2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale

The 2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale (pronounced toe-nahl-ay) is the brand's newest entry point to its lineup in the United States. It's a crossover SUV that slots beneath the brand's Stelvio, but the Tonale isn't just another small SUV. It signals a major change at Alfa Romeo: The Tonale is a plug-in hybrid and signifies the company's first step into an electric future in which it says every new Alfa after 2025 will be an EV.

There's a lot to like right off the bat with the new Tonale. Its fresh interior technology interface solves a pain point with past Alfas and the new electrified powertrain offers around 30 miles of all-electric range. What Alfa is hoping for is that the Tonale helps it break into new ground, but it still looks and (more importantly) feels like an Alfa Romeo from behind the wheel.

On paper, it looks like the Tonale has the right stuff, but it's jumping right in the mix of other well-established extra-small luxury crossover SUVs such as the Audi Q3, BMW X1 and Mercedes-Benz GLB. Will the Tonale's plug-in hybrid powertrain help it stand out? Let's find out.

Every Tonale comes with the same plug-in hybrid powertrain and standard all-wheel drive. A small turbocharged 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine drives the front wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission, and a 121-horsepower electric motor powers the rear wheels. Put it all together and you get all-wheel drive and a peak combined output of 285 horsepower. The latter is pretty stout for this class; BMW's X1 makes 241 hp, for example.

You also get plug-in hybrid capability with the Tonale. Fully charge the 15.5-kWh battery pack and the Tonale can go approximately 30 miles on all-electric power, according to Alfa. (The official EPA range wasn't available as of this review's publication.) As with other plug-ins, frequently recharging the Tonale can really help save on gas. With a Level 2 (240-volt) power source, Alfa says the battery can be fully charged in about 2.5 hours.

The Tonale's drive selector, in a hint toward the brand's emphasis on heritage, allows you to shift between three drive modes that have conveniently been coined "DNA," with a fourth reduced traction control mode on top for added hijinks. The most efficient mode is A, an EV-only mode that Alfa calls "Advanced Efficiency," while the standard mode, called N (for Natural), uses the electric motor to get going and kicks on the 1.3-liter engine in second gear. The D mode (Dual Power) asks for the most from both the engine and electric motor and is best suited to more spirited driving.

In the A (EV) mode, the Tonale has plenty of pep to get around the city and even to hop on the highway — the vehicle has a top electric-only speed of 78 mph. If you ask for more power than the electric motor can provide, there's a noticeable detent in the throttle so you can push past it to turn the gas engine on or ease off if you want to remain moving solely on battery power. It's an approach that we like because it gives the driver more control over how the vehicle can be driven. Behind the shifter there's also an eSave button that allows you to hold the state of charge or use the gas engine to put some juice back into the battery while on the move.

Other than that, the rest of the Tonale is pretty much set. There are two brake regenerative levels (normal and high), but you can't control which one the vehicle uses. High regen is locked with the Dual Power drive mode, and the other two drive modes only offer normal regen.

This philosophy also extends to the suspension. There are two settings, but those are once again locked into the drive modes as the dampers are either firmed up (in Dual Power mode) or slackened off (in Natural and Advanced Efficiency). The steering response gets sportier as you make your way from Advanced Efficiency to Dual Power. I preferred both of those settings on my drive but wanted to use them with the EV-only mode and that isn't possible. A bit more flexibility would make the Tonale even more enjoyable.

The Tonale's interior space is a mix of old and new. Some expected Alfa traits we love thankfully remain. The perfectly sized steering wheel with the start button mounted on it and delightfully large aluminum shift paddles found in other Alfas are still here, and the seats look familiar but feature a slightly different design. Top-trim Tonales will be coated in swaths of vegan leather and faux suede, but seats in all Tonales get a neat multicolor pattern on the inner part of the cushions.

The outer air vents feature a familiar, circular design, while the inner ones have been slimmed down to accommodate the climate controls and new infotainment display. All of the climate controls rest underneath the infotainment screen and are all physical, a breath of fresh air as most automakers move to on-screen or touch-sensitive controls for managing the cabin temp.

But the part of the Tonale that surprises the most is its back seat. Though the Tonale is about 6 inches shorter than Alfa's other SUV, the Stelvio, it somehow manages to offer more rear legroom. It's surprisingly roomy, enough so to fit adult passengers for longer trips. Those passengers get their own air vents and USB ports for charging. For a company that has traditionally treated rear passenger space as a secondary priority in its vehicles, this is a wonderful change.

The infotainment screen houses Uconnect 5, software that will be familiar to anyone who's used to a modern Jeep, Ram or Dodge. The system features a customizable home screen to make navigating to your most used apps easier, and the system comes standard with wireless connectivity for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. A wireless charging pad also comes standard, in a nice bit of symmetry. The Tonale also has Alexa built in, which means you can control the car from your phone and it will understand natural language for voice commands.

The gauge cluster, however, hasn't been cribbed from other Alfas (though it is shared with the Dodge Hornet) and is now a customizable 12.3-inch display. The graphics on screen can mimic analog gauges, show a full-screen map, or give the driver tips on how to drive the PHEV powertrain most efficiently.

Another way the Tonale differentiates itself from the competition is standard safety equipment. Adaptive cruise control, front and rear parking sensors, blind-spot warning and lane keeping assistance are found on all trim levels, and these are usually features you have to pay extra for in the luxury small SUV space.