Compare the2024 Volvo XC40 RechargeVS 2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Volvo XC40 Recharge have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Alfa Romeo Tonale doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The XC40 Recharge’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Tonale doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the XC40 Recharge and Tonale have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The XC40 Recharge Ultimate has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Tonale’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The XC40 Recharge has a standard Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS), which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the WHIPS allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. At the same time the pretensioning seatbelts fire, removing slack from the belts. The Tonale doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The XC40 Recharge has standard Post-impact braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Tonale doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the XC40 Recharge’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Tonale doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

Both the XC40 Recharge and Tonale have rear cross-traffic warning, but the XC40 Recharge has Braking Intervention (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Tonale’s Rear Cross-Path Detection doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the XC40 Recharge and the Tonale have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

For its top level performance in all IIHS frontal, side, rear impact and roof-crush tests, and its standard front crash prevention system, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the XC40 Recharge the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2017, a rating granted to only 207 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Tonale has not been tested, yet.

The XC40 Recharge’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the Tonale’s (12 vs. 5 years).

Volvo pays for scheduled maintenance on the XC40 Recharge for 4 years and 40,000 miles. Volvo will pay for cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Alfa Romeo only pays for the first scheduled maintenance visit on the Tonale.

There are over 2 times as many Volvo dealers as there are Alfa Romeo dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the XC40 Recharge’s warranty.

The XC40 Recharge Twin Motor’s optional electric motors produces 117 more horsepower (402 vs. 285) and 144 lbs.-ft. more torque (494 vs. 350) than the Tonale’s 1.3 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

As tested in Motor Trend the XC40 Recharge Twin Motor electric motors is faster than the Alfa Romeo Tonale:

On the EPA test cycle the XC40 Recharge gets better mileage than the Tonale running on electricity:

On the EPA test cycle the XC40 Recharge gets better mileage than the Tonale running its gasoline engine:

The XC40 Recharge can travel with zero emissions on a full charge for 254 to 293 miles. The Tonale has to start its internal combustion engine after only 33 miles.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Volvo XC40 Recharge higher (10 out of 10) than the Alfa Romeo Tonale (6). This means the XC40 Recharge produces up to 12.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Tonale every 15,000 miles.

For better traction, the XC40 Recharge has larger tires than the Tonale (F:235/50R19 & R:255/45R19 vs. 225/55R18).

The XC40 Recharge’s standard 235/50R19 front and 255/45R19 rear tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series front and 45 series rear profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Tonale’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the XC40 Recharge has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Tonale.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the XC40 Recharge’s wheelbase is 2.6 inches longer than on the Tonale (106.4 inches vs. 103.8 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the XC40 Recharge is .8 inches wider in the front and 1.4 inches wider in the rear than on the Tonale.

The XC40 Recharge AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Tonale Veloce (26.3 seconds @ .7 average G’s vs. 26.7 seconds @ .68 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the XC40 Recharge has a 1.3 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Tonale (6.9 vs. 5.6 inches), allowing the XC40 Recharge to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The XC40 Recharge is 4.1 inches shorter than the Tonale, making the XC40 Recharge easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The XC40 Recharge has .4 inches more front hip room, 1 inch more front shoulder room, .1 inches more rear headroom, 1.1 inches more rear hip room and 1.5 inches more rear shoulder room than the Tonale.

The XC40 Recharge has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Tonale with its rear seat folded (57.5 vs. 50.5 cubic feet).

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the XC40 Recharge. The Tonale doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The XC40 Recharge offers available headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Tonale doesn’t offer headlight washers.

When the XC40 Recharge is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Tonale’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

Both the XC40 Recharge and the Tonale have standard heated front seats. The XC40 Recharge also offers optional heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Tonale.

The XC40 Recharge is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Tonale doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

The Volvo XC40 outsold the Alfa Romeo Tonale by over 13 to one during 2023.