The new compact model promises to be the brand’s most affordable premium SUV, rivalling popular European machines.
Alfa Romeo Tonale.
Alfa Romeo has revealed its first-ever electrified model, the Tonale. Though due to go on sale in Europe in the middle of this year, the good looking and hi-tech compact SUV isn’t won’t reach Australia until the fourth quarter of 2022 at the earliest.
Topping the Tonale line-up will be a plug-in hybrid. It’ll be both the most powerful and most fuel-efficient model in the range, Alfa Romeo says, as well as the only one with all-wheel drive.
The Alfa Romeo Tonale might arrive in Australia at the end of this year.
In Europe, less costly front-wheel drive models will be powered by a new turbo 1.5-litre four with a 48-volt hybrid system and two power outputs, while a turbo 2.0-litre four will be sold in the US and Middle East.
Alfa Romeo Australia isn’t saying which versions of the Tonale will be imported, though Aussies’ appetite for performance makes the plug-in hybrid a near certainty.
The plug-in Tonale will have an electric-only range of around 60km in the official test cycle, and up to 80km in purely city driving. The low-voltage hybrids will be capable of electric-only driving, too. Their small electric motor isn’t powerful, but it will be able to move the vehicle while “creeping, crawling and parking” as an Alfa Romeo engineer put it.
Each vehicle comes with its own NFT to secure it technical history.
Though Alfa Romeo lags other premium European brands when it comes to electrification, the Tonale will score a global car industry first in another tech arena. Every Tonale will come with the same sort of digital key used to ensure the integrity of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
Each Tonale will have its own NFT – non-fungible token – installed at the factory. The NFT gives access to secure blockchain data on the vehicle, including its technical content, activity and history. Alfa Romeo claims the tech will ensure strong resale values for the Tonale by providing buyers tamper-proof information on mileage and repairs.
This will be Alfa Romeo’s cheapest SUV.
Like the larger Alfa Romeo Stelvio SUV, the Tonale is named after a mountain pass in the north of Italy. But it’ll be produced in the south of the country. The Tonale factory is outside Naples, in sight of Mount Vesuvius. The Fiat Panda is also assembled there, but on a different line.
Under the skin the Tonale is a relative of the Jeep Compass. Both brands are part of Stellantis, the massive multinational that’s currently the world’s sixth-biggest car maker. But Alfa Romeo engineers say they’ve evolved the basic platform to a higher level.
It is based on the same platform as the Jeep Compass.
Major changes to the suspension and steering systems make it drive like an Alfa Romeo should, the engineers claim. This, it’s hoped, will make the Tonale stand out from the premium compact SUV crowd.
“We are entering a segment where driving pleasure is not common,” noted Alfa Romeo CEO Jean Phillipe Imparato during the Tonale’s presentation.
The electrical architecture is all new, too. This supports a faster and smarter infotainment system, with access to Amazon Alexa and Google Home Assistant among its new features.
When it arrives the Tonale will be the most affordable Alfa Romeo on offer, replacing the small Giulietta hatchback that went out of production in 2020. Expect Tonale prices to begin around $50,000, in line with obvious competitors like the Audi Q3 and BMW X1.
The Tonale, especially the plug-in hybrid, is a foretaste of Alfa Romeo’s future. The long-lived Italian brand aims to launch an all-new model every year from now until 2026. And from 2027 Alfa Romeo plans to be selling only fully electric cars in the world’s biggest markets, China, the US and Europe.
Keyword: Alfa Romeo unveils Tonale baby SUV