Here's the Alfa Romeo Tonale SUV in Production Form

From Road & Track

The new Alfa Romeo Tonale small SUV is getting closer to reality. We saw it first in concept form earlier this year, and now the first images of the production car have leaked out. Alfa Romeo refuses to say whether these images are legit, but given its close resemblance to the concept car, we're thinking this must be it.

While the vehicle in the leaked photos is certainly more ordinary-looking than the bright-red, flashy concept, the gray Tonale in these photos does display classic Alfa design cues, such as the brand's distinctive grille shape and sharply creased sheetmetal along the body sides.

The Tonale will be smaller than the Stelvio and will compete with such vehicles as the BMW X1/X2, Audi Q3, and Volvo XC40. In contrast to the Stelvio and Giulia, which have a rear-whee-drive platform, the Tonale will be based on a front-wheel-drive architecture, although we're not exactly sure which one. Alfa Romeo has also said that the Tonale will offer a hybrid powertrain of some sort, though we don't know if that means a plug-in or just a conventional hybrid. In addition to the hybrid, we expect it will come with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. We're sure it will offer all-wheel drive, possibly as an option, and it will likely be priced starting in the $30,000 range.

Alfa Romeo is being tightlipped about when the Tonale will arrive, but we predict that we'll see it either late this year or early next year. That means that—if it comes to the U.S., which we suspect it will—it will likely go on sale here as a 2021 model.

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