Interview “Alfa Romeos should be exciting cars, not Ipads with wheels”
Born in 1910, Alfa Romeo is one of those brands that all fans have in mind for its cars and sporting successes.
Although for many years now, its flame remained at half gas.
Just three models illuminate it: the compact Giulietta, the Giulia sedan and the Stelvio SUV, the only SUV in its range.
To this we had to add the successive relaunch plans that its former owners (FCA) raised over and over again, without fully specifying any of them.
And in between, the never-quenched rumors about the interest of the Volkswagen Group
to add it to its large portfolio of brands.
Presented as a prototype in 2019
This lack of momentum meant that, for example, the Stelvio did not arrive until 2017, after numerous delays and despite the fact that it was known to be a winning card.
With the new Tonale, the wait has been less bloody.
Unveiled as a prototype in 2019, it is a smaller SUV: it measures 4.53 meters long, a little more than an Audi Q3 or a BMW X1,
models with which it aspires to compete, although those responsible for Alfa Romeo consider that it also they will have to do with potential customers of the VW Tiguan or the Peugeot 3008.
Deliveries are scheduled to start in Italy before the summer. After this, it should arrive in our country, with prices to be defined.
But always with a very ambitious goal: to revolutionize the future of the clover brand to the point that they refer to it as "the metamorphosis".
In fact, it will be his first electrified car.
With traces of the SZ Zagato or the 8C Competizione
Nestled among the C-SUVs with premium aspirations, the design - in which the Spanish Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos, current Alfa Romeo design director, has not participated - differs little from what the prototype sported.
They emphasize the traditional front shield, now floating;
the headlight groups (in three pieces each);
the light signature that runs from side to side on the back and, above all, the famous telephone dial-shaped rims
that represent the latest evolution of those that premiered on the 33 Stradale in 1960. They are offered in sizes from 17 to 20 inches.
Diving here and there in the bodywork, there are details already seen in emblematic models of the Italian house such as the 8C Competizione, the brutal SZ Zagato or the Proteo concept car.
We'll have to see it raw, but honestly, it's not a car that impresses at first glance.
Double digital instrumentation
Indoors, the strategy is repeated: look to the future with the DNA of the past.
Hence a position with clear sports reminiscences, where the instrument panel is protected by a semicircular double hood that hides a
12.3-inch digital screen configurable in three modes.
It is completed (finally in an Alfa Romeo) with another large 10.25-inch multimedia screen in the central part.
It is tactile and is organized based on widgets, like mobile phones.
In fact, in addition to having the Apple Car Play and Android Auto connectivity protocols, it includes the Amazon Alexa voice assistant, which can be given orders related to the car...
or to turn on the heating of the house that we are at. point of arrival and squeezes the cold.
Other gadgets refer to continuous remote updates (OTA), the possibility of providing a Wi-Fi network to eight devices or knowing and controlling the status of the car remotely.
This functionality, precisely, allows us to use the trunk of the Tonale to receive courier packages.
It is not something new in the industry.
One of the best for interior spaciousness
Then, this digital world is covered with top-level materials, since "quality has been a mantra" in the development of the car, say those responsible.
According to versions, the customer can have leather, Alcantara or aluminum, such as the fixed paddles that are behind the steering wheel
and that are always (those of Alfa Romeo) a gift for the driver's senses.
This can have heated and even cooled seats.
As for the habitability, hardly any data is known: the trunk will have about 500 liters, which is a good figure and in the rear seats,
the legroom would be the best in its category.
Hybrid versions that spend like a diesel
The Tonale has the same platform as the current Jeep Compass, with a sportier set-up at the chassis level, steering (the most direct on the market) or suspensions.
This base allows the introduction of electrified mechanics, something that has never happened before in the brand.
Specifically, pure hybrid versions will be offered with 130 or 160 hp gasoline engines, which add a 15 kW electric drive capable of moving the car on its own in certain circumstances.
Both are front-wheel drive, have an electronic differential and the transmission is automatic with double clutch, with seven relationships.
In both cases, the gasoline engine is a new 1.5 with variable geometry turbo.
"It is the most suitable for optimizing the efficiency of the hybrid system" promise the Alfa engineers, who ensure fuel consumption equivalent to that of a diesel.
The 275 hp Tonale Q4 PHEV, top of the range
The top of the range is represented by the PHEV Q4 gasoline-electric variant
with 275 horsepower,
all-wheel drive (by having the electric block connected to the rear axle)
and a range in zero emissions mode of between 60 km (WLTP cycle) and 80 km ( in town).
This version is capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in just 6.2 seconds
and the 15.5 kWh battery only requires 2.5 hours to fill when using the 7.4 kW fast charger.
The range will be completed with a 130 hp diesel, front-wheel drive and a six-speed dual-clutch transmission.
Also, there will be another 256 hp gasoline engine, but it will not be sold in Europe.
As in any other model in the current Alfa range, the car has the so-called DNA, a selector with three driving modes and whose settings also take into account the operation of the hybrid propulsion system.
Among those settings are those for
the electronically controlled Dual Stage Valve active suspension.
It will be an optional element, but the basic Tonale will already come with a suspension with selective frequency damping
that reduces rebounds by 32% and increases filtering capacity by 21%.
The brake calipers, which will have regenerative electricity capacity, are signed by Brembo.
First car with NTF certificate
This is not groundbreaking, as is the case with non-fungible token (NFT) technology being used, for the first time, in a car.
It is a confidential digital certificate, a priori impossible to falsify.
In this way, and
always with the customer's consent, the NFT system records vehicle data (mileage, maintenance, visits to the workshop, even repairs in the event of an accident) and generates a certificate that guarantees the authenticity
of all this information.
Obviously, this will increase the residual value of the car and will be an excellent argument for its sale on the used market.
In fact, Alfa Romeo takes advantage of the arrival of this SUV to introduce a new commercial strategy.
On the one hand, it will boost the on-line acquisition of its vehicles
.
The warranty on the Tonale is extended to five years, which goes up to eight or 150,000 km in the case of batteries.
And Alfa Romeo Certified is created, a label that aims to match the buying experience of a used car to that of a new one.
Finally, the workshops will have to report, by means of a video, if a workshop job has become more expensive on the fly, to what extent and by what amount.
So that the client can reject or stop these new operations if they are not happy.
Two finishes and level 2 autonomy
The initial range will consist of only two finishes:
Super and Ti.
The first is the basic one and can be completed with the Sprint package.
To the second, you can add the Veloce, even more dynamic and sporty.
The equipment will include
dual-zone climate control, navigation, wireless charger, Harman Kardon sound system, electric tailgate,
warning that we have left something (or someone) in the rear seats and a large number of driving assistants (ADAS).
Among the latter, it is worth mentioning the autonomous braking system with recognition of pedestrians and cyclists; the blind spot detector; driver fatigue and drowsiness
;
a 360-degree camera;
the system that avoids a collision when reversing;
adaptive intelligent cruise control or the one that keeps the car centered in the lane.
That is, devices that make it a Level 2 autonomous car.
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