REVIEW: The Alfa Romeo Tonale was a mixed bag in its most basic trim - is the £42,495 Veloce a more complete package?
s before it, arrives surfing a wave of promises. There’s a 10-year product plan, dictating a brand-new model each year; the company’s first EV will be here in 2024; and its portfolio will be fully electric by 2027.Alfa Romeo Tonale
you see here is the big kick-off, Alfa Romeo’s first electrified car and one that expands its potential customer base considerably. The marketing folk tell us that entering the sub-Stelvio crossover sector means around 40% of UK buyers will now have an Alfa Romeo on their radar, as opposed to the 15% served beforehand.
If that all sounds like boring sales jargon, we should tell you that the same speech revealed profitable models like this can bankroll more “£150,000 supercars”. All of which bundles some extra weight on the Tonale’s shoulders. Namely competing well enough in an overcrowded market segment to get Turin’s till ringing with the sort of ferocity that funds low-volume performance cars like those its brand image is grounded on.
You would be forgiven for caring more about the talents of the car beneath, of course. It will be hybrid-only, with the 158bhp mild hybrid here being joined by a 271bhp plug-in hybrid in the new year. The latter is four-wheel drive, and as well as offering a much quicker 0-62mph time and around 50 miles of electric-only range, its BIK tax rate could make it as low as £140 a month to ensure it takes the bulk of sales.
We have already driven the basic Tonale, the £39,995 1.5 Hybrid Ti, in the UK. The steering wheel has now swapped to the right and we have upgraded by £2500 to the 1.5 Hybrid Veloce, which will snare 70% of buyers over here.
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