Cupra Terramar vs Alfa Romeo Tonale

What's the difference?

The Cupra Terramar VZe looks fantastic on the road and confidently handles most things you throw at it. The plug-in hybrid set-up offers a nice blend of performance and efficiency. But… when you start digging into the price and ownership promise and what you do (and don’t) get for your money, it doesn’t always feel like the most compelling package. Sexy and sporty? Definitely. Value-for-money? Mmm.

Stuck between efficiency and performance, the Alfa Romeo Tonale Veloce Ibrida can’t really decide what kind of car it wants to be.

Fun, but not fun enough. Efficient, but not truly frugal. Pragmatically sized, but not super practical. Improved on inclusions, but not on price point.

The one area this car truly excels at is looking really good no matter what it’s doing. I’m not sure that’s enough to increase its appeal in what has become the most competitive new car market in the world.

Design is one of the areas where the Terramar makes a strong first impression. It’s sharply styled, and very much aimed at buyers who aren’t quite ready to let go of their sportier tastes, even if their car choice suggests otherwise. The stance is wide, the proportions are tidy and those 20-inch copper alloy wheels do a lot of the heavy lifting visually.

Up front, the grille features a triangular LED lighting signature that, for anyone who grew up with it, looks a little like the Triforce (Zelda). Around the back, there’s a full-width light bar with a 3D illuminated logo which enhances the overall 'cool-edge' style the Terramar has.

Inside, that same theme carries through. The cabin is clean but still visually interesting, with plenty of soft-touch materials and leather throughout. Copper-coloured accents are used generously but not to the point where it feels overdone and give it a firm identity.

The optional panoramic roof lifts the space and the 12.9-inch central display sits front and centre, giving the cabin a properly high-end feel.

As per the Alfa Romeo brand promise, the Tonale is, as far as small SUVs go, beautiful.

The update refines what was already a good looking car further, with a re-designed front grille and air intakes and a lower front area to make the car look wider, more muscular and sophisticated.

The design enhancements take inspiration from other famous Alfas of recent memory, from the Giulia sedan to the 33 Stradale sports machine, as well as other tweaks which make it more familiar to the more recently launched Junior small SUV.

The new Tonale’s footprint is actually physically wider, too, with a revised track width to go with the aesthetic.

The brand also offers an appealing array of colours, as usual, with a new red and green shade available for this update, as well as an Ocra shade for the Sport Speciale limited edition trim.

Inside, it’s typical Alfa, and in a great way, too. Unlike so many of its rivals which are chasing the new Chinese brands into cabin tech overload, the Tonale looks and feels understated and restrained, with more of a focus on physical controls than screen real estate.

It’s surprising how much this dates a cabin, with the Tonale in some ways feeling a generation old, but then the abundance of physical switchgear and a tight, refined and driver-centric cockpit are increasingly rare, even amongst traditional brands.

The three-spoke wheel is full of physical controls, every grade gets big metal gear shift paddles and the digital instrument cluster has nice-looking classic dial-style themes to go with the overall aesthetic of the car.

All of this is certainly a choice, but I think the niche customer willing to take a chance on an Alfa will like what’s on offer from its sculpted frame and restrained interior.

In terms of practicality, the Terramar feels a little mixed depending on where you’re sitting.

Space and comfort first. The front row is where it feels most at ease. The sport seats are supportive, with enough adjustment to stay comfortable on a longer drive and the added heating and driver’s memory function round things out nicely. That said, elbow room can feel a little tight if you’re sitting alongside someone broad-shouldered.

The rear row is more of a compromise. Legroom behind my driving position is on the tighter side, and for context, I’m 168cm, though headroom holds up reasonably well, even with the panoramic roof. The shape of the seat base and storage cut-outs also make the bench feel narrower, so it’s better suited to two adults than three.

Storage is about what you’d expect, without really exceeding it. Up front, the glove box is the largest cubby, supported by a centre console, a phone cradle and a pair of cupholders, although they’re different sizes, so only one emotional support bottle will fit.

In the rear, it’s a similar story. You get a couple of bottle holders and cupholders, but you miss out on map pockets.

On the tech and amenities front, most functions are housed within the 12.9-inch media display. The graphics are clear and the touchscreen is responsive, though the touch-based climate controls underneath it can be fiddly at times. That said, the overall layout becomes fairly intuitive after a short adjustment period, even if physical buttons would still be welcome.

Connectivity is well covered, with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, the former holding a steady connection during my time with it, along with built-in navigation. Charging options are solid, too, with four USB-C ports across the cabin, a 12-volt outlet and a wireless charging pad.

The rear gets its own climate control, though without fan speed control, and again, at this price point, it feels like there’s room for a little more in the way of convenience features - particularly things like heated outboard seats.

At the back, boot space comes in at 400L, which is the smallest in the Terramar range due to the battery placement. It’s broadly in line with key alternatives like the BYD Sealion 6 Premium, which offers slightly more capacity, but the difference isn’t dramatic in day-to-day use.

In practice, it’s been enough for a week of errands with a small family, and the flat loading floor and powered tailgate make it easy to live with. There’s no spare tyre, though, just a puncture repair kit, which won't suit everyone.

Unfortunately, and also like a lot of Italian cars, this commitment to aesthetics makes the interior less than stellar on the practicality front.

Hopping into the driver’s seat, things feel small immediately, as you’re surrounded by dark trim and bolstered seats which hug you tightly, and I like to think I’m not even that wide.

Several adjustments later, and I find my left knee pushed up against the (mercifully, synthetic leather trimmed) centre console.

Not only does it feel physically tight, but there are also some practicality oversights. The revised gear shifter and array of buttons on the centre console takes up a lot of space, and isn’t even very nice to use, with the rotary dial simply turning on the spot rather than tilting on a spring, which makes it difficult to tell which gear you’ve selected.

On top of that, the wireless phone charger nestled beneath the climate controls is only good for one phone and takes up the entire area which could have been a more useful storage tray.

The bottle holders are located further back and deep-set, they have spring-loaded ridges to fit a few different bottle sizes, but you can lose a small coffee in them. The centre console box is also tiny, but it’s nice it has something for your elbow to rest on.

As with the restrained approach to screens, one of the biggest benefits of the Tonale’s interior is its commitment to physical buttons and toggles. There’s an entire set across the centre for your climate functions, a physical drive mode selector and a button for the suspension adjustment, a steering wheel adorned with buttons and dials, which have been re-thought to work a bit better, too.

This makes the Tonale easy to use, although while the digital dash is straightforward, the Stellantis multimedia suite is a little busy, with a few too many fiddly sub-menus.

The back seat offers just enough space for me behind my own driving position (at 182cm tall) with a little airspace for my knees. Soft trims largely continue, and the seats are nice. There’s a decent-sized bottle holder in each door, a drop-down armrest with two more, which even hides a ski port behind.

Boot space measures a decent but not stellar 385 litres. It was able to consume the whole CarsGuide three-piece luggage set, but only with the cover removed.

I can’t help but feel like this car has aesthetics and hopefully driving dynamics in mind above other considerations, as its German rivals have more to offer in terms of space and practicality.

While prices are fluctuating across the market, Alfa has chosen to keep its Tonale firmly in premium SUV territory, with this update keeping the car effectively on-par when it comes to cost compared to the outgoing version.

The entry price is even higher, with the base Veloce Ibrida we’re testing now costing $64,990, before on-roads, up from the $58,900 it cost before.

Alfa says you end up ahead, however, with the previously optional Lusso Pack now included as standard, which includes things like premium synthetic leather seats with eight way adjust and memory for the driver, as well as heating and ventilation, and a heated steering wheel.

LED matrix headlights and 19-inch alloys are standard, as is a modest 10.25-inch multimedia touchscreen, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, wireless phone charging,  an electrochromic rear vision mirror, dual-zone climate control (with buttons!), keyless entry and push-start, a powered tailgate and privacy glass for rear passengers.

There’s a six-speaker stereo to go with the wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, along with some performance enhancements including Brembo brakes and sporty adaptive suspension.

Competition in this space is fierce. There’s Audi’s brand new Q3 which you can have in base SUV or slick Sportback form for less money, BMW’s CarsGuide award-winning X1 can be had from a slightly pricier $67,500 in its base sDrive 20i form, while the ageing and soon-to-be replaced Mercedes-Benz GLA can be had at $64,300 (the more clever GLB is better though - from $65,400).

