The 2026 Alfa Romeo Tonale Is Quietly Fixing The Hornet’s Biggest Problems

The relationship between the European and American sides of Stellantis has always been confusing. On one hand, you have the Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, and Ram side hoping to be successful in Europe, while brands like Alfa Romeo and Maserati are somewhat left in limbo. Guess that’s hard when you’re managing 14 automotive brands and subbrands.

This couldn’t be any truer than with the Alfa Romeo Tonale and Dodge Hornet. Both cars are essentially the same, with the Alfa side doing much of the development work. Alfa placed its bets on the Tonale to make the brand more popular in the United States. A couple of years after its release, it has largely failed in that duty. Can this 2026 facelift turn things around?

Meaningful Updates For 2026

The Alfa Romeo Tonale has been given a mid-cycle facelift for 2026, and it aims to keep the vehicle relevant with newer competitors. The question is, are these updates enough to keep the vehicle competitive in this already crowded segment?

Added Italian Flair

Changes to the Alfa Romeo Tonale’s design are quite noticeable. Right up front, you’ll spot a new, concave scudetto grille inspired by the 33 Stradale sports car. This is coupled with equally larger lower air intakes. The front bumper echoes the design of the European-exclusive Junior small SUV, bringing in a sense of design cohesion across the Alfa Romeo lineup. The sense of athleticism is emphasized by its shorter front overhangs, though the rear end, however, remains largely the same.

For the American market, three trims will be sold: Sprint, Veloce, and Sport Speciale. The $36,995 Sprint already comes with LED lights, gloss black exterior accents, and 18-inch wheels. The mid-spec $41,495 Veloce comes with larger 19-inch wheels and red Brembo brake calipers. Lastly, the range-topping Sport Speciale (as shown in red), also for $41,495, comes with 20-inch wheels, along with gloss black Brembo brake calipers.

Incremental Interior Improvements

Changes to the interior of the 2026 Alfa Romeo Tonale are a lot more minor. That’s perhaps the reason why Alfa Romeo clearly mentioned new and more premium interior materials, such as added contrast stitching on the doors, dash, and armrests. Worth noting as well is the redesigned center console, wherein you also now get an electronic rotary gear selector, as well as a new decorative trim on the dash that features a new pattern for the ambient LED lights. Lastly, red interior upholstery is now available.

Modern tech features like the standard-fit 12.5-inch digital gauges and 10.25-inch main infotainment screen still remain, with the latter featuring Amazon Alexa built in. The base Sprint comes with fabric interior upholstery, with contrasting stitching and the Biscione logo on the seat backs. Stepping up to the Veloce swaps the fabric for leather upholstery with ventilation, along with a hands-free powered tailgate. Lastly, the range-topping Sport Speciale adds perforated Alcantara and leather seats, along with a black Alcantara-wrapped dash. Of course, there are a few optional extras to make the Tonale even more posh, such as the $750 Harman Kardon premium audio, the $1,500 moonroof, and the Active Assist Package, which, for $1,250, adds Active Driving Assist System, auto dimming mirror, parking sensors, and a 360-degree camera.

Reshuffled Powertrain

The powertrain of the 2026 Alfa Romeo Tonale has been reshuffled for the United States. Though it isn’t new, it is what you already saw in the Dodge Hornet.

Turbocharged Punch

That would be the 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder that produces a strong 268 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. This is sent to a standard all-wheel drive (AWD) system via a nine-speed automatic. Don’t expect any changes to the vehicle’s chassis or suspension tuning, though. It is still based on the same heavily reengineered platform of the outgoing Jeep Compass, but to Alfa Romeo’s credit, they’ve done a good job infusing their signature sporty driving dynamics into the vehicle. Speaking of which, for $350, the Sport Speciale can be fitted with Dual Mode adaptive suspension.

Plug-In Hybrid Out

Now, if you’re wondering what’s happening to the plug-in hybrid drivetrain, well, that’s going to disappear completely. The Tonale was initially offered solely as a plug-in hybrid, but that will be discontinued with this mid-cycle facelift. The plug-in hybrid drivetrain combines a turbocharged 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine and an electric motor at the rear axle, which results in a system output of 285 horsepower and 347 pound-feet of torque.

This is sent through the wheels via a six-speed automatic. With its 15.5 kWh battery, the Tonale plug-in hybrid can travel up to 33 miles in pure electric mode according to the EPA, while its combined energy efficiency rating is 77 MPGe. With the battery discharged, the hybrid system achieves a combined 29 MPG.

Picking Up Where The Hornet Left Off

The Dodge Hornet is essentially a rebadged Tonale, which is unfortunate for the Italian brand, because it was mostly them who did the work for the vehicle. As a result, you have a premium compact SUV that now needs to go to a lower price bracket due to the Dodge brand’s positioning, thus diluting the value of the more expensive Alfa Romeo Tonale.

Hornet Production Halted

When the Hornet was released, its more affordable pricing, not to mention the broader dealer network of Dodge versus Alfa Romeo, made it the more popular choice. In the entire 2024, the Hornet’s first full year, 20,559 units were sold versus just 3,383 for the Tonale. Not so good for the company that created the vehicle in the first place.

But that might not be a problem for Alfa Romeo anymore, as Stellantis has paused Hornet production since July, as reported by Automotive News. Blame tariffs for the decision, apparently, since the Hornet is made on the same Italian production line as the Tonale. This will make the Hornet a lot more expensive than mainstream rivals like the newly-launched RAV4 Hybrid, just to name a few. The keyword is “halt”, but we have a strong hunch that it’ll be a permanent decision.

Alfa Romeo’s Existential Crisis

In hindsight, though, the Tonale somewhat highlights Alfa Romeo’s existential crisis. The creation of the Hornet has already harmed Tonale sales, and it also devalued the supposed premium positioning of its Alfa Romeo sibling. This brings to mind Alfa Romeo’s aging lineup. The current Giulia and Stelvio, which are mechanically related models, will still remain until 2027. Their next-generation replacements, which were supposed to be full EVs, have been delayed due to a last-minute decision to introduce hybrid versions, thus extending development times.

At the moment, their latest vehicles include the Tonale and Junior, which are mass-market small SUVs. The problem with these vehicles is that Alfa Romeo’s vehicles are having difficulty making a mark in the already crowded segments in which they are already competing. Tonale sales in 2024, as we indicated, weren’t high, and that’s pretty much rock bottom already, as this vehicle’s sales in 2025 are already down. The German luxury automakers are also very competitive with the aggressive changes that they implement with their vehicles, which will further put Alfa Romeo in a more difficult position than it’s already in.

Source: Automotive News, Autocar