Not many cars have impressed during the moose test recently, and the Alfa Romeo Tonale certainly did not tilt the balance towards that either, even though it should have, in theory, considering that it has a sporty European brand behind it, which is otherwise owned by Stellantis in case you forgot.
The evasive maneuver turned out to be too much at 77 kph (47.9 mph) as per KM77’s standards. The crossover, which is the company’s second high-rider after the Stelvio, couldn’t do it at 76 and 75 kph (47.2-46.6 mph) either, and the driver had to lower the speed to 74 kph (46 mph) in order for it to pass.
And that’s not all that they did, because it was in ‘dynamic’ mode during the best attempt, which keeps low gears for longer and enables some engine braking. Mind you, 74 kph (46 mph) is not bad at all, especially for a vehicle that has many inches between its belly and the road, and as the people behind the tests concluded, the Tonale felt agile, with moderate body roll, and precise steering.
The Alfa Romeo Tonale in question came with the base engine, a 1.3-liter four-cylinder unit with mild-hybrid assistance, in the ‘Speciale’ trim level. It has 130 ps (128 hp / 95 kW), and bigger alloys than the 18-inch ones equipping the entry-level variants, which measure 20 inches in diameter, and have 235/40 Pirelli P Zero tires wrapped around them.
Since it’s not exactly a sprinter in disguise with that motor, it didn’t impress in the slalom test either, which is performed from zero. At the end of the course, the Tonale did 24.9 seconds, one-tenth of a second faster than the SEAT Ibiza and Toyota Camry Hybrid, and three-tenths quicker than the Volkswagen Polo. According to KM77, it was 0.1 seconds slower than the BMW iX xDrive40. As for the king of this challenge, it is the Polestar 2, with 22.8 seconds.
After a series of unfortunate events put an end to Cristian's dream of entering a custom built & tuned old-school Dacia into a rally competition, he moved on to drive press cars and write for a living. He's worked for several automotive online journals and now he's back at autoevolution after his first tour in the mid-2000s. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News