2026 Alfa Romeo Tonale First Test: Style, Soul, and a Hint of Letdown

“Such a joyous experience on a winding road or even on a market run.” That line, from our first drive of the 2026 Alfa Romeo Tonale—conducted on glorious winding roads in the Italian Alps—rang in the ears of our Michigan test team tasked with quantifying said joyousness. Here, we’d have ample opportunity to assess that market-run assertion, but almost no winding roads and absolutely no house-made canederli, polenta, or pizzoccheri. In this environment, could that assessment hold up?

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Recapping What’s New

The powertrain and chassis of the Tonale are essentially unchanged, apart from the pruning of the 285-hp, 347-lb-ft plug-in hybrid option. The remaining 2.0-liter turbo makes a bit less power and torque than the PHEV did, but it weighs so much less that the winding-road joy quotient rises (even as fuel economy sags). Beyond that, there’s a new front fascia and slightly wider track for the big-tire variants, which includes our midlevel Veloce trim’s optional 20-inch clover-style wheels. The Rosso Brera exterior and red leather seats on our test car are also new for 2026 and do much to enhance the car’s brio.

Joy, By the Straight-Line Numbers

With carryover powertrain output and a weight within 25 pounds of the average of every 2.0-liter Tonale (and sibling Dodge Hornet GT) we’ve tested, it’s no surprise that acceleration performance measured a tenth or two below that average in every test, with quarter-mile trap speed a little over 1 mph faster. The Tonale’s chief competitor—in size, price, and intended sportiness—is the BMW X1 xDrive28i. It’s down 27 hp and two gear ratios relative to the Alfa yet runs neck and neck to 30 mph before pulling away decisively. It’s ahead by 0.3 second at 60 mph and through the quarter mile, where it’s also traveling 3.4 mph faster. It’s the same story for the related BMW X2 and Mini Countryman S All4. The Alfa runs well ahead of the Acura ADX, Volvo XC40 B5 AWD, and Lexus UX300h AWD F-Sport. Note that in our luxury subcompact SUV Ultimate Car Ratings, the Alfa currently ranks right after all of the above in seventh place.

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Joy in the Twisties

Here again, the Alfa’s skidpad and figure-eight performance runs just behind the BMW/Mini contingent and ahead of its other higher-ranked competition. Braking is a slightly different story, where the Tonale’s 134-foot stop from 60 mph underperformed pretty much the entire competitive set (by between 12 and 35 feet). That one’s a bit of a head-scratcher, given that the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 tires muster class-competitive handling-g numbers, though the test team noted some unusual yaw during the braking test that largely self-corrected. They attributed it to the short wheelbase (it’s 0.7–2.6 inches shorter than all but the Lexus), and heavy weight transfer forward could account for the yawing and for the rear brakes not contributing fully.

The Tonale telegraphs its eagerness through its low 13.6:1 steering ratio, which only takes 2.3 turns to get from lock to lock. That number is lower than that of its competition, and the variable ratio remains faster just off center. So it presents as eager, by comparison with whatever other car you most likely just climbed out of. Of course, it’s still electrically assisted, and this is a front-heavy transverse front-drive-biased car (as are all of the stated competitors), so there’s not a ton of road feel, and there’s a strong inclination toward understeer.

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An Alfa 4C Wagon?

Our test team could feel a heritage link back to the Alfa Romeo 4C two-seater in the Tonale’s heavy steering, its extra firm brake pedal, and its snorty-sounding four-banger. You also see it in the giant, glorious aluminum shift paddles. All of this serves to distinguish the Alfa from its European and Japanese competition. But, they noted, this illusion fades when you push the Tonale hard.

Body roll isn't particularly well controlled, and the handling balance is nothing special. A BMW is much more responsive to throttle inputs and trail braking. That makes sense when you consider the Tonale’s front-heavy underpinnings. It’s easy to imagine this could be a really special vehicle if it rode on a proper longitudinal-engine architecture with rear-biased torque distribution. Giulia/Stelvio dynamics with Tonale theatrics would be a real mini-ute banger. Instead, we got a loud and stiff car that somehow lacks the true dynamic payoff.

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Gorgeous Interior

The Tonale seems dressed for Milan Fashion Week, outside and in. The new red leather seats, the ambient backlighting of the cross-dash trim piece, the stitching, and the materials are all lovely. And Alfa, recognizing many buyers will transport peers in the back seat, not just kiddos, doesn’t skimp on any of the materials back here. It even provides USB-A and -C charge ports.

One misstep: The all-digital instrument cluster, housed under a dramatic twin-binnacle hood, is clearly designed to house traditional analog-look speedo and tach dials but can be switched to display a full nav screen, trip computer results, driver assist icons, etc. A steering wheel control allows you to tailor what shows on this screen, but switching to and from the vintage look can only be done using a separate button perched at the end of the wiper stalk and marked “MENU VIEW” if you can crane your head around the steering wheel and paddles to see it.

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Market-Run Malfeasance

Annoyances came to light in Michigan that wouldn’t have been evident in the Alps. A biggie: The Tonale automatically sets the electric parking brake every time you shift to park. But the next day it hesitates to auto-release when you shift to reverse, so you get a brake-torque launch when leaving the garage. Another: The audio system never resumed playing our radio station upon restart, forcing us to wait for what seemed like forever until the screens fully woke up to go back in and start it—a pain when running errands. The turn signals don’t cancel until the wheel’s nearly straight, and activating them can brush a shift paddle, inadvertently activating manual mode. Even shifting from park to drive requires care to avoid inadvertently engaging manual shifting mode, which you first notice when you hit 20 mph in the neighborhood revving 4,400 rpm. Brio or boorish?

Bottom Line

The BMW X1 earned its spot at the top of our list fair and square, offering an equally sporty and red (if not more so) interior plus superior performance and fuel economy at equivalent pricing with improved resale value. But you may not find yourself turning back to look at that one like you will the Tonale. If your local roads skew more Alpine than Michiganian, that trade-off may be worth making. If not, maybe enjoy those market runs in an X1.