Alfa Romeo Tonale vs Cadillac XT4: the newcomer is the talk of the town

There's something new this year in the entry-level luxury SUV segment. Alfa Romeo has come up with a new product, the Tonale. Naturally, it competes with well-known stars such as the Cadillac XT4.

How does he cope with his new rivals?

Quite well, as you'll see, because it has several tricks up its sleeve.

Starting with styling. Admittedly, the Cadillac XT4 looks good, but how can a more traditionally styled vehicle compete with Alfa Romeo's design flair? One look at the Tonale's unique grille is enough to make you take notice of it, whereas the XT4's grille reminds you of... not much in particular.

And it's the whole cut of the vehicle, too, that's sportier. In short, the Tonale is already a step ahead in this respect.

When it comes to electrification, the Cadillac XT4 offers its customers nothing. Even if it benefits from some tweaks this year, its 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine remains unchanged, with 237 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque. With the Tonale, you have two solutions: a 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine (268 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque), but more importantly, a 1.3-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder block that's married to electric components and a 15.5 kWh battery, all to deliver 53 kilometers of electric range. And superior performance, with 285 hp and 347 lb-ft of torque.

Needless to say, fuel savings are greater with the Tonale than with the XT4.

Then there's the driving experience, which puts the Alfa Romeo in a class of its own. Its driving experience is far more inspiring and engaging than that of the XT4, which puts comfort first, but at the expense of sportiness. The Alfa Romeo Tonale offers a perfect compromise between smoothness and agility, making it even more fun to drive.

Our Alfa Romeo Tonale is such an interesting new player that we invite you to take it for a test drive and compare the driving experience with other models in the segment. Drive the others and then try out the Tonale; you'll realize that you're in another Alfa Romeo product.