2023 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Ti on 2040-cars

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2023 Alfa Romeo Tonale aims to be the enthusiast's small SUV

Alfa Romeo's lineup will expand by 50% next year thanks to the 2023 Tonale, its new small SUV engineered to take on the voluminous and still-expanding utility segment beneath the Stelvio and its ilk. This new baby SUV packs a minimum of 256 horsepower and all-wheel drive with an optional, performance-oriented plug-in model available.  It's difficult to talk about the future of the automotive industry without acknowledging the spread of electrification and the rise in vehicular ride heights, and Alfa's checking both boxes with the Tonale. The small SUV will now be the brand's entry-level model. That's right; while you weren't looking, Alfa's lineup shrank to just two vehicles: Giulia and Stelvio. The company will add more electric variants in the coming years, including a BEV before the middle of the decade, so while the Tonale may be the first, it's not going to be the only, and while Alfa is adamant that there's a future for Giulia, we're now nearly a decade removed from the days of Alfa showrooms being populated by little coupes, convertibles, hatchbacks and sedans.  The Tonale shares its underpinnings with just about every other small SUV in the Stellantis portfolio. Its largest cousin sold here in the U.S. is the Jeep Compass. We don't have all the numbers for Tonale just yet, but we suspect the only thing it'll really have in common with Jeep's economical compact will be the length of its wheelbase, which slots it into the same class as the Audi Q3, BMW X1, Mercedes-Benz GLA/GLB and Lexus NX. And there's certainly nothing Compass-like about its exterior, which looks credibly Alfa-like. LED lighting is standard; the fancy wheels on the models shown in these photos are not; you'll need the Veloce trim for those.  Alfa's punching up a bit in the cabin too. A 10.25-inch Uconnect 5 infotainment system is standard (the Stelvio's base screen is just 8.8 inches) and paired to a 12.3-inch digital cluster display skinned to look like a vintage Alfa Romeo instrument panel. The Uconnect system is integrated with Alfa Connected Services to enable over-the-air updates and other personalized functionality. Each Tonale can store five individual driver profiles accessible via a single touch and is compatible with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. But while Alfa promises the Tonale will feel appropriately luxurious for its price point, this isn't aimed at the crowd that wants a soft, distant experience.

Watch Alfa Romeo's slightly suggestive lifestyle ad for the 4C

We haven't watched a car ad with this much European panache in quite some time - and let us be clear, we're using the phrase "European panache" in its marketing sense, which is code for "women in lingerie." But it's Alfa Romeo and it's Italy and it's the 4C and what else would we ever have expected? Alfa Romeo USA has posted a two-minute spot talking up the technology and capabilities of the of 4C, with beauty shots of the car augmented by an amorous pantomime between two beautiful people wearing a whisper of clothing and some un-subtle editing; like when the phrase "pure seduction" is matched to the 4C's rear end and... some lovely lady lumps. It's totally safe for work, but that doesn't mean you want it rolling when the boss walks by. And speaking of the above phrase, we're wondering if the coupe's exterior designers signed off on "The inexplicable design of the 4C is pure seduction." Inexplicable? Check it out in the video above.

Alfa Romeo Giulia gets top safety award from IIHS

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has awarded a Top Safety Pick+ rating, its highest award, to the 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia midsize luxury sedan — but with a caveat. The Giulia must have been built after May of this year, when the car's front-end structure was improved and the door hinge pillar and door sill were reinforced, among other changes. Vehicles that earn the IIHS's Top Safety Pick+ must achieve good ratings in all five crash tests — small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraints — an advanced or superior rating in front crash prevention and and acceptable or good rating for headlights. The Giulia's optional front crash prevention system earned a superior rating after it avoided a crash in the 12 mph track test and reduced its impact speed by an average 24 mph in the 25 mph test. The car's optional curve-adaptive headlights earned a good rating, while the base headlights rated poor. It joins 2017 versions of the Lexus ES 350, Audi A3 and A4, Volvo S60 and V60, and BMW 2 series and 3 series, as Top Safety Pick+ awardees for its segment. You can read our First Drive review of the Giulia here. Featured Gallery 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti Lusso View 26 Photos Alfa Romeo Luxury Sedan crash test alfa romeo giulia