Compare the2024 Lincoln NautilusVS 2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Lincoln Nautilus 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.

Both the Nautilus and Tonale have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Nautilus 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 Lincoln Nautilus 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 Nautilus has standard Post Collision 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.

Both the Nautilus and Tonale have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Nautilus has Rear Cross Traffic Braking (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 Nautilus 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, 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 and driver alert monitors.

The Lincoln Nautilus has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2024 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Tonale has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

Lincoln’s powertrain warranty covers the Nautilus 2 years and 20,000 miles longer than Alfa Romeo covers the Tonale. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 6 years or 70,000 miles. Coverage on the Tonale ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are over 4 times as many Lincoln dealers as there are Alfa Romeo dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Nautilus’ warranty.

The Nautilus has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Tonale doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Lincoln vehicles are better in initial quality than Alfa Romeo vehicles. With 2 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Lincoln higher than Alfa Romeo.

The Nautilus’ optional 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 15 more horsepower (300 vs. 285) than the Tonale’s 1.3 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

On the EPA test cycle the Nautilus 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder Hybrid CVT gets better fuel mileage than the Tonale running its gasoline engine (30 city/31 hwy vs. 29 city/29 hwy).

The Nautilus Hybrid’s standard fuel tank has 8.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the Tonale (20.1 vs. 11.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Nautilus’ standard fuel tank has 9.1 gallons more fuel capacity than the Tonale (20.3 vs. 11.2 gallons).

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Lincoln Nautilus higher (7 out of 10) than the Alfa Romeo Tonale (6). This means the Nautilus produces up to 1.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Tonale every 15,000 miles.

An eight-speed automatic is standard on the Lincoln Nautilus, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a six-speed automatic is available for the Tonale.

The Nautilus has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Tonale doesn’t offer a CVT.

For better traction, the Nautilus has larger tires than the Tonale (255/60R19 vs. 225/55R18). The Nautilus’ tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Tonale (255/60R19 vs. 235/45R19).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Nautilus has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Tonale. The Nautilus’ optional 22-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels optional on the Tonale.

The Nautilus has a standard space-saver spare tire so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the Tonale; it requires you to depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

The Nautilus’ drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Tonale doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Nautilus’ wheelbase is 10.4 inches longer than on the Tonale (114.2 inches vs. 103.8 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Nautilus is 3 inches wider in the front and 3.1 inches wider in the rear than on the Tonale.

For greater off-road capability the Nautilus has a 2.3 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Tonale (7.9 vs. 5.6 inches), allowing the Nautilus to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Nautilus uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Tonale doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Nautilus has .8 inches more front headroom, 1.8 inches more front legroom, 2.5 inches more front hip room, 3.2 inches more front shoulder room, 1.6 inches more rear headroom, 5.1 inches more rear legroom, 2.8 inches more rear hip room and 3.2 inches more rear shoulder room than the Tonale.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Nautilus’ rear seats recline. The Tonale’s rear seats don’t recline.

The Nautilus has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Tonale with its rear seat up (36.4 vs. 22.9 cubic feet). The Nautilus has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Tonale with its rear seat folded (71.3 vs. 50.5 cubic feet).

The Nautilus Hybrid can be flat towed on all four wheels (dinghy towed), allowing recreational vehicle owners to bring it with them on the road. When they reach their destination, the Nautilus can be unhitched and driven around locally. The Tonale can’t be towed flat on the ground.

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

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Nautilus’ exterior PIN entry system. The Tonale doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its SOS Call can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

When the Nautilus 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 Nautilus and the Tonale have standard heated front seats. The Nautilus 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 Nautilus Black Label has standard massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Tonale.

The Nautilus’ standard oscillating air vents move back and forth and distribute air evenly inside the vehicle, making everyone more comfortable. The Tonale doesn’t offer oscillating vents.

The Nautilus offers an optional 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Tonale doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The Nautilus’ Active Park Assist 2.0 can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Tonale’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park.

The Lincoln Nautilus outsold the Alfa Romeo Tonale by almost 12 to one during 2023.