Alfa Romeo Tonale Review 2024

Want to stand out from all the BMW X1s and Audi Q3s on your neighbours' driveways? The Alfa Romeo Tonale will do that. We think it looks great, while there's a clear appeal to the Alfa Romeo badge. It drives like an Alfa should, too, although the performance from the entry-level mild-hybrid engine is mediocre at best.

We'd go for the Alfa Romeo Tonale plug-in hybrid. With a bigger battery and a more powerful electric motor than the mild-hybrid model, it'll feel much more responsive and be more efficient in the real world.

In terms of trim level, the entry-level Alfa Romeo Tonale Ti (later renamed Sprint) is probably the more sensible option. It's hardly sparsely equipped, while its 18-inch alloy wheels will be better for ride quality. That said, if you can justify the cost, the Alfa Romeo Tonale Veloce does feel a bit more special.

If you're in the market for a left-field premium SUV, you should also be looking at the excellent Volvo XC40 and impressive Range Rover Evoque. You might like to consider the Jaguar E-Pace, too, while the Lexus UX is a good choice if you're looking for a reliable hybrid SUV.

We rate the new BMW X1 highly, while the Mercedes GLA and Audi Q3 are two strong all-rounders. If you're not fussed about a premium badge, the latest Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage are two of our favourite family SUVs on the market.

From first glance, the Alfa Romeo Tonale looks perfectly smart inside. Our test car was fitted with sumptuous black leather with embossed Alfa Romeo badges but, even on the top-spec Veloce, that's actually quite an expensive optional extra.

From an interior quality point of view, the Alfa Romeo Tonale is in a different league to the Jeep Compass on which it's based. It'd have to be, though, to compete with cars like the BMW X1 and Audi Q3. Its cabin generally feels well-finished, although we don't think it's quite as posh as competitors. There are some flimsy plastics here and there, and some of the buttons don't operate with the reassuring chunkiness that you might like.

The infotainment system is one of our favourite features of the new Alfa Romeo Tonale. A 10.25-inch display is standard across the range with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as Amazon's Alexa voice recognition software. The latter is a bit hit and miss, which is a shame as the Tonale does without the rotary controller you get in other Alfa Romeo models (including the bigger Stelvio).

That said, it's a really easy system to use, with speedy responses to touch inputs. You can configure widgets to prioritise features you're likely to use most often, while the screen's positioning high up on the dashboard means it's not too distracting to glance at while driving, either.

As well as the central display, the Alfa Romeo Tonale comes with a 12.3-inch TFT screen behind the steering wheel. It's not quite as customisable as Audi's Virtual Cockpit, but you can select from a trio of layouts (Evolved, Relax and Heritage).

In terms of dimensions, the Alfa Romeo Tonale is 4528mm long, 2082mm wide (including door mirrors) and 1601mm high. That makes it a similar size to its direct competitors, while its 500-litre boot is pretty standard for a premium SUV of this size. However, do bear in mind that the boot shrinks to 385 litres on the plug-in hybrid version due to its bigger battery pack, and that's quite a deficit.

The rear seats are spacious enough, too, although the rising window line does mean it feels a little claustrophobic back there. You can get around this by speccing the optional panoramic sunroof, although doing so will eat into headroom slightly. We wouldn't recommend carrying anyone in the middle seat on a regular basis: it's narrower than the outer seats and the intruding transmission tunnel leaves little room for feet.

In the front, you get a high seating position and plenty of headroom and legroom, although the BMW X1 (with its floating centre console) feels more spacious. There's a useful storage tray for your phone, as well as a relatively small central cubby box, while the door bins aren't as cavernous as in certain rivals.

Alfa Romeo describes the entry-level Tonale as a Hybrid but, in reality, its 1.5-litre petrol engine only comes with the mildest amount of electrical assistance. The 48-volt setup uses a small 0.8kWh battery, which won't let you travel any significant distance without the petrol engine kicking in. It will let you coast to a stop under electric power, though, which will save you a small amount of petrol.

This engine is a bit disappointing, really, considering how good the Alfa Romeo Tonale is to drive otherwise. It produces a relatively meagre 160PS and 240Nm of torque, which is enough to take the Tonale to 62mph in 8.8 seconds. It feels slower than that, though: a tardy throttle response is frustrating at best and downright dangerous at worst. If you spot a gap when joining a roundabout, for example, you'll have missed it by the time the car responds.

