RE: Alfa shows one-off 'Edizione Bambini' Tonale

[bluemason]

GTEYE said:

I thought April 1st was Saturday?

There is a becky bambino edition and it has a spray tan compartment holder

[Pepperpots]

Quickmoose said:

Erast Fandorin said:

I used a Porsche 968 as my first family car. It comes with two child seats in the back as standard, they're well protected by the B pillar, and the rear boot made an excellent changing mat with the open hatch keeping any weather off the little mite.

Its a shame modern parents think the answer to transporting a couple of 10kg mini-humans is a 2000kg SUV.

I had a 944turbo and did the exact same thing!

I used my Lotus Esprit, the heat from the exhaust silencer warming the boot floor perfectly

[filski666]

Pepperpots said:

Quickmoose said:

Erast Fandorin said:

I used a Porsche 968 as my first family car. It comes with two child seats in the back as standard, they're well protected by the B pillar, and the rear boot made an excellent changing mat with the open hatch keeping any weather off the little mite.

Its a shame modern parents think the answer to transporting a couple of 10kg mini-humans is a 2000kg SUV.

I had a 944turbo and did the exact same thing!

I used my Lotus Esprit, the heat from the exhaust silencer warming the boot floor perfectly

You can see the orange baby seat in the back of mine in this photo - had to be a Recaro! ha ha ha Was fine - never felt the need for a massive van.

[robemcdonald]

How has it come to this?

Poor ALFA….

I really can’t see them ever getting back to being a proper concern again.

A future based purely on what can be done with a Stellantis platform and a limited budget.

I really wish BMW had bought them.

[bilo999]

Is it possible that the Italian marketing team went out for the day.... and the backup Stelantis marketing team stepped in and came up with this idea.... but I have to say.... nappy changing shelf .... not a totally bad idea

[Hairymonster]

The comments in this thread have made me laugh loudly several times!

An app to monitor the kiddies. Erm, just turn the fk around!

Haribo vomit everywhere, playing I-Spy, being told to stop kicking the back of the seat, no we're not there yet, no we're not stopping for a picnic, no you can't open the window even though Dad's cigar has rendered the interior into a smoke-filled metal box, sit down, stop fighting, stop calling your brothers names, stop teaching your little sister swear words, no you can't sit in the front, yes the only tape we have is Simon & Garfunkel's greatest hits and we're not playing it again, stop flicking vee signs at drivers behind us.....ah, happy days!

[Hairymonster]

Terminator X said:

Do they sell many of the regular ones?

If they're already into the special editions this early in the model's evolution, I would suspect not.

They won't persuade the people out of the German triumvirate, the lease costs will be high because of low demand and residuals plummeting like kicking an anvil off a cliff top, and people buying further down the price scale will look at Dacias, Skodas and the like.

A shame that Alfa have been reduced to this. Can't help thiinking a Giulia Wagon would have done well against the 3-series/C class and A4 Avant estates.

[Robertb]

Dr Interceptor said:

Robertb said:

Do you get a blue or pink one depending on the birth gender of your nipper?

Do you have to change the car when they want to identify as something else?

Or possibly a grey one if they are gender-fluid, or identify as 'they'

[Hairymonster]

Robertb said:

Or possibly a grey one if they are gender-fluid, or identify as 'they'

Ah, but you're assuming their pronouns. How very dare you!

[Julian Scott]

filski666 said:

I still don't understand what this does any better than an equivalent estate - or the X3 over a 3er Touring?

I mean, other than the obvious: worse fuel economy, smaller roof rack loading, more expensive tyres and other running costs, harder to park etc etc?

Easier to lift kids and their st into, greater load area, easier to park, better visibility.....but you knew all of that.

[Julian Scott]

filski666 said:

AmyRichardson said:

filski666 said:

I still don't understand what this does any better than an equivalent estate - or the X3 over a 3er Touring?

I mean, other than the obvious: worse fuel economy, smaller roof rack loading, more expensive tyres and other running costs, harder to park etc etc?

Imagine the difference between working at a standard ~900mm high bench and one that's 650mm high - that's the main difference re. small children.

weird comparison, as working at a lower bench briefly is no issue - different if all day - so for the 30 seconds it takes to chuck a baby seat in the back at a slightly higher position, it is worth putting up with a SUV? ok...still don't understand it as a worthwhile trade - but then I put up with putting my daughter in the back of a GT-FOUR - so I guess I have different priorities

If having an SUV is 'putting up with one', then you won't understand it. Enjoy your GT-FOUR.

[FamousPheasant]

Having changed a baby in the boot of a car on multiple occasions this really is not that bad an idea.

[Sion111R]

Could they do an edizione “Nominated Driver”?
Bag of air tags in the glove box so that you can tag your mates at the start of the night as there is always one who gets lost….
Rapid opening rear windows for when the sickness rises on the drive home.
Something like a doggy seatbelt in the boot so you can legally tether the mates mate who you’ve never met before but tagged along, has passed out, and is somehow your responsibility to get home. Usually 20 miles the wrong way.
Easily accessible breathalyser kit to save the Policeman the bother so you can prove, despite how the rest of the car looks and smells, you have not been drinking at all.
Child locks on the rear door to stop that gobby but harmless mate from escaping and nicking the Policeman’s hat whilst doing a jig in the road.
All these would have been really useful in my experience.

