Alfa Romeo Tonale 2026 review: International first drive

In a world now stacked to the brim with the visual drudgery of same-same looking SUVs, it is a genuine pleasure to gaze upon the updated Alfa Romeo Tonale. Forget all that eye-of-the-beholder stuff, this is an objectively beautiful small SUV. And if you disagree, then I'm afraid you’re wrong. It’s as simple as that.

But let’s be totally honest — Alfa Romeo has never had an issue building cars that are lovely to look at. It’s all the other stuff that has proven a little trickier.

This Tonale, the brand says, is designed to fix all that. In fact, the model's global product manager boldly claims his newest creation is actually of a higher quality, and is more reliable, than its German rivals from BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi (based, he says, on warranty-claim data). And what’s more, he’s promising a car that engages and excites the driver, rather than one that feels like a “computer with four wheels”.

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Big promises. So how does the new Tonale measure up?

First and foremost, it’s a “strong facelift”, not an all-new model. There’s a new-look front-end, some cabin tweaks and some retuning of the existing powertrains — and a slightly wider track — but that’s about it.

In terms of price and specification, Alfa Romeo in Australia is yet to go into too much detail. Internationally, the range steps from the Tonale to the Sprint, then the Ti and the Veloce, with a special-edition – the Tonale Sport Speciale – offered at launch. We won’t get all of them in Australia, but we should get at least both engine options.

The flagship is the one we’ve tested here, which is the plug-in hybrid, pairing a 1.3-litre turbo-petrol engine with a rear-mounted electric motor to deliver 198kW. That power is channeled through a six-speed automatic transmission and sent to all four wheels. Zero to 100km/h takes 6.6 seconds, there's a 61km all-electric driving range and combined WLTP fuel use should be between 3.4L - 3.7L/100km.

The range-opening grade scores a turbocharged 1.5-litre petrol engine with mild hybrid assistance, delivering 128kW, which is sent through a seven-speed TCT automatic to the front tyres. We haven't tested the updated version of this variant yet, though.

Pricing is a mystery, but as of right now the current-gen Tonale starts from around $70k for the entry-level petrol and climbs to near-$80k for the plug-in hybrid. We’d expect prices to remain about the same, though we’d strongly suggest Alfa Romeo sharpen its pencil as there are a tonne of cheaper, quality options, albeit ones that don’t share the Italian brand’s premium ambitions.

So, what's new? Ah... not that much. The front end looks different, with a new grille and badge. There's three new colours (red, yellow and green, all of which are far more romantically named than that). The track has grown slightly to help the Tonale feel more planted. And there's a new rotary dial instead of a traditional gear shifter in the cabin.

There is a boring black leather trim option, but there is also a red leather choice and a really nice black-and-white Alcantara trim, which is definitely the pick of the bunch.

Elsewhere, the changes are smaller still. The wireless device charger now has a cooling fan, for example. And one of the dials on the steering wheel now controls the volume. There are new alloys, too, and the option of a wearable, waterproof key, a bit like an Alfa-branded Fitbit.

One major drawback, though, is the fact that even the top-spec Tonale – which looks beautiful outside and in – is fitted with cheaper, plasticky-feeling materials in the door trims back and front, but also that new-look front grille, which feels cheap and flimsy when you knock on it.

Space in the backseat is about right for an internal combustion engine-powered small SUV. I'm 175cm and had plenty of knee room, but headroom is going to be tight for anyone much taller than me. Which, to be fair, is unlikely, unless your kids are gunning for an NBA scholarship.

One of the things that Alfa Romeo says it really tried to improve with this facelifted Tonale, especially the plug-in hybrid variant, is the switch between electric power and petrol power and back again. The old car copped criticism for feeling a bit confused as to what it was doing when you planted your foot, and felt sluggish to respond at times.

This one doesn't, though. I was super impressed by the smoothness of the Tonale's acceleration all the way up to freeway speeds, and most of the time you really can't tell which powertrain it's using, and there is seemingly always plenty of poke on offer.

It also feels charmingly dynamic. There's very little in the way of body roll, and plenty of grip from the tyres. The steering is light but engaging, and it does genuinely live up to that Alfa Romeo promise of putting a bit of driver enjoyment back into the small SUV segment.

Happily, I found the safety systems to be fairly unobtrusive as well, although the speed limit alert does ding unnecessarily, as it does in almost every new car today, to be honest.

But there are a couple of oddities. The 10.25-inch central screen (there's a 12.3-inch digital dashboard, too) seems impossibly complicated. I still don't know how to tell you how much fuel I was using, for example. There was also a weird wind noise next to my left ear at anything above 60km/h, almost as though the window was cracked open slightly, which it wasn't.

Apart from that, though, I really did come away impressed with the way the Tonale drives. It does feel engaged and engaging, not something that is all that common in a car in this segment.

Will that be enough to transform Alfa Romeo's fortunes in Australia? That's a question better left to the Roman gods. But I liked it, and I suspect you will, too.