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

[86mmx70.4mm]

J4CKO said:

Whats wrong with sitting in the back, unrestrained, playing I Spy and breathing in healthy lung fulls of parental fag smoke like most of us did ?

The parcel shelf does look like a comfortable place to have a nap though. I remember doing the same in my dad's Granada back in the '70s.

[Angelo1985]

I reckon it’s a good idea, although a few of those things won’t last long with a kid around.
Now they just need to put this as an option for the Stelvio

[big_rob_sydney]

Is this a Halfrauds paid article?

[Mr Miata]

I wonder how much of this Alfa is based on a Fiat 500X or a MOPAR platform like Jeep / Dodge? Probably has the same engine.

Edited by Mr Miata on Thursday 30th March 00:49

[Mr Miata]

dunnoreally said:

A Bambini Toenail sounds like something you'd take antifungals for.

Tonal Babies Edition

I find it interesting when I pass a cafe or restaurant with an Italian name to translate what the Italian words mean. Often the name is something completely random like bottle, kitchen or hat, that the owner thought sounds cool in Italian. My favourite is “angry pasta”.

Punto = Point
Mito = Myth
cinquecento = 500
Uno = 1
Tipo = Guy
Brava = Good (feminine)
Quadrofogglio = Four leaf clover
Testarossa = Redhead
Miura = A breed of Spanish fighting bull from a particular ranch
Scuderia = Stable
Superleggera = Super light
Barchetta = Little boat
Mondiale = World
Countach = a dialect word for “what the fk !”
Lupo = Fox
Panda = A fluffy thing with black eyes that does Kung Fu

Edited by Mr Miata on Thursday 30th March 01:19

[Pepperpots]

Mito is a kind of portmanteau, made from Milano and Torino because the factory was between those two places. If it translates into something it's coincidence.

At least that's what I heard.

[trashbat]

Pepperpots said:

Mito is a kind of portmanteau, made from Milano and Torino because the factory was between those two places. If it translates into something it's coincidence.

At least that's what I heard.

This, but designed in Milan and built in Turin.

Also, Tipo means 'type'.

Edited by trashbat on Thursday 30th March 07:44

[Pepperpots]

Ah! Almost right then.

[trashbat]

Mr Miata said:

I wonder how much of this Alfa is based on a Fiat 500X or a MOPAR platform like Jeep / Dodge? Probably has the same engine.

Everything shares platforms these days so it doesn't mean all that much, but this shares a platform with the Jeep Compass. That in turn is the LWB version of the 500X and Renegade's platform. Dodge sell a Tonale badged as a Hornet which seems like a pretty stupid idea, but the rebadging is that way round.

The engines are all group shared as you'd expect, except the 2.0L - that we don't get - was at least developed by Alfa in the first place.

[MaestroTDI]

It had to be a mixed couple too.

[shih tzu faced]

trashbat said:

Pepperpots said:

Mito is a kind of portmanteau, made from Milano and Torino because the factory was between those two places. If it translates into something it's coincidence.

At least that's what I heard.

This, but designed in Milan and built in Turin.

When the Mito was first announced it was called Mi.To

This was about 2009/2010 (?) and the dot was meant to be all trendy and appeal to younger buyers with .com references and so on.

It was universally hated though and had to be hurriedly changed to Mito which as said is a mix of Milano and Torino, and happens to translate to Myth.

[spookly]

Cars I had when my kids were babies/toddlers:

• Fiat Coupe 20vt - was fine but slight pain in the arse having to lean into the rear to put them in seats
• Alfa 156 2.0 TS saloon - Main baby/toddler transport for a couple of years. Absolutely fine for babies/toddlers
• FFRR 4.6 - Was fine, but the height was actually more a hinderance than a help for kids to climb into.
• E39 525d saloon - Worked fine for babies/kids

You don't need a 4x4/SUV for babies or kids. They'll fit in anything. And you don't need to take 3 tons of stuff with you. Just a small changing bag and a pram.

[AlexIT]

Mr Miata said:

Countach = a dialect word for “what the fk !”

Edited by Mr Miata on Thursday 30th March 01:19

Actually it means more in the lines of "you can be sure" in the dialect of Piedmont.

The little story behind it (or probably one of the many stories) is that when Gandini presented the design, Ferruccio Lamborghini was not really convinced by the extreme shift from the Miura (designed by the same Gandini). So after long discussions between the Bolognese Lamborghini and the Turinese Gandini, when nearly convinced by the designer Lamborghini asked:
- "Ma sei sicuro che piacerà?" (are you sure people will like it?)
- "Countach!" (You can be sure!)

Not sure how we came from the baby's toenails to Lamborghini tough

[bennno]

has this press release come out 48 hours early?

[Julian Scott]

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.

Brilliant, you say SUVs don't have greater load area than estates, then give an example to prove they do.

You are allowed to say you just don't like, or just don't 'get' SUVs rather than trying to win a subjective argument with scientific proof.

[Julian Scott]

spookly said:

You don't need a 4x4/SUV for babies or kids. They'll fit in anything. And you don't need to take 3 tons of stuff with you. Just a small changing bag and a pram.

This is 100% true.

But just because you can get away with bare minimum requirements doesn't mean you should. My grandparents never had carpet in their house, doesn't mean than we shouldn't be so bourgeois as to carpet our homes.

None of us drive the cars we need. We drive the car we want. We chose the car that adds a bit more to basic need.

[Halmyre]

Stroudy1 said:

Lower it 100mm, reduce the price by £5k and, oh i dont know, maybe rename it the new Giulietta? Stop jacking everything up. It doesn't look right. Lowering of the Polestar 2 to make it look like a proper saloon, not as if its on the tyre fitters ramp, case in point...

I'd lower it by six feet, into a hole.

[Leins]

This little chap needs a lesson from one of my lot, and he’d quickly discover the most efficient way to destroy those expensive headphones would be with his foot

[carlo996]

What a pile. More lifestyle crap.

[Guy Morse]

For those that actually want the ultimate family wagon cars and suvs are just not up to the job. Get a VW transporter with the 3 front seat option, if you fold it down those in the back can see out with a big table in front of them. Perfect for changing nappies in the rain. This open air thing on the Alfa would get boring very quickly! Also a huge boot you can put a massive buggy, travel cot etc in whilst still up, not folded, makes life SO easy.