What is it ?
It’s a small family car in the C sector. Based on the same underpinnings as the Jeep Compass it effectively replaced the Giulietta in the Alfa Romeo range. Looks-wise, its almost a baby Stelvio, which has to be a good thing.
Engine, performance & battery
The powertrain comprises a 1.3-litre turbo petrol plus two electric motors, so it’s four-wheel drive. Total output is 271bhp with a 0-62mph time of 6.2 seconds. The 15.5kWh battery offers drivers a useful 43 miles.
Model range
Choose from either entry level Ti, or Veloce which we were driving. Alfa have juiced up the cars suspension, so the Tonale gets frequency-selective dampers co-developed by Koni, with our test car the Veloce adopting adaptive suspension.
Driving modes
Alfa still offers it’s DNA driving selector, this time it’s via a rotary dial to the left of the steering wheel. Here you can control the cars performance with A, Advance Efficiency, N Normal & D Dynamic are the three options. Furthermore, you can control the car’s adaptive suspension independently of the drive modes via a button in the middle of the ‘DNA’ rotary selector. In the plug-in Tonale, the Advance Efficiency mode works when you’re using the battery to power the car. With an electric range of 43 miles, this is more often than you’d think.
Exterior
The Tonale combines a mini-Stelvio profile, with Alfas V shaped front grille, narrow front LED light clusters, slim rear light strip & low roofline. Our test car in Montreal Green looked superb !
Inside
Amongst other things you get a tabloid shaped phone charger, steering wheel start button & rotary DNA selector. More standard fare includes a slick leather gear lever, electric hand brake & steering wheel controls for the cars ADAS system & the infotainment.
In the centre of the dash is an attractive 10.25″ touchscreen, plus a 12.3″ digital instrument cluster in front of the driver. This can be altered to feature one of three different screens, plus on Veloce you also have twin metal gear shift paddles on either side of the steering wheel.
Quality wise it’s pretty good, with some decent finishes on top of the dash & doors & to the leather seats. The cheaper trim is hidden lower down on the door pockets for example.
Infotainment
The screen size does feel small but the graphics are clear & responses fast. You can connect wirelessly to Apple Car Play or Android Auto too.
There is a row of buttons underneath the screen for the climate control which we like, but the shortcut screen icons are quite small & not that easy to select on the move. Consequently, it’s quite easy to choose the wrong one.
Practicality
Front passengers sit quite high have decent had & legroom. The rear though, is only large enough for two adults & a combination of the high, narrow side windows & black roof lining make it a little gloomy if you’re sat in the back. Luckily our test car featured a panoramic sunroof to brighten things up. My son who is over six feet tall, found both rear headroom & legroom a challenge.
Up front, you get a good sized glove box, twin centre drinks holders, a meagre armrest with some storage underneath, small front door pockets & tiny rear ones. Twin USB’s feature in the front & the rear plus a fold down rear armrest with ubiquitous twin cup holders within. Thanks to the battery located in the middle of the car, the Tonale’s boot takes a hit. It only offer you 385 litres compared to the standard Tonale’s 500 litres.There is room to store your charging cables under the fat floor, which is good, but for a long weekend away, we struggled to fit everything in resorting to using the back seats.
Fuel economy & emissions
The plug-in Tonale comes with low BIK, thanks to low CO2 emissions of 26g/km. Claimed WLTP economy is 217.3 mpg Perhaps by plugging in every night & not using the petrol engine this might be achievable, but we’d take it with a pinch of salt. We drove over 630 miles, 84 of which were in electric mode & ended up with an average of 40mpg. Food for thought.
Equipment & prices
Entry level Ti features LED headlights, a rear parking camera, keyless entry, a powered boot lid, the 10.25″ touchscreen & the 12.3″ digital instrument cluster. Our test car Veloce adds the aluminium gear shift paddles, adaptive dampers, an Alcantara trim & 19″ dark alloy wheels. Asking price for the PHEv is £48,495 in Veloce trim.
Driving
There are three driving modes. Dynamic, Normal & Advanced Efficiency, DNA.
Dynamic does introduce an element of fun to proceedings, but it’s offset by a harsh ride & you’ll notice the car crashing somewhat over poorer road surfaces. Normal feels better & the car doesn’t get quite as boisterous, certainly on bumpy roads & even feels more confident on corners.
On the motorway, the ADAS systems easy to select & you can happily cruise along at motorway speeds as we did & you’ll find it very relaxing. At motorway speed, some road noise does enter the cabin from the tyres. A real highlight is the sound system which is possibly the best I’ve ever encountered in car of this asking price.
Advanced Efficiency is for all-electric driving & the battery power offers the car a more enjoyable drive than when the six speed auto box kicks in. This is a heavy 1800kg car & whilst you can’t feel the battery weight, it certainly dulls the fun. When you put your foot down there’s a 2 second lag before the power arrives so don’t try & nip into any gaps as I did, as it may be a bit close for comfort.
From a standing start it’s incredibly slow & I’m not sure how you can get to 62mph in 6.2 seconds, although we were fully loaded with four adults & luggage which may explain it ? We switched to the manual paddle gear change & this is markedly better, but I’m lazy & wouldn’t want to use these all of the time. At the opposite extreme, the brakes are incredibly good with the slightest touch halting your progress in milliseconds. You do get used to it.
Real world economy
Driving in August from Cheshire to Suffolk & back we managed 630 miles at an average of 39.8mpg. This was with four adult on board, their luggage & with the majority of the journey undertaken on motorways or dual carriageways.
Pros
It is a great looking car especially in Montreal Green ! Designed to be different & it is, succeeding in making all of it’s competitors seem dull in comparison. See BMW X1 for example. For company car drivers the plug-in with an excellent 43 mile electric range is the one to have as it offers BIK of just 8%.
Cons
Lack of throttle response is very disappointing. It’s not as premium inside as a Volvo XC40 or BMW X1. The plug-in’s boot is small.
Verdict
A cracking exterior mixed with an Italian designed cabin offer plenty of Alfa Romeo for your buck. On the plus side it’s an incredibly attractive car to look at & it definitely turned heads. Factor in the 43 mile electric range which equals 8% BIK & if you plug-in regularly, you’ll save money too. It’s only let down by the unresponsive gear box which spoils the overall driving experience.
If you want a different C sector SUV, then it’s definitely the one to choose. 3.75/5
