Compare the2024 Nissan AriyaVS 2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Nissan Ariya 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 Nissan Ariya 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 Ariya Platinum+ has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Tonale doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

Both the Ariya 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.

The Nissan Ariya achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Tonale has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

Nissan’s powertrain warranty covers the Ariya 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Alfa Romeo covers the Tonale. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the Tonale ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

Nissan pays for scheduled maintenance on the Ariya for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Nissan 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 9 times as many Nissan dealers as there are Alfa Romeo dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Ariya’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 Ariya’s reliability 32 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 Nissan vehicles are more reliable than Alfa Romeo With 40 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Nissan higher than Alfa Romeo.

The Ariya’s optional electric motors produces 50 more horsepower (335 vs. 285) and 63 lbs.-ft. more torque (413 vs. 350) than the Tonale’s 1.3 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid. The Ariya Engage+/Evolve+/Platinum+’s standard electric motors produces 104 more horsepower (389 vs. 285) and 92 lbs.-ft. more torque (442 vs. 350) than the Tonale’s 1.3 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

As tested in Consumer Reports the Ariya Engage+/Evolve+/Platinum+ electric motors is faster than the Alfa Romeo Tonale:

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

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

The Ariya can travel with zero emissions on a full charge for 205 to 304 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 Nissan Ariya higher (10 out of 10) than the Alfa Romeo Tonale (6). This means the Ariya produces up to 12.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Tonale every 15,000 miles.

For better stopping power the Ariya + e-4ORCE’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Tonale:

The Ariya’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 Ariya stops shorter than the Tonale:

For better traction, the Ariya has larger standard tires than the Tonale (235/55R19 vs. 225/55R18). The Ariya Platinum+’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Tonale (245/45R20 vs. 235/45R19).

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

The Ariya has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Tonale doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Ariya’s wheelbase is 5.5 inches longer than on the Tonale (109.3 inches vs. 103.8 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Ariya is 2.1 inches wider in the front and 2.2 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Tonale.

The Ariya Platinum+ executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Tonale Veloce (26.3 seconds @ .71 average G’s vs. 26.7 seconds @ .68 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Ariya’s turning circle is 2.5 feet tighter than the Tonale’s (35.4 feet vs. 37.9 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Ariya has a 1.1 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Tonale (6.7 vs. 5.6 inches), allowing the Ariya to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Ariya Platinum+ 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 Ariya has .8 inches more front headroom, .6 inches more front legroom, 1.7 inches more front hip room, 1.4 inches more front shoulder room, .1 inches more rear headroom and 1.1 inches more rear shoulder room than the Tonale.

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

The Ariya has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Tonale with its rear seat folded (59.7 vs. 50.5 cubic feet).

Unlike the driver-only memory system optional at extra cost in the Tonale, the Ariya Platinum+ has a passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position (with optional power wheel adjuster) and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The Ariya Engage/Evolve+/Empower+/Platinum+ has a standard heads-up display that projects speed 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.

The Ariya’s standard Intelligent Key allows you to unlock the doors from any outside door handle, open the cargo door, and start the vehicle, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Keyless-Enter-n-Go standard on the Tonale doesn’t offer a sensor on the rear doors, so you’ll have to reach a front handle to unlock the rear door.

When the Ariya Platinum+ 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 Ariya and the Tonale offer available heated front seats. The Ariya Engage/Evolve+/Empower+/Platinum+ also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Tonale.

The Ariya Empower+/Platinum+’s ProPILOT Park 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 Ariya is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Tonale doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Nissan Ariya, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Alfa Romeo Tonale isn't recommended.

The Nissan Ariya outsold the Alfa Romeo Tonale by over six to one during 2023.