for (Chinese) computers on wheels will feel completely at home in an (Italian) car that has been modernised only where necessary.