Launch report: Could Tonale SUV signal ‘new era’ for Alfa Romeo?

“It’s the start of a new era for Alfa Romeo” is a phrase that’s becoming a bit of a cliché, but the Italian brand’s latest rebirth might just be the ticket it needs to grow UK market share.

The Tonale is the first Alfa Romeo to launch since the carmaker became part of the automotive powerhouse that is Stellantis and makes a return to the use of ‘borrowed’ platforms for Alfa, since its multi-billion Euro investment in the – arguably brilliant – Giulia and Stelvio’s Giorgio underpinnings failed to achieve the desired sales volumes.

Part of the problem was its lack of electrification, which meant it lost out on a big chunk of registrations in the fleet sector and had to rely on retail buyers being won over by the ‘passion’ and ‘emotion’ the cars offered.

With limited powertrain and bodystyle options, the two cars had appeal in just a small part of a highly competitive market.

Things are set to change with the launch of the Tonale, however. It’s a compact SUV which, as we all know by now, is the body style that everyone seems to want.

It also comes with hybrid and plug-in hybrid engines, opening the door to some fleet customers and appealing to buyers wishing to support the environmental agenda.

First revealed in 2019, the Tonale Concept was almost identical to the production version.

It’s unmistakably an Alfa, with design cues linking it to the brand’s rich history.

Mainstream make-up

Peel away the skin and you’ll find a heavily modified version of the Jeep Compass platform, with emphasis placed on the phrase ‘heavily modified’.

Alfa Romeo’s chief executive Jean-Philippe Imparato reportedly delayed the car’s arrival so engineers could make it more befitting of the badge.

Engineers have done well to invoke a degree of driver engagement, with the quick steering and nimble handling apparent straight away.

Press further and the Tonale starts to struggle a little, lacking the on-limit capability of its stablemates.

While there’s no escaping the fact the Tonale doesn’t quite feel as special or as honed as a Giulia or Stelvio, in the market segment it is targeting that doesn’t really matter.

This is an Alfa Romeo for the masses, rather than the few. Therefore, it’s going to feel a bit more mainstream.

What does matter is the fit and finish of the interior is of a high quality; it’s practical, spacious and refined.

Powering the car, from launch, is a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine paired with a small motor and battery. It develops 160PS and utilises a seven-speed automatic transmission that drives the front wheels.

For town and motorway driving the transmission is perfectly adequate, but when we hit the country lanes we found it a little unresponsive to shift down.

Once the Tonale does find a gear it accelerates strongly, feeling more potent than its 8.8-second 0-62mph time suggests.

Drivability can be tailored further using Alfa’s DNA drive mode selector. There’s Dynamic, Normal and Advanced Efficiency.

Dynamic sharpens up the throttle response, adds weight to the steering and stiffens the suspension on cars with adaptive dampers. It also solves the lazy gearbox problem, but ends up being a little too eager to hold the revs high.

Buyers can expect 44-49mpg from the car, with its hybrid system helping to minimise fuel burn particularly in stop-start traffic.

A more potent plug-in hybrid will launch in early 2023 and promises greater performance and efficiency with zero-emission range of 37 miles.

Improved tech

Aside from electrification, the other area where Alfa needed to make headway was infotainment. Its previous offerings did not pass muster, but the Tonale was developed with digital interaction in mind.

A 10.25-inch touchscreen is standard, combined with a fully digital instrument cluster, giving a sleek and modern feel.

The new system is a significant step up in both appearance and functionality, incorporating connected services and a smartphone app.

Prices start at £39,995, which is a fair chunk more than buyers will pay for a base model Audi Q3 or Range Rover Evoque, but the Tonale does come with that hybrid engine that should pay back with long-term running costs.

The model line-up is streamlined with just two trim grades: Ti and Veloce. Standard equipment is plentiful and includes 18-inch wheels, adaptive cruise control, a reversing camera, parking sensors, keyless entry and Matrix LED headlights. 

Veloce, from £42,495, adds 19-inch wheels, adaptive dampers, aluminium gearshift paddles, privacy glass and darker exterior trim.

The Tonale enters a fiercely competitive segment, facing heavyweights such as the BMW X1 and Volvo XC40 head on, but doesn’t feel out of depth.

It might not be a pure-bred Alfa at heart, but perhaps that will be the secret to its success. MATT DE PREZ

 

Q&A: Damien Dally, managing director – Alfa Romeo and Jeep UK

How important is the Tonale for Alfa Romeo in the UK?

More than 50% of the UK market is now SUV and there's a big expansion in terms of C-SUV, which is the segment we’re competing in with Tonale and, roughly speaking, one-in-four cars in the UK is a C-SUV. It is the largest segment in the UK. We’ve got a good portfolio for Giulia and Stelvio, so Giulia competes in the D segments and the Stelvio in the D-SUV. Now, if I add everything together, and that includes the estates and coupés, which is quite small, the maximum we're competing in is 18% of the market today. That means, effectively there’s 82% of the game we’re not in. That’s the reality. If we look back in our history, we’ve competed in the volume segments before. We launched Giulietta back in 2010 and it’s actually delivered some really significant volumes. So, Alfa Romeo has played in volume segments successfully before and we’re going to again, of course, with Tonale. We’re going to jump from circa 15% of the UK market to circa 40% literally overnight and, by 2024, we will launch our first battery electric vehicle (BEV) and we will then jump to 70%.

Will the Tonale attract a new customer to the brand?

If we look at the Alfa Romeo customer today, with Giulia and Stelvio, it’s more of a symptom of the segments we play in than anything else, but we are mainly appealing to men aged 50-plus. With Tonale, we’re looking to be much more gender balanced. So, a male-to-female split of around 60/40, slightly younger, affluent, obviously at different stages in their lives. These customers are different. These customers are open to new brands, they will research their brands, they will buy ethical products and they’re very social, very active and digital.

Is the Tonale expected to improve Alfa Romeo’s fleet sales?

Where we’ve previously competed in volume segments, we have also competed in fleet. But we haven't been able to with the two cars we’ve got today. In transparency terms, if you’ve always wanted to drive a Stelvio, the benefit-in-kind for a 40% taxpayer is about £500 per month. That’s going to significantly transform when we introduce Tonale PHEV. That car will offer 275PS and circa £140 per month benefit-in-kind, so this is going to be quite an appeal which we’ve not had previously. If you look at the proportion of the market in terms of corporate, it’s a very large chunk of the market, so again, we’re going to have a car to appeal to a user-chooser fleet audience for the first time in a while.