Although Alfa Romeo’s catalog of SUVs is not very lengthy, the Stelvio has served as a family-friendly favorite for anyone looking to harness the Italian marque’s power. Well, after roughly two years of anticipation, Alfa has finally expanded its SUV portfolio with the unveil of its Tonale SUV, which is the manufacturer’s first to offer the option of a plug-in hybrid powertrain.
While the Tonale will actually offer a handful of different hybrid powertrains across a range of trims, the most powerful and most interesting is certainly the Q4 plug-in hybrid offering. The PHEV is equipped with Q4 all-wheel-drive and delivers a class-best 80km (~50 miles) of electric-only range. It also boasts an impressive 275HP by combining a 1.3L MultiAir turbo petrol engine that powers the front wheels with an electric motor and a 15.5kWh battery bringing power to the rear.
The interior of the Tonale is similarly high-tech. There’s a “Telescopic” instrument panel with both a 12.3-inch fully digital screen and a 10.25-inch touchscreen. Owners also have access to over-the-air updates thanks to the Alfa Connect Services tool, and Amazon Alexa voice integration comes standard. Alfa is also claiming the Tonale is the first car on the market to come equipped with an NFT digital certificate, with the non-fungible token recording vehicle data and functioning as an ironclad digital record of the vehicle’s history. The Tonale also looks pretty sleek too, with the luxury marque claiming that it adheres to the brand’s illustrious racing legacy with the model’s design language.
Seeing as the Tonale won’t be hitting the market until the onset of 2023, it almost seems selfish of Alfa Romeo to put its adoring purists through an even longer waiting period. Be that as it may, we sure are looking forward to seeing it hit the road, as well as any official pricing information that is yet to be formally addressed.
