2023 Alfa Romeo Tonale Review

The Tonale is Alfa’s first new model to launch in Ireland in about five years and marks a fresh start for the iconic Italian car brand. But is it good enough to take on rival premium compact SUVs from BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz?

Review

Pros: Top handling, sporty cabin, style.

Cons: Firm ride, patchy refinement.

Alfa Romeo Tonale Design

Did someone say style icon? The Tonale is a fantastic piece of car design with all the familiar Alfa Romeo design cues blended beautifully into a modern compact SUV. It stands out against rivals like the BMW X1, Audi Q3 and Mercedes-Benz GLA for its flamboyant Italian style. With its characteristic V-shaped grille and offset number plate, the Tonale won’t be mistaken for anything other than an Alfa.

The Tonale looks great in bright metallic colours like our Misano Blue test car. There are two trim levels, Ti and Veloce, with an extra sporty Speciale trim available for the plug-in hybrid. But all versions are given a decent amount of kit for a sporty and purposeful look including classic Alfa ‘telephone-dial’ alloy wheels, black side mirror caps with Italian flag decal and full matrix LED headlights.

Alfa Romeo Tonale Interior

The Tonale has a brand-new Alfa cabin that feels much sportier and driver-focused than rivals. There’s a new leather-wrapped steering wheel and sporty cowled digital instrument cluster with smart graphics, as well as a big, sturdy gear selector on the centre console. Veloce models also get stylish aluminium shift paddles. The quality of the cabin has taken a step up from the Giulia and Stelvio, with plenty of soft-touch materials and a solid feel to the build. But there are scratchier plastics in obvious places like around the centre console, which do let the side down. Cloth and leather-effect seats come as standard, while Veloce gets posher Alcantara and leather-effect. There is also the option of full black leather.

The Tonale comes well kitted out with a parking camera, dual zone climate control, wireless smartphone charging, lots of safety and driver assistance features, and a new 10.25-touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and built-in Amazon Alexa voice assistant features.

Petrol mild hybrids are the best for boot space with a competitive 500 litres. But in the plug-in hybrid that goes down to 385 litres, like many family hatchbacks. A powered tailgate comes as standard across the range. The Tonale is roomy in the back for a mid-size SUV, offering competitive levels of headroom and legroom for a couple of children or adults.

Alfa Romeo Tonale Performance & Drive

The Tonale marks the start of Alfa’s journey to electrification, debuting mild hybrid and plug-in hybrid technology for the first time. The entry to the range is the front-wheel drive, 1.5-litre petrol mild hybrid with 160hp and an automatic gearbox. But for more power and performance, the new plug-in hybrid with 280hp and all-wheel drive is the one to have. Sprinting to 100km/h in just 6.2 seconds, it has all the power required to enjoy the Tonale’s excellent balance and handling. There’s quick steering and an alert feeling from behind the wheel that’s missing from many rivals. The Tonale does ride firmer but it’s not too harsh for Irish roads. There’s also a fair bit of adjustment available, particularly in Veloce models with adaptive dampers. Alfa’s DNA driving mode selector comes as standard and Dynamic (D) mode adds the perfect amount of weight to the otherwise light steering to enjoy a few fast, flowing corners. But the hybrid is not always the quietest or most refined in operation. The gearbox can be a bit slow to react and it does get quite noisy in the cabin.

With its 15.5kWh battery charged, the Tonale plug-in hybrid can manage up to 69 kilometres of electric driving. Charging takes just 2.5 hours from a 7 kW wallbox and improves the overall efficiency of the car, which gets thirsty when the battery is empty.

Alfa Romeo Tonale Pricing

The new Tonale goes on sale priced from just under €49,995 for a petrol mild hybrid and from about €55,495 for the top of the range, plug-in hybrid with all-wheel drive. 

Carzone Verdict

Alfa Romeo is back on form with the Tonale. It’s competitive in all the key areas, with a modern, digital cabin, practical interior and electrified powertrains to take on the best in class. While there’s still room to improve refinement and interior quality, the Tonale has the edge on style and sportiness that makes it a truly compelling choice of compact SUV.