We suspect the plug-in hybrid will be better. This actually uses a smaller 1.3-litre petrol engine, but combined with a beefier electric motor to provide a more potent 280PS overall power output. It'll be able to run under electric power for greater distances, which should also reduce the lag when pulling away from a standstill. And it'll be significantly quicker than the mild-hybrid Tonale, accelerating to 62mph in 6.2 seconds.

The biggest issue in terms of refinement is the mild hybrid engine. As it's quite slow to respond, you'll find yourself being quite heavy with the accelerator, which (when it finally does react) causes the revs to soar and create a bit of a din. It's just not a relaxing driving experience.

Engine noise aside, the Alfa Romeo Tonale is a perfectly competent cruiser. There's a bit of wind- and road noise on the motorway, but it rarely gets intrusive and it's nothing that can't be drowned out by the radio. 

The Alfa Romeo Tonale comes with the brand's Advanced Driver Assistance Systems as standard, meaning it's capable of Level 2 autonomous driving. This means computers can control multiple aspects of the drive. In the case of the Tonale, the Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Centring system work with the forward-facing camera to keep you in your lane and a set distance from the vehicle in front. Traffic Sign Recognition and Intelligent Speed Control will adjust your speed so you don't inadvertently break the speed limit.

The Alfa Romeo Tonale has been awarded five stars for safety by Euro NCAP. 

The words 'Alfa Romeo' and 'reliability' don't traditionally go together. The brand performed pretty mediocrely in the latest HonestJohn.co.uk Satisfaction Index, but its recent takeover by automotive supergroup Stellantis should be good news for long-term dependability.

The Alfa Romeo Tonale's platform and mild-hybrid engine are shared with the Jeep Compass. We haven't heard of many issues with the that model, so there isn't necessarily anything to be concerned about in terms of reliability with regards to the Tonale.

Go for the 1.5 MHEV version, and your Alfa Romeo Tonale will sit between insurance groups 28 and 30, depending on the trim level of your car. That's a bit lofty compared with equivalent versions of the Audi Q3, which are more like low twenties.

Go for the more powerful PHEV, meanwhile, and your car will sit between groups 36 and 38, so premiums will be a good bit higher still. Either way, you'd be best shopping around for quotes to reduce your insurance costs.

As all Alfa Romeo Tonale models are classed as hybrids in the eyes of the DVLA, you'll qualify for a £10/year discount on your annual tax bill. Right now, that means you'll pay £180/year in tax after the first year.

There's a 'but', here, though. Quite a big one, in fact. All cars with a list price of more than £40,000 when brand new (including optional extras) are stung by the government's premium car tax surcharge. As a result, you'll have to pay an extra £410 a year in tax for five years (from the second time the vehicle is taxed), so a total figure of £590.

Right now, it's only the entry-level Alfa Romeo Tonale that's priced below that threshold, and even then, you don't have to go too mad with optional extras to take it above. That's definitely something to bear in mind when you're ordering your car. Metallic paint could make all the difference on your annual running costs.

Initially, the Alfa Romeo Tonale was available in a choice of two distinctive trims, Ti and Veloce, as well as a Speciale launch edition.

The Alfa Romeo Tonale Ti is recognisable by its a satin chrome V front bezel, 18-inch dark finish diamond cut alloy wheels with coloured Alfa Romeo centre wheel caps, a gloss-black body kit, with satin side and front inserts, and black painted mirror caps. Inside, sporty black cloth upholstery, driver’s seat with four-way lumbar adjustment, 60/40 split rear seats with ski hatch and sport leather steering wheel with start button mark out the Ti. 

The Alfa Romeo Tonale Veloce builds on this with dark miron V front bezel, veloce badging and body kit, with matt side and front inserts, gloss black window surround, privacy glass and 19-inch dark finish diamond cut alloy wheels with monochrome Alfa Romeo centre wheel caps and red painted Brembo brake calipers.  Inside, the Veloce adds aluminium pedals and door sills and column mounted aluminium shift paddles to its distinctive black and red Alcantara upholstery. Under the skin, the Veloce also gains Alfa Dual Stage Valve suspension (DSV) for a more compliant ride.  

The Alfa Romeo Tonale Speciale launch edition mirrors the look of the Veloce but adds 20-inch dark finish diamond cut alloy wheels and dark miron Speciale badge as standard.

Later on, the entry-level trim was renamed as Sprint, to sit alongside the Veloce, and the Speciale became the Tributo Italiano. Equipment levels remained broadly similar.