The 2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale is a confoundingly charming plug-in hybrid

I do not consider that Jeremy Clarkson was proper when he stated that you might solely be a real petrolhead when you’d owned an Alfa Romeo, however the oafish TV presenter wasn’t totally off-base. I’ve simply spent per week with Alfa’s newest creation, the sadly named Tonale, and it has left me scratching my head. Beset by gremlins and never precisely low-cost, it nonetheless charmed me in a method that I actually do not assume would have occurred if I would been driving, say, a Dodge.

As soon as upon a time, Alfa Romeo was Ferrari earlier than there actually was a Ferrari, constructing Grand Prix-winning race vehicles and drop-dead attractive street vehicles. That appears like a really very long time in the past now. A deliberate resurgence, set in movement whereas the model was beneath the management of the late Sergio Marchionne, has fallen far in need of its unique bold gross sales targets—100,000 Guilias a 12 months, we have been advised on the time.

However the model lives on, and it has an all-new mannequin out. The Tonale is a smaller crossover than the Stelvio, and right here within the US it is just out there with a plug-in hybrid powertrain. It pairs a 180 hp (135 kW), 1.3 L four-cylinder gasoline engine that drives the entrance wheels through a six-speed computerized transmission with a 121 hp (90 kW) electrical motor that drives the rear wheels, fed by a 15.5 kWh lithium-ion battery.

Mixed complete output is 285 hp (213 kW) and 347 lb-ft (470 Nm), though there’s additionally a 44-hp (33 kW) built-in starter motor that may add some torque to the engine’s crankshaft if the automotive’s mind thinks it needed.

There are three drive modes, as is now conventional with Alfas. Mode A simply makes use of the electrical motor, and it’s best to get about 30 miles (49 km) on a full cost. Recharging the battery takes about 2.5 hours when plugged right into a stage 2 charger, or about seven for those who solely have entry to a 120 V socket.

D, or dynamic, is the place most Alfas really feel their greatest. Not the Tonale—this mode retains the four-cylinder MultiAir engine working the entire time, and the little 1.3 L lump isn’t essentially the most sonorous factor on the planet. No, confusingly, this Alfa felt much better left in N. This mode will begin off beneath electrical energy, feeding within the combustion engine as and when needed. It’s kind of slower away from a stoplight, nevertheless it’s additionally quite a bit smoother.

N (and A as effectively) additionally provide the softer of the 2 settings for the suspension dampers. You’ll be able to manually swap over to the softer setting when you’re in D, and on most American roads you may most likely wish to. No matter engine mode, the Tonale supplies you with direct steering that helps disguise the crossover’s 4,133 lb (1,875 kg) curb weight.

Sadly, real-world gasoline effectivity fell a number of mpg in need of the EPA estimate of a mixed 29 mpg (8.11 L/100 km), however we additionally did not start every single day with a completely charged traction battery.

I discussed gremlins earlier, and there have been loads. Instantly after choosing up the Tonale we needed to drive it by way of a reasonably heavy rain storm, which prompted a number of the superior driver help system sensors to freak out, taking out ahead collision warning and computerized emergency braking, which remained unavailable at random occasions over the following three or 4 days.