Sport Concept
I’ve simply pushed the 2025 Alfa Romeo Tonale. I’m going to inform you all the things I like about it. After which we’re going to play a recreation.
Beginning at Sq. One, the Tonale is a subcompact luxurious SUV. When it first got here out, the one drivetrain was a plug-in hybrid. This variant dispenses with electrical motors and hybrid batteries, and comes solely with a turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine. It makes a wonderfully acceptable 268 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. My check automobile got here within the high Veloce trim with all-wheel drive as customary and leather-based upholstery. Good seats, truly — simply comfy for 100 miles at a time.
Maybe I ought to begin at Sq. Minus One and clarify that Alfa Romeo is an Italian marque and, over the course of its lengthy historical past (115 years in 2025), has produced many automobiles that I feel are really beautiful. One other Alfa trait is nimble dealing with. There’s a liveliness to how Alfa Romeo fashions drive.
It’s nonetheless there on this newest providing. The quoted standstill-to-60 mph acceleration time of 6.5 seconds appears nice, however feels a bit brisker in actual life. I’m additionally glad to not have the added weight of the hybrid {hardware}.
Gene Modifying
On the Tonale’s middle console is a rotary management referred to as DNA. This isn’t the complete key to the Tonale’s poise (the suspension performs an enormous half), nevertheless it selects driving modes that have an effect on throttle, steering, and transmission responses. This all provides to the enjoyable.
D stands for Dynamic, N is for Pure (it’s the default setting) and A is for Superior Effectivity. This third mode is for low-grip conditions in addition to maximizing gas economic system. The Tonale is sporty sufficient in Pure mode, whereas Dynamic is nice for these occasional jaunts on canyon roads.
Curves Forward
Which brings us to corners. The Tonale laps them up like a cat with a cream habit. It feels a lot sportier than a typical subcompact SUV, punchy and poised. The closest rival could be one thing just like the BMW X1. Throughout my time within the Tonale, I wished to take each curve a bit faster than the final one, assured within the data that the chassis would ship.
Miscellany
Whereas speaking about issues I like, let’s discover the styling. Simply as BMW has its famed double-kidney grille and Rolls-Royce has the Flying Woman, there are particular particular components to Alfa Romeo design. The shield-shaped grille for one, the “phone dial” wheels being one other. On the Tonale, these components handle to look modern whereas nonetheless evoking the corporate’s heritage. I additionally discovered the cargo area ample for the category, with 27 cubic toes behind the rear seats (4 cubes greater than the PHEV model). Equally, rear legroom of 38.2 inches is okay. I’m an grownup male of common measurement, and with me within the driver’s seat, my hypothetical twin brother might match behind and never complain.
Play Pen
Now it’s recreation time. It’s referred to as Quirk or Flaw. Some points of the 2025 Tonale is perhaps thought-about idiosyncrasies an Alfa Romeo fan could be ready to stay with for the enjoyment of getting a sporty luxurious subcompact SUV that appears arguably nice and isn’t the identical as everybody else’s. Different points, nonetheless, might be deal-breakers.
The primary merchandise is trip high quality. This check automotive has optionally available 20-inch alloys and rides means too agency on something apart from a wonderfully clean street floor. And keep in mind that I normally like a taut suspension and can usually hold a automotive in Sport mode as private choice. So if I feel it isn’t sufficiently supple, then most individuals will dislike it. I’d say this was a basic case of a very massive wheel/tire mixture impacting trip high quality adversely, and advocate sticking with the usual 18-inch alloys. The best way this specific automobile is about up, it’s a flaw. With out the massive wheels, the suspension tune might be a quirk.
Let’s flip our consideration to the rear doorways. The place the window comes up towards the rear pillar, there’s a protrusion — like a U form on its facet, with the bend aimed towards the tail. Some Kelley Blue Guide colleagues have narrowly missed hitting the facet of their head when opening the rear door — they may even have made contact now and again. That hasn’t occurred to me throughout my interactions with the Tonale, however I might think about one second of inattention or distraction when placing somebody or one thing onto the again seats leading to a bump. Let’s name this a quirk, a bit of design element for the sake of it.
For a luxurious automobile, I’ve discovered warmth insulation to be considerably missing — even with the (tinted) glass sunroof and its shade closed. For somebody residing in Arizona, this might be a flaw. For somebody residing in Maine, it might simply be a quirk.
Value-Profit Evaluation
With all its choices and vacation spot cost, this 2025 Alfa Romeo Tonale Veloce involves $46,625. Gas economic system works out to 24 mpg in mixed metropolis/freeway driving. For comparability, the BMW X1 xDrive28i begins at $42,525, returns 28 mpg, enjoys 241 hp, and hits 60 mph in 6.2 seconds. BMW has a bigger seller community as effectively. However if you happen to’re an enormous Alfa Romeo fan (and this marque has a means of endearing itself to lovers), none of that will matter.
