ALFA ROMEO TONALE HYBRID

PREMIUM SMALL SUV CARRIES BIG EXPECTATIONS TO REBOOT THE ITALIAN LEGACY BRAND

- NATHAN PONCHARD

AFTER SEVERAL attempts at reviving Alfa Romeo's global sales in recent years - namely via the new-generation Giulia sedan (2016) and the brand's first-ever SUV, the Stelvio (2017) - that monumental task has now been handed to Alfa's new premium small SUV, the Tonale.

Intended to compete with the Audi Q3, BMW X1/X2, Mercedes-Benz GLA and Volvo XC40, the Tonale debuts in Australia with a single mild-hybrid turbo-petrol drivetrain in two front-wheel-drive variants - the Tonale Ti ($49,900 before on-road costs) and Tonale Veloce ($56,400 before on-road costs). Later in 2023, these will be joined by an all-wheel-drive plug-in hybrid version.

Notable equipment highlights include adaptive matrix LED headlights with sequential indicators, full-width LED tail-lights, 'telephone-dial' alloy wheels (18s on Ti, 19s on Veloce), a 10.25-inch infotainment screen with navigation, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, wireless phone charging, and a 12.3inch configurable TFT instrument cluster and 'Alfa Connect' services with Amazon Alexa compatibility.

The up-spec Veloce gains adaptive damping, red four-piston Brembo front brake calipers, rear privacy glass, perforated Alcantara/leatherette seating (instead of cloth/leatherette) with red stitching, aluminium shift paddles and door-sill plates, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, blind-spot assist, rear cross-traffic alert, side parking sensors and a 360-degree camera.

To gain the latter safety equipment, the Tonale Ti requires an optional $2500 Technology Pack, while both Tonale variants can be optioned with a $4500 Lusso pack that includes heated/ ventilated front seats, heated steering wheel, heated windscreen washers, perforated leather-faced seating with grey double stitching, eight-way electric front seats with driver's memory and a 14-speaker Harman/Kardon stereo (replacing the stock six-speaker set-up).