{"id":28725,"date":"2022-02-09T22:32:45","date_gmt":"2022-02-10T02:32:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=28725"},"modified":"2022-02-09T22:32:45","modified_gmt":"2022-02-10T02:32:45","slug":"alfa-adds-spicy-electrified-tonale-suv-appetizer-to-menu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2022\/02\/alfa-adds-spicy-electrified-tonale-suv-appetizer-to-menu","title":{"rendered":"Alfa adds spicy, electrified Tonale SUV appetizer to menu"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alfa Romeo is jumping into the American subcompact SUV market with its tony Tonale.<\/p>\n

Sporting the Italian premium brand\u2019s signature, triangular \u201cTrilobo\u201d grille and muscular lines, Alfa\u2019s entry-level ute will compete against segment stalwarts like the BMW X1, Cadillac XT4, Mercedes GLA\u00a0and Jaguar E-Pace with standard all-wheel-drive and all-digital interior displays.<\/p>\n

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Belying its small size, the Tonale has mighty ambitions as Alfa\u2019s first electrified vehicle \u2014 opening the door to the brand\u2019s\u00a0La Metamorfosi<\/em>\u00a0transition to all-battery models later this decade. The Tonale comes standard with a familiar, gas-powered 2.0-liter turbo-4 engine, but customers can option a pricier\u00a0plug-in hybrid that generates 272 horsepower from twin electric motors mated to a 1.3-liter\u00a0turbocharged\u00a0engine.<\/p>\n

Unlike other premium manufacturers that offer a menu of entry-level performance sedans as well as SUVs, Alfa is offering the Tonale SUV as the lone appetizer to its bigger entrees, the Giulia sedan and Stelvio SUV. But the brand still promises the tall, all-wheel-drive hatchback will be infused with the same DNA that has always made the hearts of Alfa customers beat a little bit faster.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at our history or our present, you realize that Alfa Romeos are designed with a sense of purpose that means that they have an intimate relation between body and soul,\u201d said Alfa design chief Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos. \u201cDynamics, ergonomics\u00a0and all other functionally important aspects . . . have always been dressed with beautiful bodies. It is what at Alfa Romeo we call this sense of beauty, and this is precisely the way Tonale looks.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Completing\u00a0the promise of the sexy SUV concept that wowed Los Angeles auto show-goers way back in 2019, Tonale will be one of the best-dressed SUVs in class.<\/p>\n

A narrow cowl of six headlights bisects the big Trilobo grille up front. The design is reminiscent of the striking Alfa Brera sports coupe sold in Italy two decades ago. A strong, so-called GT shoulder line \u2014 common to Alfas dating back to the iconic, 1970s Spider Series 2 models \u2014 runs beneath a narrow greenhouse. Out back, red LEDs span the rear deck, intermittently dropping \u2014 like a heart-rate monitor \u2014 to trace each of the six taillights along the way. The ensemble rides over 19 or 20-inch phone-dial wheels.<\/p>\n

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\u201cTonale has been designed with the courage of simplicity. It uses a limited number of lines to define its style,\u201d said Mesonero-Romanos. \u201cThe GT line is an example of the line that crosses the car from the front to the rear, a single stroke.\u201d<\/p>\n

The design reminds of the Mazda CX-30, which has also made a bold statement in the subcompact class. It will offer formidable competition for Tonale along with luxury European competitors.<\/p>\n

The Tonale, however, will aim high with two beefy engine choices that will drive standard all-wheel-drive.<\/p>\n

The base engine is a 2.0-liter, 256-horsepower, turbo-4-cylinder engine mated to a nine-speed transmission. European markets\u00a0get a 130\/160 horsepower hybrid powertrain, but product planners deemed that too mousy for the U.S.\u2019s high-powered, affordable-gas market where owners don\u2019t have to pay taxes on engine displacement. A diesel engine will also be on offer for markets in Africa and the Mideast.<\/p>\n

Topping the Tonale lineup is the pioneering, 272-horsepower plug-in powertrain. A 1.3-liter turbo-4 mill drives all four wheels with assist from a six-speed transmission and electric motors front and rear. Alfa hasn\u2019t yet disclosed the range on\u00a0battery power alone, but expect over 30 miles after plugging into the wall overnight.<\/p>\n

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Those outputs compare favorably against rival Jaguar E-Pace\u2019s gas-powered, 246-horsepower turbo-4 and\u00a0296-horse hybrid options. Mercedes GLA offerings include two 300-horsepower-plus\u00a0performance\u00a0AMG versions, and Alfa executives said they will monitor market demand for a rowdy Quadrifoglio\u00a0variant of the Tonale. The 505-horse Quadrifoglio monster is the halo trim for Giulia and Stelvio stablemates.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are electrifying the brand \u2014 but electrifying to support the driver-centric positioning of the Alfa Romeo brand (as we have from) the beginning of our history in 1902,\u201d said Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato, flanked by a blue Tonale at Alfa\u2019s Museo Storico museum in Milan.<\/p>\n

To keep things simple, Tonale will be offered in three trims: Sprint and Ti and Veloce. Standard goodies include adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, emergency braking with pedestrian detection, and lane keep assist. Available options include Level 2 self-drive assist and bigger wheels.<\/p>\n

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Those features will be controlled via a crisp, digital interior that echoes the simple exterior design. A configurable, 2.3-inch instrument display sits under a dual hood behind the steering wheel. Passengers can access infotainment options through a 10.25-inch tablet to its right. The screen is mounted high in the dash for good driver visibility, and the\u00a0twin displays combine for a best-in-class, 22.5 inches in breadth.<\/p>\n

The console is anchored by an upright shifter with a drive mode knob nearby to shift between Advance Efficiency, Natural\u00a0and Dynamic modes. In keeping with the latest digital tech, the Alfa will feature wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, WiFi hot spot, Alexa voice activation\u00a0and a phone app to monitor the car remotely.<\/p>\n

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As the gateway drug for Stellantis\u2019s premium brand, Tonale is important to a U.S.\u00a0market that is home to one-third of the transatlantic automaker’s sales.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are wanting to win in America,\u201d said Imparato. \u201cI have 50 (car) clubs in America. The\u00a0relationship between (customers) is the car is something different compared to other brands in the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to Alfa\u2019s performance obsession, Imparato said Tonale is value-focused:\u00a0\u201cI want to bring to my customer the right table of residual value after 3-4-5 years on the road.\u201d<\/p>\n

Towards that end, the ute will come with an industry-first, digital NFT (non-fungible token)\u00a0that certifies the car on purchase, then evolves with the car to track maintenance and other updates.<\/p>\n

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Tonale will likely be priced from about $37,000-$50,000\u00a0when it arrives in the U.S. market at the end of 2022 \u2014 about six\u00a0months after its June launch in Italy.<\/p>\n

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alfa Romeo is jumping into the American subcompact SUV market with its tony Tonale. Sporting the Italian premium brand\u2019s signature, triangular \u201cTrilobo\u201d grille and muscular lines, Alfa\u2019s entry-level ute will compete against segment stalwarts like the BMW X1, Cadillac XT4, Mercedes GLA\u00a0and Jaguar E-Pace with standard all-wheel-drive and all-digital interior displays. Belying its small size, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28725"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28725"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28725\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28726,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28725\/revisions\/28726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}