Compare the2024 BMW iXVS 2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale

The iX’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 iX and Tonale have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The iX 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 BMW iX has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Tonale doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The iX’s standard pretensioning seatbelts also sense rear collisions and remove slack from the front seatbelts to help protect the occupants from whiplash and other injuries. The Tonale doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The iX has a standard PostCrash iBrake, which automatically applies 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.

Both the iX and Tonale have rear cross-traffic warning, but the iX has Cross Traffic Warning with braking function (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 iX and the Tonale have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, 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.

The BMW iX weighs 1526 to 1636 pounds more than the Alfa Romeo Tonale. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

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

BMW pays for scheduled maintenance on the iX for 3 years and 36,000 miles. BMW will pay for tire rotations, 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 almost 3 times as many BMW dealers as there are Alfa Romeo dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the iX’s warranty.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the iX’s reliability 29 points higher than the Tonale.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that BMW vehicles are more reliable than Alfa Romeo vehicles. J.D. Power ranks BMW above average in long-term dependability. With 5 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Alfa Romeo is rated below average.

The iX xDrive50’s standard electric motors produces 231 more horsepower (516 vs. 285) and 214 lbs.-ft. more torque (564 vs. 350) than the Tonale’s 1.3 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid. The iX M60’s standard electric motors produces 325 more horsepower (610 vs. 285) and 399 lbs.-ft. more torque (749 vs. 350) than the Tonale’s 1.3 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

As tested in Motor Trend the BMW iX is faster than the Alfa Romeo Tonale:

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

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

The iX can travel with zero emissions on a full charge for 274 to 307 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 BMW iX higher (10 out of 10) than the Alfa Romeo Tonale (6). This means the iX produces up to 12.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Tonale every 15,000 miles.

The iX’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s at 60 in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The Tonale doesn’t offer launch control.

For better stopping power the iX’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Tonale:

The iX’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Tonale are solid, not vented.

The iX stops shorter than the Tonale:

For better traction, the iX has larger standard tires than the Tonale (235/60R20 vs. 225/55R18). The iX’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Tonale (275/40R22 vs. 235/45R19).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the iX has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Tonale. The iX’s optional 22-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels optional on the Tonale.

The iX M60 has a standard automatic front and rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The iX’s height leveling suspension allows the driver to raise ride height for better off-road clearance and then lower it again for easier entering and exiting and better on-road handling. The Tonale doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the iX’s wheelbase is 14.3 inches longer than on the Tonale (118.1 inches vs. 103.8 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the iX is 3.8 inches wider in the front and 5 inches wider in the rear than on the Tonale.

The iX xDrive50 handles at .88 G’s, while the Tonale Veloce pulls only .86 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The iX M60 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.2 seconds quicker than the Tonale Veloce (25.5 seconds @ .74 average G’s vs. 26.7 seconds @ .68 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the iX has a 3.2 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Tonale (8.8 vs. 5.6 inches), allowing the iX to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The front grille of the iX uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Tonale doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The iX has 2.7 inches more front headroom, 5.8 inches more front shoulder room, 1.3 inches more rear headroom, .9 inches more rear legroom and 3.5 inches more rear shoulder room than the Tonale.

The iX has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Tonale with its rear seat up (35.5 vs. 22.9 cubic feet). The iX has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Tonale with its rear seat folded (77.9 vs. 50.5 cubic feet).

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that BMW service is better than Alfa Romeo. J.D. Power ranks BMW 7th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 65% lower rating, Alfa Romeo is ranked 32nd.

The iX’s standard easy entry system raises the steering wheel, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. An easy entry system costs extra on the Tonale.

The iX offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed, warning and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Tonale doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

Laser headlights, optional on the iX, produce their light by firing blue lasers through phosphorus, a process that uses one-half the power of the Tonale’s LED headlights. Laser headlights can have double the range of LEDs with a much smaller surface area.

When the iX is put in reverse, the passenger rearview mirror tilts from its original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirror into its original position. The Tonale’s mirror doesn’t automatically adjust for backing.

Both the iX and the Tonale have standard heated front seats. The iX 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 iX offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Tonale.

The iX’s optional Automatic Parking Assistant can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Parking Assistant Professional will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Tonale’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park and it doesn’t offer remote control parking.

Consumer Reports® recommends the BMW iX, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The BMW iX outsold the Alfa Romeo Tonale by over 8 to one during 2023.