[filski666]

Julian Scott said:

filski666 said:

I still don't understand what this does any better than an equivalent estate - or the X3 over a 3er Touring?

I mean, other than the obvious: worse fuel economy, smaller roof rack loading, more expensive tyres and other running costs, harder to park etc etc?

Easier to lift kids and their st into, greater load area, easier to park, better visibility.....but you knew all of that.

SUVs don't have greater load area than estates, not sure what makes you think that?
Estates are generally smaller than SUVs - width etc, so SUVs are harder to park and get kids into as harder to open doors in a busy car park
better visibility? only cause higher - but tend to be more chunky with ridiculously poor rear view, and if you need to be up in the air to be able to drive, I would suggest you probably need some training.

you want an example - 3er Touring to X3

X3 has 50 litres bigger luggage capacity - BUT is 70mm wider (so harder to park) and 236mm higher (so harder to get into some multistorey carparks - put roof bars on it and it would struggle to get into some of my local carparks and my local tip which have a 1.7m restriction)

but - a passat estate to the X3 is 60mm narrower, 160mm lower (the areas that make it hard to park) and only 65mm longer (length rarely an issue with parking) and it has 100 litres MORE than the X3 - and that space isn't stacked high as in an SUV, so more useable.

[AlexIT]

And the problem for car enthusiasts is the ban of ICE??

If manufacturers' future proposals are anything like this, then I'll rather go cycling

[AlexIT]

filski666 said:

You can see the orange baby seat in the back of mine in this photo - had to be a Recaro! ha ha ha Was fine - never felt the need for a massive van.

You can also change the baby's diaper on the wing

[Miserablegit]

Presumably it smells of piss , st and vomit? Or is that the teenager edition?

Another reason leather or pu seats are preferable to fabric in a family car

[pycraft]

Easiest car I ever had to change a baby was a second-generation CLK. No really; you pushed the front seat all the way forward, folded the seatback forward, then stood in the footwell and sat back against the folded seatback. Child is caught in the seat depression in front, and you have tons of space to work with - far better than changing them when they're in one back seat and you're in the other. And the doors are closed, so it's warm and dry.

As to the Tonale, I see the pictures are taken using a UK car. Unfortunately not in the more realistic UK scenario of driving rain and 30 mph winds, which will suit Junior - dangling off a shelf hanging out of the open boot - perfectly.

[r159]

Hairymonster said:

Terminator X said:

Do they sell many of the regular ones?

If they're already into the special editions this early in the model's evolution, I would suspect not.

They won't persuade the people out of the German triumvirate, the lease costs will be high because of low demand and residuals plummeting like kicking an anvil off a cliff top, and people buying further down the price scale will look at Dacias, Skodas and the like.

A shame that Alfa have been reduced to this. Can't help thiinking a Giulia Wagon would have done well against the 3-series/C class and A4 Avant estates.

And thats why I now have swapped a Giulia for a Stelvo (the Giulia replaced an Audi A4 estate).

Very happy with the swap too. Alfa have done a good job with the Stelvio. Values are not far off Q5 F Pace etc. They are rare and that is what is helping with values.

Sad they didn't to an estate but this was unlikely especially with going into the North American market

[ballans]

filski666 said:

Julian Scott said:

filski666 said:

I still don't understand what this does any better than an equivalent estate - or the X3 over a 3er Touring?

I mean, other than the obvious: worse fuel economy, smaller roof rack loading, more expensive tyres and other running costs, harder to park etc etc?

Easier to lift kids and their st into, greater load area, easier to park, better visibility.....but you knew all of that.

SUVs don't have greater load area than estates, not sure what makes you think that?
Estates are generally smaller than SUVs - width etc, so SUVs are harder to park and get kids into as harder to open doors in a busy car park
better visibility? only cause higher - but tend to be more chunky with ridiculously poor rear view, and if you need to be up in the air to be able to drive, I would suggest you probably need some training.

you want an example - 3er Touring to X3

X3 has 50 litres bigger luggage capacity - BUT is 70mm wider (so harder to park) and 236mm higher (so harder to get into some multistorey carparks - put roof bars on it and it would struggle to get into some of my local carparks and my local tip which have a 1.7m restriction)

but - a passat estate to the X3 is 60mm narrower, 160mm lower (the areas that make it hard to park) and only 65mm longer (length rarely an issue with parking) and it has 100 litres MORE than the X3 - and that space isn't stacked high as in an SUV, so more useable.

I hear what you are saying and for driving enjoyment the estate wins every time. However, having owned a Freelander and BMW 5 series estate at the same time the Freelander is much more child and family friendly. Everything is a bit more upright which seems to work better. The extra height definitely helps with loading/unloading and easier to changes nappies in the boot. The visibility out of an estate in the back is also very poor so vomit was much more likely.
I also had a 997 at the same time and that was surprisingly practical. Unfortunately any spirited driving would result in instant bodily evacuation (Both ends) which once soaked through the kiddie seat would collect nicely in the rear seat bases.

Edited by ballans on Wednesday 29th March 18:28