Tonale thoughts
Discussion
I had a Tonale Ti today as a courtesy car and it was an interesting experience…below are a few observations good and bad after a good three hours of motorway, cross country and urban…
Firstly I’m glad I listened to the salesman and bought a Stelvio, the Tonale is too small for me. My feet kept getting caught up under the dash when on the brakes and when on the throttle catching the side of the footwell. The seat really didn’t go back far enough, which probably contributed to the pedal issue. If you’re under 6’ and size 10 it might not be a problem.
The interior quality was good, controls took a bit of getting used to but touch screen only I didn’t like. The amount of information on the central display was impressive but I didn’t have time to work out how to display more than one thing for example audio and nav (if it can be done). There was no nav information on the main instrument panel and the different display options seemed too similar on the dash (again might just be me not knowing how). Banging HK audio.
The jerkyness going between electric and engine and throttle lag was not very nice at all, the throttle was quite heavy even when I got my foot in the right place. Not as bad as a hybrid with a cvt though.
Handling was good, although steering felt a bit light. Performance was ok for what it has under the bonnet, the sound of the engine was nothing to savour though. Interesting that there was a setting to turn off the traction/stability control on the DNA, not something that is on my Stelvio (or old Giulia).
It’s got a really decent boot but when using the full capacity there’s a big lip.
I was glad to be in my car again, I will have a round 2 when the parts ordered arrive from Italy for the warranty jobs…
Firstly I’m glad I listened to the salesman and bought a Stelvio, the Tonale is too small for me. My feet kept getting caught up under the dash when on the brakes and when on the throttle catching the side of the footwell. The seat really didn’t go back far enough, which probably contributed to the pedal issue. If you’re under 6’ and size 10 it might not be a problem.
The interior quality was good, controls took a bit of getting used to but touch screen only I didn’t like. The amount of information on the central display was impressive but I didn’t have time to work out how to display more than one thing for example audio and nav (if it can be done). There was no nav information on the main instrument panel and the different display options seemed too similar on the dash (again might just be me not knowing how). Banging HK audio.
The jerkyness going between electric and engine and throttle lag was not very nice at all, the throttle was quite heavy even when I got my foot in the right place. Not as bad as a hybrid with a cvt though.
Handling was good, although steering felt a bit light. Performance was ok for what it has under the bonnet, the sound of the engine was nothing to savour though. Interesting that there was a setting to turn off the traction/stability control on the DNA, not something that is on my Stelvio (or old Giulia).
It’s got a really decent boot but when using the full capacity there’s a big lip.
I was glad to be in my car again, I will have a round 2 when the parts ordered arrive from Italy for the warranty jobs…
Thoughts?
Alfa Romeo had a mad half hour where they put a few engineers in charge. They produced what is probably the best saloon on the market and bang for buck, the best SUV. The Quadrifoglio versions were amazing, and the Giulia QV stands a good change (if sanity prevails) of winning the PH best saloon of the last 25 years.
Unfortunately the engineers are gone and the accountants are back in charge. The future looks like the past, a range of mildly better looking than average, but slightly worse performing than average vehicles that with every release will make send us back into nostalgia mode, remembering what Alfa can produce when it is allowed to do so.
Alfa Romeo had a mad half hour where they put a few engineers in charge. They produced what is probably the best saloon on the market and bang for buck, the best SUV. The Quadrifoglio versions were amazing, and the Giulia QV stands a good change (if sanity prevails) of winning the PH best saloon of the last 25 years.
Unfortunately the engineers are gone and the accountants are back in charge. The future looks like the past, a range of mildly better looking than average, but slightly worse performing than average vehicles that with every release will make send us back into nostalgia mode, remembering what Alfa can produce when it is allowed to do so.
Forums | Alfa Romeo, Fiat & Lancia | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff