2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale SUVOTY Review: Bone-Deep Beauty

This review was conducted as part of our 2024 SUV of the Year (SUVOTY) testing, where each vehicle is evaluated on our six key criteria: efficiency, design, safety, engineering excellence, value, and performance of intended function. Eligible vehicles must be all-new or significantly revised.

Alfa Romeo is finally attacking the heart of the market with a luxury compact SUV. And yes, it had to share its engineering development and most hard-tooled parts with Dodge to make the business case pencil out. Some editors complained this cheapens the Alfa Romeo Tonale and somehow undermines its gorgeous, unmistakably Alfa design.

An equal number noted that because Alfa called all the Tonale's style and substance shots, it's the Dodge Hornet that ends up with all the design malapropisms, prompting features editor Scott Evans to note of the Alfa, "It's remarkable how wearing clothes that fit your body make you look and feel so much better."

The Tonale's chassis DNA, accessed with the greatest of ease thanks to the rotary "D-N-A" switch, is also pure Alfa Romeo, obscuring its 400-plus pounds of plug-in battery mass with nimble cornering and quick reflexes. Several identified it as among the top-three best-handling SUVOTY contenders. The e-AWD system even functioned reasonably well off-road, with the electric rear axle helping the front wheels launch on slick hills or kicking the tail out for fun in the dirt, while maximum regenerative braking served as a viable hill descent control.

Boasting a 33-mile electric-only range plus a 121-hp/184-lb-ft motor capable of all propulsion needs until or unless the driver floors the throttle past the kickdown switch, the Tonale earned high marks as a PHEV. The transitions from electric to gas propulsion in Hybrid mode were also remarkably smooth and unobtrusive. Then there's the 77-mpg-e EPA rating (city, highway, and combined)—all of which helped the Tonale nail our efficiency criterion. This, along with its designer duds and general driving fun, easily advanced it to our finalist round.

But out on public byways we discovered some underdeveloped driver assist features. Cruise control maintaining a set speed while descending a steep grade involved what felt like a series of brake checks. Similarly, the lane centering system tended to make abrupt corrections like a novice driver might, but unlike a real driver, it occasionally entered a peculiar periodic left-right-left-right steering wobble that would sustain itself until the driver grabbed the wheel.

Some judges found the giant, oh-so-Italian shift paddles blocked their access to the turn signal and wiper stalks, while others noted they become hard to reach in some turns. Many appreciated the reasonably intuitive Stellantis infotainment interface with hard buttons for HVAC and audio while criticizing the small screen's tacked-on placement. The rear-seat and cargo-hold size, trim, and amenities were also dinged as subcompact class at a luxury compact price. Another attribute better suited to a lower price and size class: the level of tire and road noise entering the cabin. We get it, with all those batteries, who can afford sound deadening? But still.

We love the Alfa Romeo Tonale, and we intensely like the Dodge Hornet for what it is. We'd cheerfully recommend leasing either one today, though it's probably worth waiting a year or so for the brands to fully sort them out before committing long-term.

More 2024 SUV of the Year
Introduction | Criteria Explained
Finalists | Contenders
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