Alfa Romeo Tonale Spotted In Italy Just In Time For Valentine’s Day

The highly-anticipated Alfa Romeo Tonale debuted last week but it seems like it is already out on the streets. Our reader Fabio Franco spotted a pre-production prototype of the SUV parked without any camouflage under the bright Italian sun and was kind enough to share them with us.

The model was spotted at the port of Salermo, near Naples in southern Italy, looking quite fitting with the colorful scenery of the Mediterranean coast. The 178.4 in. (4,530 mm) long SUV looks rather compact next to the surrounding traffic, thanks to the curvy and aerodynamic shape, with the simple graphics at the front giving it an aggressive look. Next to the older Citroen Picasso, Fiat Panda, and Opel Insignia, it easily stands out as the most modern design of the bunch.

Real-life photos seem to do justice to the design of the Tonale even in the subtle gray exterior shade combined with black accents on the scudetto grille, intakes, fenders, door handles and window surrounds. The traditional five-hole wheels are also finished in gray, contrasting with the red brake calipers. These are the only wheels we have seen on Tonale to date, but we expect a variety of designs to be available from the standard diameter of 18-inches all the way up to 20-inches.

The Tonale will be available with a hybrid 1.5-liter in two power guises, a 1.6-liter turbodiesel, a turbo 2.0-liter petrol, or the flagship Q4 plug-in hybrid with a combined output of 272 hp (202 kW / 275 PS) and an electric range of 37 miles (60 km) thanks to the 15.5 kWh battery. All of them are equipped with a nine-speed automatic gearbox sending power to the front wheels or to all four wheels in the case of the plug-in hybrid model. There are also rumors about fully electric and performance-focused variants in the future.

While the Tonale is already out on the street just in time for Valentine’s Day, its market launch in Europe is not expected before the summer of 2022. UK customers will get it in September, while the first US-spec examples will arrive stateside in the first quarter of 2023.