With 113 years of history and a strong motorsport pedigree, Alfa Romeo is one of the world's iconic automotive brands, writes Brian Byrne. The company's badge, the cross and serpent representing Milan where it was first established, is one of the most recognisable. The biggest motorsport name in the world, Scuderia Ferrari, was originally founded by Enzo Ferrari as an Alfa Romeo racing team. Away from the road and track, the company built a strong business making aircraft and marine engines. And some of us still remember the movie starring role of the 1966 Alfa Romeo Spider in 'The Graduate'.
So there's a very special cachet to the Alfa Romeo name, even though through its more than ten decades the carmaker has had its ups and downs. Italian state ownership after its backing bank folded. Ownership by Fiat, later by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and sales declines to an almost terminal level in the first ten years of this millennium. Now a part of the Stellantis automotive giant formed with Peugeot-Citroen and Opel, there's a sense of impetus which hasn't been evident in Alfa Romeo for quite some time.
The Tonale crossover is the newest Alfa, a compact family car that is as far from the Dustin Hoffman character's graduation present as you can get. Maybe the one for a grandchild in a sequel for today, who needs something more practical for a metro-centric world with weekend forays to the country?
The Tonale does look the part. Especially in the red of my review vehicle, a traditional Italian racing colour. The triangular grille meshes well with the fully 21st century hooded headlights, and the overall effect visually lowers what is quite a high bonnet line. A crossover sameness in the profile is successfully sportified by the distinctive alloys and red Brembo brake callipers. The rear is a class act hatch design, with the scripted-font Tonale name sitting proudly under a repeat of the front end Alfa logo. There's enough distinctive presence here to set the car off from the neighbours' less legendary makes.
The inside proved well presented enough to excite a car-mad early teen who asked to sit in. Red stitching in the leather trim is subtle enough to suggest upmarket — and it's thankfully not everywhere. The steering wheel was a good heft to my hands. The rather massive aluminium-effect shifter paddles are for me a bit of overkill, but that afore-mentioned kid loved them. The main instrumentation has a 'heritage' style option that mimics the old analogues, but I preferred a more digitally modern choice. The centre touchscreen worked sensitively and there's a pleasing selection of real switchgear for climate and radio volume. Two distinctive controls are the Start-Stop button on the steering wheel, and a drive mode selector on the lower console which, along with eco and comfort settings also manages the suspension setting for sporty driving. From my driver's perspective, the whole setup felt good, including supportive seats that were yet easy to get in and out of. There's good room in the rear, and a substantial boot space.
The Tonale comes with powertrain options different from equivalent models in other Stellantis brands. There's a mild-hybrid 1.5 with 160hp that advances the MHEV system somewhat, and the 280hp combined output from the 1.3 plug-in hybrid which underpinned my car's performance — and also provided AWD through the e-motor's connection to the rear axle. We can expect an all-electric version at some stage, and in other markets there is a diesel.
My car's performance had a brisk potential of 6.2s to 100km/h. I experimented with it from standing start a few times, and even without accurate timing it certainly seemed peppy. But it did it without the kind of fuss that I would associate with Alfas of yore, when a floored pedal would excite some wheels scrabble and a rising engine note that was very distinctive to the marque. The Tonale's progress under pressure was all very civilised ... maybe too much so. On twistier passages, the short-turns steering felt good, and switching to Dynamic tightened up handling very well. But back to that metro-centric aspect for today's motorists, the all-electric capability of up to 60km or so is useful in urban commuting. A technical glitch in the fuel consumption readout in my review car means I can't offer my own accurate experience for hybrid-only general motoring, but a 7L/100km seems to be an accepted long-term average.
PRICE: From €49,995; review car €55,495. WHAT I LIKED: Practicality with the flavour of an authentic icon (though I really do miss the Alfa sound).
