In the classification of cars based on nationality, Italian cars always seem to be difficult to appear on the dinner table of ordinary people. It is not that Italy cannot build a good car or build a car that has no popularity, on the contrary, their popularity has reached the point where ordinary people dare not discuss it without drinking a little wine. After all, if you think about it, 5 years ago, the Italian brands that could be bought in China were either cattle (Lamborghini) or horses (Ferrari), or Maserati or Fiat. Coincidentally, either can't afford to buy or can't buy, italian cars have therefore maintained a "minority" posture of Buddhist dating.
Why is 5 years ago the time node? That's because in 2017, another Italian car brand announced its entry into the Chinese market, it was Alfa Romeo. Because of its long history and a certain blood relationship and emotional entanglement with Ferrari, Alfa Romeo's innate track genes and the budding "young, sporty" car concept at that time simply coincided, coupled with the introduction of Giulia and Stelvio The price is not high, for a while Alpha Romeo has become the first choice for many enthusiastic young people.
The comings and goings are menacing. Time has proved that Alfa Romeo did not set off too much wave in the Chinese market, first the owner complained about small problems, and then the car price plummeted at the turn of the five countries and six countries and even rumors of delisting, how glorious Alfa Romeo was when he first came to the Chinese market, how embarrassed he was at that time, fortunately, the strong financial resources and faith supported it to persist. Although the car is prone to burst a fault light, fortunately, the overall quality of the car is no problem, the official also knows how to upgrade, and the most important thing is that the owners will use an inclusive mentality to deal with the "goddess's little arrogance". Today's scattered sales have witnessed consumers' consumption concept from sensibility to rationality. After all, those who will still buy Alpha Romeo in China in 2022, true love and "banknote ability" are indispensable.
There is a saying that no one can play Alfa Romeo with this mentality. 5 years have passed, you see people are playing with the existing two cars repeatedly, Stelvio colors are getting more and more noisy, Giulia's performance is getting stronger, but the new model is slow to disappear. When we are about to forget it again, Alfa Romeo shook a false shot: Brothers remember the Tonale concept car that I unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in 2019? It's officially released today!
【Tonale Concept Car】
As Alfa Romeo's second SUV model, Tonale this time is taking the people-friendly route, the model positioning compact SUV, compared to Stelvio's sharp edge, Tonale gives people more gentle and rounded. The family-based inverted triangular grille is naturally not absent, but the three recessed strips connected on the left and right sides are a new design language (does the feeling of little Chiron have it?). Coupled with the right amount of complexity and visual power to encircle the front, Tonale's front face is enough to write into the evolutionary history of Alpha Romeo's genealogy. Of course, the question of "where to hang the license plate", the designer still chooses to ignore it.
In a conventional way, the side of the Tonale should have a bit of the afterglow of the big brother Stelvio, but perhaps the front and rear light groups have spread to the body of the car with considerable size and the style is novel, if it were not for the iconic five-spoke petal wheels reminding me that this is an Alfa Romeo, I think many people will not guess its relationship with Stelvio. It is reported that the Tonale's body size is 4528/1835/1604mm, the wheelbase is 2818mm, although the wheelbase is consistent with Stelvio, but the length data can only limit it to the category of compact SUVs.
The application of through-style taillights is Alfa Romeo's compromise on the times. The design of the three semicircles of the internal lamp source and the final connection at the logo are the Italians' aesthetic pursuit of front and back echoes and left and right symmetry. In the already rotten through-the-taillight design, Tonale is really a surprise. The flowing Tonale font logo under the logo logo is a treatment that Stelvio has never had.
Alfa Romeo was finally willing to put a full LCD instrument and a floating central control screen for the new car. What is even more valuable is that the classic double barrel shape of the LCD instrument outer ring has not been castrated, and the circular ignition button placed on the steering wheel and the shift paddles that feel and size are all first-class rods ensure the soul of Alfa Romeo's interior. However, there is a point that one of the official pictures exposed before does not have a paddle shifter, so it is speculated that it will not become standard like Stelvio and Giulia. It seems that this time Alfa Romeo must have learned the German set, like you to choose a high match or add money to choose.
In addition to this, tonale's interior has also undergone a lot of operations to simplify the complexity. The central air conditioning outlet and button area occupy less space, the shape is more flat and narrow, and the design concept of the gear shift area is the same, although it looks simple, but it has a certain improvement for the storage space that is not much. In terms of both visual and practical, I believe that tonale car owners will care more about the latter. The logo embroidery on the headrest is a surprise gift from Alfa Romeo to the owner.
L2 level assisted driving, active safety, mobile phone interconnection, home interconnection, voice assistant and other technical configurations are not uncommon at the moment, Alfaro Mio will also start a new program from Tonale, in which each Alpha Romeo will have an irreplaceable code (NFT), generated when registering the color and optional configuration of the vehicle, the owner will take over after purchasing the car. Since then, as long as Tonale is repaired at the dealer's office or brand partner, the official can update the NFT information. According to Alfa Romeo, one of the uses of NFTs is to increase the residual value of used cars.
Tonale's dynamics are dazzling. The new car will mainly promote light hybrid and plug-in hybrid models, of which the light hybrid model is composed of a 1.5T engine + 48V system, according to the adjustment of different will provide 130HP and 160HP two kinds of power options, the transmission system matching 7-speed dual-clutch transmission, the drive form is the front drive; while the integrated power of the plug-and-mix model is 275HP, matching the 6AT gearbox, and equipped with a four-wheel drive system, zero hundred acceleration 6.2S, battery pack capacity of 15.5kWh, can support Tonale to travel 80 kilometers in pure electric mode. In addition, in addition to hybrid models, Tonale will also launch gasoline and diesel versions of pure fuel versions in some markets.
Officially announced that Tonale will be officially mass-produced in March, and plans to be officially delivered in overseas markets in June, if it can be introduced to the Chinese market, it will compete with Audi Q3, BMW X1 and other models. However, compared to its opponents who have completed domestic production, Tonale's import status is destined to make it a little difficult to play in terms of pricing. But anyway, there's one more Italian car on the market that we can afford.