► Alfa Romeo’s mid-size SUV gets a mid-life refresh
► Highlights include a new front grille
► Revised model range, as well
This is the latest Alfa Romeo Tonale, fresh from a mid-life facelift of the ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ variety. Well, there wasn’t anything wrong with the styling of this rival to the likes of the Audi Q3 and BMW X1, so it’s not like any major revisions were needed.
The most significant change is found at the front. The shield-shaped ‘Scudetto’ grille now has a concave profile and is filled with horizontal slats, rather than mesh. At the shield’s top corners, an area that was body-coloured on the original car is now filled with mesh. At the sides of the shield, a pair of air vents are added, as well, which Alfa says draws a link to the iconic 1960s Giulia GTA.
Black and white Alfa Romeo badges, extra bits of gloss black trim, new designs of 19- and 20-inch wheel, and a selection of eight fresh colours finish off the exterior massaging. Inside, the centre console is rejigged around a new rotary gear selector and there are new colours and surface finishes. The top-grade seats are upholstered in ‘cannelloni’ ribbed red leather or black and white Alcantara, feature heating and ventilation and multi-way adjustment for position and lumbar support.
The facelift model range starts with the unnamed entry-level trim package that includes LED headlights, a 12.3-inch digital instrument panel and 10.25-inch infotainment system compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, dual-zone climate control and adaptive cruise control. Mid-range Ti adds gloss black window surrounds, the aforementioned top-grade seats, a heated steering wheel and billet aluminium gear change paddles. Veloce tops the range with Matrix LED headlights, Brembo brake calipers, and three-mode suspension.
To mark its launch, the facelifted Tonale is also available in Sport Speciale form, which adds silver bodywork accents, white Alfa Romeo lettering on the tailgate, black and white Alcantara seats and model-specific dashboard trim.
The engine line-up is unchanged, so there’s a choice of Ibrida mild-hybrid and Ibrida Plug-in PHEV. The former uses a 1.5-litre petrol engine producing 173bhp augmented by a 20bhp electric motor on the input shaft of the seven-speed dual clutch gearbox, which gives a small amount of EV range. The latter has a 1.3-litre petrol engine, 90kW electric motor and a 15.5kWh battery pack. Add that lot together and there’s 276bhp, 295lb ft of torque, up to 43 miles of EV range and 256.8mpg on the WLTP cycle.
UK pricing and an on-sale date haven’t yet been announced; we’ll update you when they are.
Graham King is a Senior Staff Writer on the Bauer Automotive Digital Hub, working across CAR and Parkers
By Graham King
Senior Staff Writer for Parkers. Car obsessive, magazine and brochure collector, trivia mine.
