Alfa Romeo Tonale 2023 review: PHEV

Well, since we don’t yet know what that Tonale PHEV will be priced at, I can’t really comment on the dollar figure. But we can speculate that this model will be in the $70,000-$80,000 price range. And if it is, then I’d say it represents pretty good value for money considering all the features on a vehicle such as this.

Making driving easier and perfectly adapting it to your lifestyle, providing convenience and connectivity, just makes things a little easier in your daily life. And to be honest, it’s those little things that count, right?

Aside from LED lights and alloy wheels, the Veloce PHEV on test here comes with a range of luxury features and convenient technology including Amazon Alexa, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, with new upgraded range, charging and navigation tracking systems.

There’s also some brilliant safety and security features, but more on those later. We’ll find out what Australian versions will be equipped with in 2023.

Visually, you can’t help but admire the exterior and take in the pleasure of great design elements blending seamlessly together with advanced technology.

It’s manufactured in Naples, Italy, at one of the company’s most advanced, award-winning production sites, so I would expect no less.

The sleek, sporty exterior leaves nothing to be desired and that vibrant paintwork makes my heart sing to the beat of “You Sexy Thing”.

A choice of ‘Electric Blue’, ‘Montreal Green’, a ‘Vibrant Red’ and ‘Gunmetal Grey’ suits most colour palettes, but the green is definitely a bit of me and one I think will be a stand-out on the roads.

I love the unique design of the headlights and tail-lights, which give the car a different look to any other hybrid/anything else on the road.

If I had a choice, I’d just keep the central front grille with the Alfa Romeo badge and get rid of the other two below it, that would be a more pleasing design to my eye.

The GT line running down both sides of the car give it a sexy and sporty look, as do the lines on the bonnet.

The ‘Teledial’ alloy wheels are one of my favourite design features and one of Alfa Romeo’s signature looks from way back when. Not only do they look great but also help the brakes to cool while aiding with resistance and lightness. 

Brake cooling extends the life of your brakes and makes them more efficient in the short term, so a smart and welcome addition to the Tonale PHEV. At the rear, the stylish SUV tapers to continue that sleek, premium look.

Step inside to find plenty of space and optional luxury finishings. I particularly like the choice of Alcantara suede available with red stitching for the interior trimmings to really give you that sports car feel.

For all the vegans out there, you’ll be happy to know there is an option to style your interior with synthetic leather for the top-of-the-range model. Vegan-friendly driving, now that’s innovation!

Although many sports car and racing fans may love the shift paddles next to the beautiful leather steering wheel, I can’t say I’m a fan. Not only did they get in the way of the indicator for me, probably because I have quite small hands, but they’re just not something I would use in a day-to-day driving and I find them irrelevant.

Kids wanting to play corners in the back seat would be disappointed with the vast space that makes this game near impossible. But to everyone else, it’s a welcome surprise. There’s an abundance of space on both the passenger side and in the back seat.

Plenty of comfort for passengers was definitely at the forefront of this interior design and as a family vehicle, that makes complete sense. The large, defined centre console doesn’t give the driver vast space but it’s still spacious enough and very comfortable.

Even with the large centre console, there's still enough space up front.

Space is the back seat is abundant.

Alfa Romeo prides itself on the connectivity and technology available in the Tonale PHEV and I’d have to agree this is a stand-out.

To start with, the navigation system delivered on the 10.25-inch digital display is very user-friendly and visually near-perfect. Access to your phone, music, apps and more from the touch of a button just enhances the driving experience, bringing a refreshing simplicity and ease compared to in-car tech systems I’ve used before.

My favourite practical interior element has to be the wireless phone charging, since I’m someone who is known to forget my cable. It would be better if I didn’t have to remove my phone case in order to charge my iPhone 12 Pro Max, as I find it a bit annoying, but apart from that, a great addition that I think will be appreciated.

Boot space is 500 litres (VDA) with all seats up, and can be increased by adjusting the floor, so fairly good for an SUV this size.

Alfa Romeo has certainly put a strong focus on performance with the Tonale Plug-In Hybrid, and I can confirm it’s as sporty to drive as it is to look at.

The Q4 all-wheel drive has an advanced hybrid system which utilises an aluminium, direct-injection 1.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine paired with a six-speed auto.

Alfa Romeo sees the new Tonale PHEV as the next step in its mission of reinventing sportiness for the 21st century.

This SUV reaches 0-100km/h in 6.2 seconds and has a top speed of 206 km/h in hybrid mode.

