By Otsile Kadiege

After countless spy photos, teaser images, and clips of a test mule, Alfa Romeo has officially lifted the veil off their all-new compact crossover SUV – the Tonale. It’s slotted beneath the Stelvio and bears an unmistakable Italian design, features state-of-the-art technologies as well as hybrid, and plug-in hybrid powerplants.

Exterior

The new Tonale borrows much of its design from the concept car first unveiled at the 2019 Geneva motor show. Up front the Tonale boasts an aggressive stance thanks to Alfa Romeo’s signature ‘Scudetto’ shield which no longer forms part of the bumper. It’s flanked by new ‘3+3’ full-LED adaptive matrix headlights with dynamic turn signals. Its side profile features an extended curve below the waistrail, known as the ‘GT Line’, which runs from the rear to the headlights. It’s fitted with new teledial alloy wheels with wheel sizes ranging between 17- to 20-inches.

The Tonale’s LED tail lights are a reworked copy of the headlights with a similar ‘3+3’ design and an Alfa badge nested in the centre of the light strip. Alfa’s baby SUV has a length of 4.53m, a width of 1.84m and a height of 1.6m.

Interior

Inside, the Tonale has a traditional Alfa Romeo look with a driver-centric cockpit featuring a new customisable 12.3-inch telescopic instrument cluster called “Cannocchiale”. There’s also a 10-inch touchscreen with an infotainment featuring Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, Amazon Alexa, and over-the-air updates. It also features Alfa’s DNA drive mode selector on the centre console, mood lighting, fabric/leather seats and a 14-speaker Harman Kardon sound system. The Tonale is the first car in the world to adopt a non-fungible token (NFT) blockchain certification which can register the vehicle’s data to generate a confidential and non-corruptible record of the vehicles life.

Powertrains

The Tonale will come with a hybrid and plug-in hybrid engines. The entry-level is a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine making 97kW and 240Nm paired to a 48-volt electric motor adding an extra 15kW and 55Nm. The powertrain is also paired to a 7-speed DCT and comes with features like Silent Start, Electric Drive, e-Boosting and Energy Recovery. The mid-range Tonale is also powered by a 1.5-litre engine with a variable geometry turbocharger (VGT) making 119kW. It’s also paired to a 48-volt electric motor and Alfa’s 7-speed TCT dual clutch transmission.

The most powerful Tonale is a plug-in hybrid with Q4 all-wheel drive. It combines a 1.3-litre MultiAir turbo-petrol engine providing traction to the front wheels whilst the 15.5kWh electric motor propels the rear wheels. The total system output is 205kW and it takes 6.2 seconds to sprint from 0-100 km/h. Alfa Romeo claims a full battery charge takes 2.5 hours when using a 7.4 kWh fast charger. In electric mode a full charge will avail 80km in a city cycle and 60km in a combined cycle.

Driver assistance systems

In terms of driver assistance systems, the new Tonale is equipped with the Italian automaker’s ADAS suite which features level 2 autonomous driving and assistance systems like intelligent adaptive cruise control, lane centering, traffic jam assist, blind spot detection, 360-degree view camera, lane control, emergency breaking, drowsy driver detection, TSR and ISC, and rear seat reminder.

We are still waiting on Alfa Romeo SA to confirm local availability.