Alfa Romeo TONALE 2022 | Bella GUIDA ma il motore NON vola…

And so we came out to see the stars again. It almost comes naturally to quote the last verse of Dante's Inferno because the Poet who invented Italy - as Aldo Cazzullo rightly defined him in the title of one of his books - at the end of the journey that took him through Hell and finally admired with Virgil the sky of the other hemisphere, a symbol of hope and infernal darkness now far away. A perfect representation of the situation that Alfa Romeo has found itself facing in recent years - in which few fruits of Marchionne's industrial plans have been seen, with investments in R&D and model development reduced to a minimum - from which, finally, it seems to have emerged thanks to the renewed impetus of the Stellantis Group. Jean-Philippe Imparato, Chief Executive Officer, said it loud and clear when he spoke these days of "his" Alfa Romeo: a brand that he defines in no uncertain terms as "Italy" (Dante, precisely) that today. is able to combine the pleasure of driving Giulia and Stelvio with a new C-segment SUV that will position itself in the heart of the market with design, technology, engine solutions and quality that the former Chief Executive of Peugeot has defined as "top" of the segment but above all capable of paving the way towards the Lexus quality objective that Stellantis wants to achieve for all Alfa Romeos. And the beginning, honestly, promises well because beyond the usual patriotism - easy - when a new Alfa Romeo is born it must be said that when all is said and done this new Tonale is actually at the level of the best competitors from every point of view, even the technological one where the Biscione has always suffered. But it was not enough to be competitive, Imparato wanted to be the best and in terms of multimedia system technology it is the most advanced in the segment as well as the fastest, not only in the segment but also in much higher product categories. A car designed down to the smallest detail to be at the top of the premium C-SUV segment, with interesting solutions in terms of style and interiors that are absolutely up to par with engines that perhaps lack in terms of range breadth but are absolutely present in the heart of the market with two 1.5 turbo hybrid petrol engines with 130 and 160 HP that are joined in the proposal by a 1.6 turbodiesel with 130 HP. This latter engine is a "fleet" engine and among private individuals it should give way to that hybrid solution that has a lot of Italian in the concept with which it is developed: yes, because the new "160" engine, which shares the technical base with the "130" already seen on Compass, has been designed around a variable geometry turbo, which is almost unique in the panorama of petrol engines, but above all it uses a hybrid module equipped with a very light battery and an electric motor that is placed in the heart of the gearbox to offer everything that a full-hybrid car does at the "price" of weight and technical/economic complication of a mild-hybrid. This was made possible by the close collaboration with the technical partner Magna which, among other things, also supplies the same system to BMW with a very different working logic: in Munich, in fact, they decided not to use the electric to maneuver or move the car with the engine off, exploiting its potential only in motion to complete the thrust of the thermal. Which is obviously what Tonale also does, even in the "130" variant. Later on, the 275 HP plug-in hybrid will also arrive, with the 90 kW electric rear engine and a 15.5 kWh battery capable of ensuring 80 km in electric mode. But we will talk about that product version, which will exploit the thermal potential of a 1.3 turbo with 180 HP, after the summer. Today we focus on the Tonale Hybrid 160 HP, which is 453 cm long, sits on a 264 wheelbase and offers a 500-liter trunk, which becomes 1,550 by folding down the seatbacks. Full-LED technology for the front and rear headlights, level 2 driving assistance systems, digital instrumentation, automatic transmission for all engine versions, the Tonale will arrive in dealerships at a price starting from 35,500 euros. Driving the car is not shocking for the power of the engine but the fact that it often travels in electric gives a perception of great modernity. The work on the set-up on the small-wide platform was also remarkable and the introduction of McPherson suspensions also at the rear convinced us. The only detail that is out of place is a certain stiffness of the suspension on potholes and changes in asphalt and a steering speed that is too marked in the first steering phase, beyond which the car demonstrates great coherence. What you would expect from a great Alfa Romeo... If you want to find out more click here https://bit.ly/3Fotdhg and go to Automoto.it Road test drive by Emiliano Perucca Orfei Masterpilot