New Alfa Romeo Tonale vs Range Rover Evoque: costs
On paper, Alfa Romeo's new hybrid family SUV ticks all the right boxes. But now we've pitted it against one of the best of the breed to see how it stacks up in reality...
Buying and owning
Costs, equipment, reliability, safety and security
As we alluded to earlier, these PHEVs will be of particular interest to company car users, with the Alfa Romeo Tonale being the most financially enticing. Its longer official electric range and lower CO2 emissions place it in a lower benefit-in-kind tax band than the Range Rover Evoque.
Assuming you’re a 40% taxpayer and you run the car for three years, the Tonale will cost you £129 per month from 2023-2025, rising to £145 in 2025-2026. The Evoque will cost around a third more, at £195 and £211 per month respectively over the same periods.
Although the Evoque has the higher list price, private buyers can get such a hefty discount on it by using our free online New Car Buying service that it ends up actually undercutting the Tonale, which is too new to be discounted yet.
Our experts predict that the Evoque will hold on to more of its value over the years, too. Not only does that mean private buyers will see more of their money back when they come to sell, but it also results in markedly cheaper PCP finance payments. A four-year deal with a £5000 deposit and 10,000-mile annual limit will cost £612 per month, compared with £676 a month for the Tonale.
In addition, the Evoque will be cheaper to service, but the Tonale has the edge when it comes to fuel efficiency; with the battery empty, it returned 32.5mpg on test, versus the Evoque’s 32.1mpg.
The Tonale doesn’t provide you with a Type 2 cable (for use with typical 7.4kW home chargers) like you get with the Evoque; you’ll need to budget an additional £350 if you require one as well as the standard three-pin cable. That 7.4kW charging speed is the maximum rate at which the Tonale can take on electricity, whereas the Evoque’s battery can be topped up at a rate of up to 32kW from a public charger.
If you charge daily to offset petrol consumption, the Tonale will cost 14.5p per mile (based on our real-world range and assuming 40-mile average journeys, with electricity at the current capped rate of 34p/kWh and petrol at £1.47 per litre), beating the Evoque’s 16.4p. Bear in mind, though, that those figures will vary depending on the length of your commute.
Neither brand performed well in the latest What Car? Reliability Survey; among the 32 manufacturers featured, Alfa Romeo ranked 29th overall, while Land Rover was 31st.
The safety experts at Euro NCAP awarded the Tonale and Evoque five-star ratings, with both doing a good job of protecting both adult and child occupants. Direct comparisons are tricky, though, because the Evoque was tested in 2019 when the tests weren’t as strict as they are now. However, the Tonale’s driver aids are better at recognising cyclists, while the Evoque does a better job of protecting pedestrians in impacts.
Best family SUVs 2024: our favourite SUVs for kids and cargo
Want practicality, class and an elevated driving position in a relatively compact and affordable package? These are the top 10 cars you should be looking at – and the ones that are best avoided
