Alfa Romeo Tonale hybrid Aussie pricing and arrival date revealed

Alfa Romeo has announced its Tonale petrol-electric hybrid compact SUV will arrive in Australia in February 2023 priced from $49,900 plus on-road costs.

The Tonale is significant as it is the debut electrified model from the storied Italian sports car marque – Alfa plans to ditch ICE and go exclusively electric by 2027.

In that role Alfa will be a trailblazer for the entire Stellantis automotive group, which comprises 14 brands as diverse as Jeep, Peugeot and RAM.

While nominally a 48v mild hybrid, the Tonale’s powertrain is actually more capable than that name suggests, as John Carey explained in our European drive review.

There are two Tonale models in the launch Australian line-up, the entry-level Ti and the $56,400 (plus on-road costs) Veloce.

That pricing pitches the Tonale up against obvious Euro rivals like the Audi Q2 and Q3 and BMW X1 and X2.

The Tonale is powered by a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine mated to a seven-speed dual clutch transmission with an inbuilt electric motor fed by a 48v 0.8kWh lithium-ion battery.

The combined output is 118kW and 240Nm.

Differentiating the Tonale from the usual mild hybrid, it can roll on electricity alone up to 15km/h. The claimed combined fuel consumption rate is just 5.6L/100km.

While the hybrid models are front-wheel drive, a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) all-wheel drive will arrive before the end of 2023.

The Tonale sits on the same platform as the Jeep Renegade and Compass that in Europe already feature this hybrid system.

Made in Italy and named after one of the country’s highest mountain passes, the Tonale measures up at 4.43 metres long, 1.84m wide, 1.6m high and with a 2.63m wheelbase. It has five seats and a 500 litre luggage compartment.

The interior includes a 12.3 inch TFT instrument cluster, a 10.25-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto wireless connection, Alcantara seats and a three-spoke steering wheel with aluminium shift paddles.

Headline tech for the Tonale includes constantly adaptive LED matrix headlights, brake-by-wire and Koni frequency selective dampers, the latter exclusive to the top-spec Veloce.

Alfa claims the Tonale’s combination of driver assist systems delivers Level 2 autonomous driving capability, also exclusive to the Veloce.

EuroNCAP has published a five-star safety rating for the Tonale hybrid. It will be tested for a local rating by ANCAP in late 2022.