My wife preternaturally understands what I’m thinking at all times. When she first hopped in the new Alfa Romeo Tonale, she asked the precise question that had been driving me nuts: “What makes this an Alfa Romeo?” It’s a tough question to answer — because it requires defining what modern Alfa Romeo is.
Vintage Alfa Romeo is easy to spell out; Alfa Romeos are sporty, cool-looking Italian cars with a well-earned reputation for breaking owners’ hearts with their unreliability. The modern car brand is more difficult. Alfa’s last major car launches — themselves a rebranding — were the sporty Giulia sedan and Stelvio SUV that leaned heavily into performance. But both of those cars debuted during the Obama administration, under a previous ownership structure. We now know they are not getting combustion replacements, as Alfa Romeo plans to be 100 percent electric by 2027.
Carrying the water — and splitting the difference between Alfa’s past and future — is the Tonale crossover. It’s tiny. It’s a plug-in hybrid offering 285 horsepower and 33 miles of electric range. Design elements harken back to Alfas of yore. But while the Giulia and Stelvio cribbed engine tech from Ferrari (at least in Quadrifoglio spec), it’s tough not to note the Tonale shares a body with a comparatively pedestrian Dodge.
Is the Tonale enough of an Alfa Romeo? Does that even matter? I drove a Rosso Red Ti eAWD model around my home in Michigan for a week to find out.
The 2023 Alfa Romeo Tonale: What We Think
Tyler DuffyAlfa Romeo needed a new car to sell. That car had to move in substantial numbers, work globally and likely share development costs within the Stellantis family. The Tonale is the optimal car to fill that role in 2023.
The Tonale will disappoint anyone hoping for a pint-sized Stelvio on the driving dynamics front. But it’s stylish, premium-feeling and efficient. And it could be a solid fit for someone wanting a bit more Italian flair on the entry-level compact crossover market.
