Alfa Romeo Tonale finally revealed

The 2023 Alfa Romeo Tonale has finally been revealed in all its glory, heralding the start of a new chapter for the iconic Italian brand as it storms toward an all-electric future from 2027.

Due to arrive in Australia in the first half of 2023 exclusively in hybrid form, the Tonale is Alfa Romeo’s first ever electrified vehicle as well as its first compact SUV, meaning there are plenty of expectations surrounding its popularity and success.

Measuring 4.54m long, 1.84m wide and 1.6m tall, Alfa designers have tried to instil the Tonale with a heritage-rich but distinctly modern look inevitably headlined by the ‘Scudetto’ shield grille as well as the full-length ‘GT Line’ linking the ‘3+3’ headlights with those at the rear.

Alfa Romeos have always been pretty things, but they’ve never been electrified until now.

Globally, the Alfa Romeo Tonale will be offered with five different powertrains comprising two turbocharged 1.5-litre hybrids, a turbocharged 1.3-litre plug-in hybrid (PHEV), a 1.6-litre turbo-diesel and a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol unit, the latter of which will be reserved exclusively for the US and Middle Eastern markets.

Australian customers will only have access to the hybrid pair from launch, however, global Alfa Romeo executives have confirmed there’ll be scope to expand the line-up depending on the market response.

“In Australia we will have the hybrid engine and we will focus the offer on that for the moment,” Alfa Romeo’s head of product planning Daniel Guzzafame told carsales.

“It’s not a closed book at all – we’ll see with the team in Australia whether that [more powertrain options] is something that makes sense.

“The technical capability is of course there and actually that is one of the goals that we have; is to have plug-in offer in Australia as well.”

Each based around a turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, the two hybrid powertrains feature a 48-volt electric motor integrated into their seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmissions with the only difference being the internal combustion engines’ outputs; 97kW/240Nm and 119kW (no torque figure was provided for the gruntier powertrain).

Drive in both instances will be sent exclusively to the front wheels through a limited-slip differential.

For reference, the PHEV will be the performance hero of the global range with all-wheel-drive and 205kW on tap (offering 0-100km/h acceleration in a claimed 6.2 seconds), while the turbo-diesel develops 97kW/320Nm.

In terms of standard equipment, two trim levels – Super and Ti – will be offered globally, but the finer details of each are yet to be confirmed.

We do know, however, that the Tonale will be the most technologically advanced Alfa to date with highlights including NFT software that evolves with the car, Amazon Alexa voice control, over-the-air updates and Alfa Romeo Connected Services.

Other range-wide standard equipment highlights will include a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a 10.25-inch infotainment interface, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, dual-zone climate control, heated and ventilated seats, ambient lighting, park assist, powered tailgate, 14-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, wireless smartphone charging and the latest evolution of the Alfa DNA drive mode system.

The settings have been specifically tailored to the electrified drivetrain and comprise ‘dynamic’, ‘natural’ and ‘advance efficiency’ modes.

Two-way adjustable dampers and paddle shifters are also included as standard, as are four-piston Brembo brake callipers.

“One of the primary objectives behind the design of the Alfa Romeo Tonale was to achieve maximum driving pleasure,” an Alfa Romeo spokesperson said in a statement.

“Tonale stands as a benchmark in the segment in terms of driving dynamics.

“It ensures sports car-like impeccable dynamic behaviour, proven by the best weight distribution and the most direct steering in its segment.”

A high-performance Tonale Quadrifoglio has already been confirmed to be in the works, however, it remains to be seen if the high-performance halo model sticks with the current ‘Q’ formula including a tuned-up internal combustion engine or if it will adopt some form of electrification.

According to Guzzafame, both options are currently being explored.

“We have some alternatives; both on pure thermal and in the electrification world,” he said.

“We want to have something relevant and something that is coherent with the Quadrifoglio emblem on one side, and also coherent and relevant for the market on the other side.”

Battery power has already been mooted for the Quadrifoglio brand in future, but a mainstream pure-electric version of the Tonale is also possible given Alfa’s commitment to become an EV-only car-maker within five years of the small SUV’s launch, in 2027.

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