At least Alfa doesn’t yet have to run the gauntlet of too much Chinese competition as it would have to if it was half a segment up or down, but it is worth noting you can have the very good Zeekr 7X from $57,900 and it’s fully electric, too.

Under the bonnet, the Terramar VZe pairs a 1.5-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-petrol engine with a single electric motor, for a combined output of 200kW and 400Nm.

On paper, those figures sit a little behind some of the more value-focused plug-in hybrid options, like the BYD Sealion 6 Premium and GWM Haval H6 GT, and it’s also front-wheel drive, where some rivals offer all-wheel drive.

In practice, though, it doesn’t feel underdone. The six-speed automatic shifts cleanly and the transition between electric and petrol power is smooth. As a whole, the set-up feels well calibrated.

The Veloce Ibrida we tested is equipped with the lesser of two powertrain options in the Tonale range, although the hybrid set-up here is curious.

It pairs a 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine with a small electric motor inside the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic to send a combined 128kW/240Nm to the front wheels.

While it only rates as a 48-volt mild-hybrid system, the motor is powerful enough to motivate the car without the assistance of the engine at low speeds, making it closer to a real plugless hybrid than the usual enhanced start/stop system the ‘MHEV’ moniker usually indicates. In this sense it is similar to Audi’s MHEV+ system.

While the previous Tonale was criticised for a clunky transition between motor and engine power, the brand promises it has refined the switch for this update (see Driving).

If you want all-wheel drive though, you’ll have to opt for the significantly pricier plug-in hybrid version.

On top of that, the Tonale is said to have some of the ‘most direct steering in its segment’ on top of the standard sporty suspension and brake package.

The VZe uses a 20kWh lithium-ion battery, which is on the smaller side compared to some alternatives but it still delivers a useful amount of electric driving range at 109km (WLTP).

With its Type 2 CCS charging port, you can access DC fast charging at up to 50kW, with a claimed 0-80 per cent top-up taking around 26 minutes. On AC, it’s more of an overnight affair, so it suits a home charging routine.

Officially, energy use is rated at 1.8L/100km on the combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle, and after a mix of highway and urban driving, I saw a trip computer figure of 1.5L/100km.

That’s an impressive result but it comes with a bit of context. I'm charging it daily to make the most of the claimed electric-only range, and that has a big influence on the numbers you’ll see in the real world.

The fiddly hybrid dual-clutch and compact engine combine to give the Tonale Veloce Ibrida a combined cycle (urban/extra-urban) fuel consumption figure of 5.4L/100km. It requires mid-shelf 95RON unleaded, and has a decent fuel tank size of 55 litres suggesting a driving range of around 1000km on a full tank.

After some enthusiastic testing my car was producing a dash-indicated 6.8L/100km but I think you could get lower if you were asking less of it.

CO2 emissions are good for a combustion car in this segment, at 123g/km.

On the road, the Terramar VZe makes an immediate impression. Power delivery is prompt, and even with the battery depleted, it feels responsive off the mark. There’s enough in reserve that you don’t feel like you’re chasing performance, even when you lean on it.

The handling follows a sporty brief. Suspension tuning does a good job of smoothing out the bigger bumps, but it still lets a fair amount of road feedback in, particularly when you’re pushing through a corner. The steering is on the firmer side and the brakes are quite sensitive, which takes a moment to adjust to, but together they give the car a more engaged feel. That said, it won’t be to everyone’s taste.

Visibility is one area that takes a bit more effort. The lower window line and thicker pillars give it a more enclosed feel than a typical mid-size SUV, so you find yourself being a bit more deliberate with blind spot checks, particularly around the A-pillar.

Ride comfort holds up despite the firmer set-up, and the sports seats do a good job of keeping you settled. Around town and under electric power, the cabin is impressively quiet, though you notice more road and engine noise creeping in at highway speeds or under heavier acceleration.

Around tighter spaces, it feels smaller than it is. The 11.5-metre turning circle and quick steering make it easy enough to manoeuvre, and the 360-degree camera is a useful addition, although the image quality doesn’t quite match the expectations set by the price point.

The Alfa Romeo Tonale should be about the driver, and it at least tries to make this smallish SUV segment a bit more exciting with its standard performance features.

