Compare the2024 Acura ZDXVS 2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Acura ZDX 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 ZDX and Tonale have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The ZDX 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 Acura ZDX 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 ZDX’s standard pretensioning seatbelts also sense rear collisions and remove slack from the seatbelts to help protect the occupants from whiplash and other injuries. The Tonale doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Both the ZDX and Tonale have rear cross-traffic warning, but the ZDX 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 ZDX 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 and available around view monitors.

The Acura ZDX weighs 1288 to 1919 pounds more than the Alfa Romeo Tonale. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

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

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Acura vehicles are more reliable than Alfa Romeo With 1 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Acura higher than Alfa Romeo.

The ZDX A-Spec’s standard electric motor produces 73 more horsepower (358 vs. 285) than the Tonale’s 1.3 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid. The ZDX A-Spec AWD’s standard electric motors produces 205 more horsepower (490 vs. 285) and 87 lbs.-ft. more torque (437 vs. 350) than the Tonale’s 1.3 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid. The ZDX Type S’ standard electric motors produces 215 more horsepower (500 vs. 285) and 194 lbs.-ft. more torque (544 vs. 350) than the Tonale’s 1.3 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

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

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

The ZDX can travel with zero emissions on a full charge for 278 to 313 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 Acura ZDX higher (10 out of 10) than the Alfa Romeo Tonale (6). This means the ZDX produces up to 12.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Tonale every 15,000 miles.

For better stopping power the ZDX Type S’ brake rotors are larger than those on the Tonale:

The ZDX’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.

For better traction, the ZDX has larger standard tires than the Tonale (265/50R20 vs. 225/55R18). The ZDX Type S’ tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Tonale (275/40R22 vs. 235/45R19).

The ZDX A-Spec’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series 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 ZDX A-Spec has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Tonale. The ZDX Type S’ 22-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels optional on the Tonale.

The Acura ZDX’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Alfa Romeo Tonale only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The ZDX 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.

Having a flat tire is dangerous, inconvenient and expensive. The self-sealing tires standard on the ZDX can automatically seal most punctures up to 3/16 of an inch, effectively preventing most flat tires. The Tonale doesn’t offer self-sealing tires.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the ZDX’s wheelbase is 18 inches longer than on the Tonale (121.8 inches vs. 103.8 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the ZDX is 4 inches wider in the front and 4.1 inches wider in the rear than on the Tonale.

For greater off-road capability the ZDX has a 1.4 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Tonale (7 vs. 5.6 inches), allowing the ZDX to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The ZDX has 11.8 inches more front hip room, 3.3 inches more front shoulder room, 1.4 inches more rear legroom, 12.8 inches more rear hip room and 3.2 inches more rear shoulder room than the Tonale.

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

The ZDX has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Tonale with its rear seat up (29.7 vs. 22.9 cubic feet). The ZDX has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Tonale with its rear seat folded (63 vs. 50.5 cubic feet).

The ZDX’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Tonale’s (3500 vs. 2000 pounds).

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Acura service is better than Alfa Romeo. J.D. Power ranks Acura 6th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 70% lower rating, Alfa Romeo is ranked 32nd.

Unlike the driver-only memory system optional at extra cost in the Tonale, the ZDX Type S has a passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The ZDX Type S has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, warning, navigation instruction, infotainment and driver assistance information 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 ZDX’s standard Keyless Access System 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.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the ZDX to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Tonale doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

When the ZDX 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 ZDX and the Tonale have standard heated front seats. The ZDX Type S 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 ZDX Type S has a 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 ZDX Type S’ Automatic Parking Assist 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 ZDX is available in both rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Tonale doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.