2023 Alfa Romeo Tonale Revealed With 272 HP As Brand's First PHEV

An anonymous source from Alfa Romeo tells Motor1.com that the Tonale has a base price in the high $30,000 range and tops out in the low $50,000 range.

 The 2023 Alfa Romeo Tonale debuts as the Italian brand's first electrified model by offering a plug-in-hybrid powertrain in the United States. The compact crossover will arrive in North America in the first quarter of 2023.

Under The Hood
In the US, the Tonale will be available with two powertrains. The plug-in hybrid choice consists of a 1.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder and six-speed automatic for turning the front axle. A 121-horsepower (90-kilowatt) electric motor powers the rear wheels. The total system output is 272 hp (203 kW). 

The PHEV comes with a 15.5-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery. Alfa Romeo estimates the range when running only on electric power to be over 30 miles (48 kilometers). Fully charging the battery takes about 2.5 hours from a level 2 charger.

The other engine option is a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that makes 256 hp (191 kW) and 295 pound-feet (400 Newton-meters) of torque. It runs through a nine-speed automatic to an all-wheel-drive system.

Outside of the US, Alfa will offer the Tonale with two, 1.5-liter mild-hybrid powertrains. Europeans will get a diesel option.

How It Looks
The front of the Tonale features Alfa's traditional shield-shaped grille. Flanking it, there are standard, full LED headlights with running lights that create three elements on each side. The tail lamps have styling to match the appearance of the illumination in the front. The phone-dial-style wheels have look that evokes classic Alfas.

The table below shows the Tonale's physical footprint:

Length
178.3 inches (4.53 meters)

Width
72.4 inches (1.84 meters)

Height
63.0 inches (1.6 meters)

The Tonale's comes standard with a 12.3-inch digital infotainment cluster and a 10.25-inch infotainment screen. The tech runs on the Uconnect 5 software suite that supports over-the-air updates. The system has wireless connectivity for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. There's also support for Alexa home-to-car and car-to-home communication with smart devices.

Safety Tech
The Tonale comes with a long list of standard safety systems. The features include adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking and pedestrian detection, lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-path detection.

As an option, buyers can upgrade to tech that supports level 2 autonomy that adds features like traffic jam assist.

Three Models To Choose From
In the US, the Tonale will come in three trim levels. Sprint is the entry-level model and only comes with the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder. The Ti in the middle of the lineup is available with either the 2.0 or 1.3-liter plug-in hybrid. The range-topping Veloce is only available with the PHEV. Pricing isn't yet available.

The Tonale As NFT
Alfa Romeo will launch a new program with the Tonale where each vehicle will come with a non-fungible token (NFT) that will initially register info like the vehicle's color and options. The owner will take over the NFT upon the vehicle's purchase. 

From there, Alfa will be able to update the NFT whenever the Tonale will be at the dealer for service or maintenance. This will create a digital log about the vehicle's entire history. At this time, the brand isn't disclosing what company it is partnering with to create these NFTs.

According to the company, one use of the NFT will be to raise residual values of used vehicles because there will be a permanent recording of the maintenance history.

Owners can opt out of the program if they don't want the info about their Tonale tracked with an NFT.