Things feel good immediately, with the tight cockpit, sporty bolstered seats and big chunky metal paddle shifters.

The ergonomics are familiar to other sporty Alfas, although you are sitting noticeably high off the ground.

Pressing the start button on the steering wheel (satisfying) reveals a surprising bark from the exhaust, whetting the appetite for what should be a fun drive.

From there things devolve into a puzzlingly mixed experience, revealing a car which can’t really decide what it wants to be.

The steering is excellent, as the brand suggests, but the pedals have a strange wooden feel to them, I assume because the car is using software to determine how much power is deployed or regenerated electrically and how much requires the engine and brakes.

I only drove the plug-in version of the previous car, so it’s hard to tell how much the transmission has improved. It’s still not the most slick shifting unit, although the low-speed performance is pretty good. It tends to hiccup not from a start, but when you ask it to suddenly give you power when you’re already moving, where a moment of hesitation still seems to exist.

On this topic, even in Sport mode with things dialed up, the manual shifts have enough of a delay when you pull the paddle shifters to take you out of the action. Something not the case in this car’s very good Giulia sedan sibling and its much sharper attitude.

The exhaust, despite its keen start-up attitude, is only okay when you’re riding it up the rev-range.

The Tonale is pretty good on the curvy stuff, although I was expecting more. The aforementioned sharp steering combines nicely with the more aggressive wider track and sporty stiff suspension to make for a halfway decent corner-carving experience, but if you were expecting a lifted hot hatch, it falls short.

The power from the turbo engine and hybrid system simply isn’t punchy or responsive enough to make it thrilling. On top of that, you can feel the height from its SUV body, which makes it a bit uncouth when pushed. Suffice it to say, despite the upmarket Bridgestone Turanza tyre package fitted to our car, there’s a lot of tyre torture when cornering enthusiastically.

It’s actually annoying how much this car teases you with a good time, only to never quite get there.

The more performance-oriented set-up comes with drawbacks, too. This car is a bit noisy at freeway speeds and can have harsh crashy suspension moments on sub-par city roads.

It also has some signature Alfa personality quirks. Somewhere under or next to my seat near the driver’s door had a persistent squeak, for example. Despite my attempts to find it by pushing on every panel or piece of the door and seat to try and find it, it would only make the sound when I was sitting down. 

It’s just like the last Giulia I drove which had a rattle behind the instrument cluster. It wouldn’t be an Alfa Romeo otherwise, I suppose.

The safety suite is largely well calibrated. It has a couple of annoying bings and bongs, but no excessive driver intervention. I didn’t feel the need to turn systems down or off.

The standard array of active items are present from auto emergency braking to blind spot monitoring and lane keep assist.

It also gets a ‘Magic Park’ automatic parking system, 360-degree camera and even tyre pressure monitoring.

This latest Tonale update maintains a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from 2023, although it persists with the standard array of six airbags. With the original test having taken place in 2022, the rating is set to expire in 2028.

For child seats there are three top tethers points across the back seat with ISOFIX anchors on the two outer positions.

In terms of ownership, the Terramar is covered by Cupra’s five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty. That’s fairly standard for the segment, though it sits behind some rivals now offering longer seven-year plus programs. Inclusion of five years' roadside assistance is a welcome addition.

Servicing can be pre-purchased with either a three- or five-year plan, with the latter priced at $2590, which is in line with what you’d expect for this class. Intervals are set at every 12 months or 15,000 kilometres.

One thing to keep in mind is the size of the Cupra service network. It’s still relatively limited, with around 14 centres nationwide, so depending on where you’re based, that may take a bit more planning.

The Tonale range gets a five-year and unlimited kilometre warranty with a matching five years of roadside assist.

Indicative service pricing, available via the online calculator, extends out to 10 years, and for the life of the warranty costs an average of $666.10 per year or 15,000km visit. That’s a little pricey, with a particular sting at the 48 month mark costing $1421.44 in one visit.

Somewhat shocking residuals for Alfa Romeos are worth factoring in even if you’re purchasing one as part of a novated lease as the value of the car can be much lower than expected by the time your lease expires.

And it’s worth noting there are only eight primary Alfa dealerships and 18 service centres across Australia.