Compare the2025 Ford Escape PHEVVS 2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Ford Escape PHEV 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 Escape PHEV 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 Escape PHEV and Tonale have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Escape PHEV 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 Escape PHEV 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.

Ford’s powertrain warranty covers the Escape PHEV 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.

There are over 23 times as many Ford dealers as there are Alfa Romeo dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Escape PHEV’s warranty.

The Escape PHEV 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.

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 Escape PHEV’s reliability 13 points higher than the Tonale.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Ford vehicles are better in initial quality than Alfa Romeo vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford above average in initial quality. With 47 more problems per 100 vehicles, Alfa Romeo is rated below average.

On the EPA test cycle the Escape PHEV running on electricity gets better mileage than the Tonale running on electricity (111 city/91 hwy vs. 77 city/77 hwy MPGe).

On the EPA test cycle the Escape PHEV running its gasoline engine gets better fuel mileage than the Tonale running its gasoline engine (42 city/37 hwy vs. 29 city/29 hwy).

The Escape PHEV can travel with zero emissions on electricity, only, on a full charge for 37 miles. The Tonale has to start its internal combustion engine after only 33 miles.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Ford Escape PHEV uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Tonale requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Ford Escape PHEV higher (8 out of 10) than the Alfa Romeo Tonale (6). This means the Escape PHEV produces up to 6.6 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Tonale every 15,000 miles.

The Escape PHEV 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.

The Escape PHEV 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.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Escape PHEV’s wheelbase is 2.9 inches longer than on the Tonale (106.7 inches vs. 103.8 inches).

For better maneuverability, the Escape PHEV’s turning circle is .7 feet tighter than the Tonale’s (37.2 feet vs. 37.9 feet).

The Ford Escape PHEV may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 250 pounds less than the Alfa Romeo Tonale.

The front grille of the Escape PHEV 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 Escape PHEV has 1.2 inches more front headroom, .7 inches more front legroom, .9 inches more front hip room, 1.9 inches more front shoulder room, 1.1 inches more rear headroom, .9 inches more rear legroom and 1.2 inches more rear shoulder room than the Tonale.

The Escape PHEV has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Tonale with its rear seat up (34.4 vs. 22.9 cubic feet). The Escape PHEV has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Tonale with its rear seat folded (60.8 vs. 50.5 cubic feet).

The Escape PHEV 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 Escape PHEV can be unhitched and driven around locally. The Tonale can’t be towed flat on the ground.

The Escape PHEV offers an optional 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.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Escape PHEV’s available 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.

The Escape PHEV’s optional 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 Ford Escape outsold the Alfa Romeo Tonale by over 67 to one during 2023.