• It’s big enough for most families
• Well-sized boot (unless it’s the PHEV)
• Roomy for two in the rear

How much space is there?

The Tonale is as commodious as most of its rivals, with rear head- and legroom, actually quite impressive. However, it is quite dark inside, which can feel claustrophobic, and some drivers and front passengers have complained of feeling too close to the doors. With the raised centre console acting like a divider, it’s certainly quite an intimate-feeling interior space.

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As with most rivals, the Tonale is not a car you’d want to take three rear-seat passengers on a long journey, but it’s more than acceptable for two – made even better by not optioning the headroom-sapping panoramic roof. Those with young families may need to note the depth of the rear seat squab, which may make the back seat incompatible with some Isofix base units.

Boot space and storage

Boot space varies depending on the model you opt for. Mild hybrid models can carry 500 litres of clobber, which is competitive for the segment. That’s around 50 litres more than the Volvo XC40, five litres more than the Mercedes-Benz GLA and just 20 litres less than the commodious Volkswagen Tiguan.

However, the plug-in hybrid Tonale can only carry 385 litres, as the larger battery pack and the electric motor on the rear axle eats into the available space. To put that figure into perspective, that’s about the same space available in a Renault Clio and a whopping 71 litres less than you get in the Ford Puma. But neither of those smaller cars will do 40 miles on electric power.

Rear seats split to a 60/40 ratio, which is less useful than the 40/20/40 found on many rivals.

Is it easy to park?

The Tonale is not much larger than a typical family hatchback, but you might find the additional width makes parking spaces more difficult to negotiate, especially as the view out of the car isn’t great. The big alloy wheels feel particularly vulnerable to high kerbs on this basis.

Various camera systems are available to help with this, but the wide-angle rear camera view with no guidelines is almost more off-putting than not having this at all. Go for the 360-degree view version, if you can, as this allows you to position the car using an overhead perspective.

Safety

• Five-star Euro NCAP safety rating
• Standard equipment list very impressive
• Excellent driver-assistance technology

The Tonale scores well in this department, receiving a full five-star Euro NCAP rating in 2022. Forming the overall result, it scored 83% for adult occupant protection and a 85% score for child occupant safety.

Standard safety kit includes forward collision warning with autonomous emergency braking (AEB), traffic sign recognition and driver attention alert. Its driver-assistance package includes intelligent adaptive cruise control, which we found works very well on the motorway.

The autonomous braking system detects pedestrians and cyclists as well as other vehicles.

Watch: Alfa Romeo Tonale Euro NCAP crash test video