ALFA ROMEO TONALE
A first date is always an emotional charged experience. Sure, the initial introduction has been a success, and then we got to know it in detail, but will the real life contact live up to the huge hype created by what some anxious alfisti considered to be a very long wait?
5 years almost to the day have passed since Alfa's last model - Stelvio - was introduced to us in Balocco. Scaled to Alfa's 112 years history this might not even seem like such a long time after all, but in this time FCA had to do with the loss of its genius leader, successfully navigate through the meanderings of one of the biggest mergers in automotive history, then the newly formed management team had to deal with a global pandemic, the ensuing chips and raw materials crisis and as I'm writing these very lines... an ongoing war in Europe the likes of which none of us ever thought would be possible to live again. To say this car hasn't had an easy birth would be a huge understatement.
Yet as I'm looking at it head on, within the welcoming halls of Klassikstadt, Frankfurt Tonale is every bit the proud and handsome Alfa one would expect, with a mesmerising and daring look about it. The 3+3 headlight solution catches your eyes in an almost hypnotic way. And I understand now why the Tonale wasn't presented in the trademark Alfa red: some unversed observers might have thought it's still the concept they're looking at, it's that similar! Coming closer to the car, still not being able to take my eyes off that captivating front end, I'm noticing some details: the sinusoidal incandescent blades of the Matrix headlights are resembling somehow the iris pattern in human eyes. And just where the headlight ends, before making place to the generous "floating" scudetto, I'm noticing a small Quadrifoglio engraved beyond the glass. Maybe an easter egg predicting a feistier version, nobody can say that for sure at the moment - even if CEO Imparato left the door on this supposition wide open in a recent interview - but I was just delighted to see it there, as an universally acknowledged symbol of good fortune. The wheels stay also true to what we've seen on the concept in a generous 20 inch size, but still with enough space inside the wheel arch for the wheel to travel on excursions outside the well travelled asphalt. Isn't it just wonderful how with each new Alfa model the designers are reinventing t̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶h̶e̶e̶l̶ the 5 holes pattern of the wheel, each time more beautiful than in the previous iteration?
Following the so called "GT Line", starting from the headlights and running along the entire body just under the windows, one can see how it widens towards the back end, making way for generous "hips". The rear lights are mirroring the 3+3 theme at the front, before turning into a continuous light bar embracing the round emblem in the middle. On the MHEV version there are no exhausts visible, their place is taken by some covers - at least Alfa didn't go through the trouble of coming up with fake exhaust tips. Overall, even if the styling is completely new, there is a sense of familiarity, at least to my alfista's eye: from some angles it looks very much like a mini-Stelvio. Which is a very good thing indeed.
The eye catching exterior is fully matched by the interior: same sense of familiarity (given by the Giulia steering wheel, aluminium gearbox paddles and door handles, dome lights panel) combined with totally new and exciting elements: the customisable virtual cockpit and the tablet style touch screen operating the infotainment. New and very scenographic is the dash lighting as well, with colours changing through the operating menu, independently of the DNA mode selected. Coming to it, the DNA knob is placed in a new position, just below the steering wheel, natural to reach. The gearbox joystick fits perfectly in the palm of the hand and it's pleasant to touch. In fact, the fetishists of soft plastics will be pleased to hear that all the materials in the cabin have a soft touch to it - from the door panels to the Alcantara stitched dash. The seats have an interesting composition: a see-through/perforated black Alcantara lining on top of a red base background, while supporting cushions are wrapped in eco-leather.
Knowing this is a pre-series unit I was ready to forgive it any inadvertence, but everything feels solidly put together, all elements perfectly aligned.
Quick check-up of the back seats - my 1.80m height and 80 kg weight left plenty of room all around - and of the boot too: the official stats are quoting a 500L capacity, the ski tunnel is always there, maybe the just the boot lights could have been better.
As first dates go, this first contact with the Tonale left me wanting for more. There's so much to discover in this new metamorphosis chapter, and more questions to answer - most importantly: how does it drive? The premises are good: it looks like an Alfa and it feels like an Alfa. If it drives like we know an Alfa should drive (and I'm hearing the engineering team responsible for the road handling is the same one that supervised the Giulia GTA/GTAm project) then young families need looking no further when searching for the best-buy in this most competitive and fastest growing automotive segment.
Photo gallery by Daniela Pirnbaum
