Motors: Can Alfa Romeo wow hardcore petrolheads with its new electric offering?
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It’s taken a while – almost as if they wanted to put off the inevitable – but classic Italian brand Alfa Romeo is venturing into the electric arena.
You can understand why. Alfa has always been associated with gritty performance appealing to committed petrolheads who were more concerned with climbing the speedo than climate change.
That’s a generalisation of course but now Alfa is offering its customers the chance to go hybrid but still have the performance to get the pulse racing.
The Tonale is a four-door sporty compact SUV and the first step towards electrifying the entire Alfa range.
Alfa describe it as a “metamorphosis” into the new era and say the car is the most technologically-advanced car they’ve ever made with top-level connectivity and an infotainment system which offers over-the-air updates and integration with Amazon Alexa, which might draw delight from some and Big Brother fears from others.
The new Tonale is also the first-ever to be equipped with an NFT digital certificate. If that leaves you looking blank, let me explain as best I can. That’s a non-fungible token - a unique digital identifier that can’t be copied, substituted, or subdivided, that is used to certify authenticity and ownership. You can’t handle it – it’s like a Bitcoin but it records the vehicle’s data over its life to guarantee its status to give reassurance to future owners and help keep up its secondhand value.
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That’s all very well but I suspect most potential buyers will be more interested in the performance and after a few sparkling miles in the range-topping Veloce version, directly translated from the Italian for ‘rapid’, I can confirm that it is true to its name.
The lower level Ti, which is about £3,000 cheaper, doesn’t hang about either. If you’re happy to wait, a powerful plug-in hybrid version giving around 37 miles of pure electric range and all-wheel drive is expected early next year.
In the meantime both versions have got the same 1.5 litre mild hybrid 4-cylinder petrol engine but apart from extra body features and bright red Brembo brake calipers, the Veloce comes with adaptive suspension which can be controlled independently of the DNA drive modes button so if you’re in the Dynamic setting, you can alter the firmness of the ride. That may not seem much but on the testing route around some challenging roads in North Yorkshire, it was a relief to select the softer setting when the going got a bit rough.
As for the new power set-up it’s been designed to give drivers a good hybrid experience and efficiency without jeopardising performance. The small electric motor can get the car moving away and provides the power for slow manoeuvres like parking or crawling in a queue or where the full power of the petrol engine isn’t needed.
That includes long distance cruising where the electric unit will slip in to give the petrol engine a bit of a rest when it’s coasting.
But drive it as any Alfa should be handled and you’ll find that it’s the internal combustion unit that’s doing the work.
On the positive side, the car looks good – I drove versions in classic Alfa red and Misano Blue – and the interior finish is well put together with distinctive Italian styling like the steering-wheel-mounted start button.
The sweet paddleshifters – slivers of aluminium mounted on the steering column - are standard on the Veloce models and they’re a delight for clicking up and down the dual-clutch gearbox.
There’s plenty of room inside for you and your friends although if you’re long-legged you might find that the driver’s seat doesn’t go back as far as you would like.
I really enjoyed the car which along with the latest electronics, still has the classic Alfa character of performance and Italian styling. The Tonale does a great job of combining automotive history with up-to-the-minute electric and digital technology.
CAR: Alfa Romeo Tonale Veloce Hybrid
PRICE: £42,495 (£43,195 as tested)
ENGINE: 1469cc mild hybrid petrol
POWER: 160 hp
TORQUE: 240 Nm
PERFORMANCE: Top speed 132 mph 0-62mph 8.8 secs
TOWING CAPACITY: 1500 Kgs (braked)
ECONOMY: 48 mpg combined
CO2 EMISSIONS: 135 g/km