It includes a 15.5-kWh lithium-ion battery which is mounted quite low and in the centre of the car to achieve a 52/48 weight distribution. This is what we have to thank for the incredible traction.

Seriously, this SUV sticks to the road like glue, especially during cornering at standard speeds. This is no race car after all, but as someone who has been a passenger in many race cars around the track, I could definitely feel similarities in the traction.

A 90kW e-motor provides 250Nm of torque, which is much more powerful than its competitor, the BMW X1 xDrive25e with a 70kW e-motor outputting 165Nm, and more than the Jaguar E-Pace P300e.

Both are yet to be confirmed for Australia. Alfa Romeo also sees the Audi Q3 as a competitor in the compact SUV market.

The DNA switch is another addition to the driver’s tool belt. It gives you three options for delivering electrified power to the wheels: ‘Dual Power/Dynamic’, ‘Natural’ and ‘Advanced Efficiency’. Each mode alters the steering, braking and suspension systems.

The Natural mode is primed for everyday use, automatically balancing power management across the petrol engine and electric motor.

Selecting the ‘Dual Power’ mode will deliver maximum performance and full output from the engine across both powertrains with precise calibration of the throttle and enhanced regenerative braking. Advanced Efficiency mode is designed for purely electric operation, maximising e-range.

The Tonale PHEV also features an ‘eSave’ mode where you can switch between battery save and battery charge modes.

By pressing the handy eSave button you have the option of saving battery power which is particularly convenient to manage efficiency of your daily or long-haul trips.

Drivers can access the ‘Hybrid Electric Pages’, part of the car’s tech system, to switch between ‘Battery Save’ and ‘Battery Charge’ modes.

So, all in all, a fairly technical piece of machinery.

The plug-in hybrid is a first for Alfa Romeo and also the most efficient of its kind on the market, sipping just over 1.1 litres per 100 kilometres.

The Tonale PHEV can run solely on electric power for up to 69 kilometres, which is around 10-15km further than its competitors the BMW X1 xDrive25e and Jaguar E-Pace 300e.

The recharge point is in the same spot you’ll find the fuel cap and is designed to be charged by a 7.4kW AC charging point in about 2.5 hours.

While a wallbox can be installed to charge quickly at home, a normal power socket can also be used for a full charge in around 12 hours.

This hybrid is made even better with a maximum five-star Euro NCAP safety rating, so we can speculate it will have one of the highest ratings in Australia, also.

I found the ‘Traffic Sign Recognition’ that displays on the digital dash very handy and will definitely help keep those dollars in your pocket rather than forking out for speeding fines.

Although I’m not sure if it was due to the small and sometimes difficult to detect speed signs on the Italian roads, but it didn’t always work.

I regularly found myself plodding along at 50km/h as the TSR demanded, only to find the reason everyone was overtaking me like their life depended on it was that I was actually in a 90km/h zone.

I predict that the feature will work much better on Australian roads with our traffic signs not only being larger and easier for the system to detect, but also there are fewer of them, with a greater distance between signs.

The ‘Intelligent Speed Assist’ was also very helpful and practical for when your concentration starts to waver and that lead foot starts to creep in.

A reversing camera would have been a welcome addition, but I guess you can’t have everything.

There are a huge range of driver of other assistance systems to enhance safety including: adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic detection, forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking (with pedestrian detection), driver attention assist and a rear seat reminder, lane departure warning with lane-keep assist, and ‘Traffic Jam Assist’.

The Alfa Romeo Tonale PHEV prides itself on being the only car in its class to adopt a brake-by-wire system with a guaranteed instantaneous response.

It doesn’t feel like a big bulky SUV like most, but instead still small and sleek to drive, which works for me and makes it easy to drive and manoeuvre.

That sporty performance is definitely there, and this car provides a smooth, enjoyable and quiet ride. The light and very responsive steering making it a breeze to drive and park in most conditions.

It’s simple to switch between driving modes depending on which terrain you’re combatting, or which fuel efficiency you desire.

I could definitely feel a change in the car from the Natural mode to Dynamic, but I didn’t feel much difference with the Advanced Efficiency setting, although I’m sure the engine and e-motor did.

The power kicks in much quicker than a petrol car when you accelerate, which is natural for a hybrid.

The brakes have great responsiveness but are not too touchy, so overall, quite a pleasure to drive.

The digital gauges, although a great design feature adding to the sportiness, I found a bit busy and the right-hand one particularly distracting.

If I had a bit more time I would have customised this to my preference to make driving a little easier for me. I think most drivers would just sit back and enjoy the ride.