Compare the2025 Honda CR-VVS 2025 Alfa Romeo Tonale

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Honda CR-V have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The Alfa Romeo Tonale doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the CR-V are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Tonale doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the CR-V deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The CR-V’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Tonale’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Honda CR-V achieved a “Acceptable” rating - the second highest possible - for its performance in forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, demonstrating its excellent capabilities in preventing collisions. The Alfa Romeo Tonale has not been tested.

Both the CR-V and the Tonale have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive, blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.

The Honda CR-V 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.

Honda’s powertrain warranty covers the CR-V 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 almost 9 times as many Honda dealers as there are Alfa Romeo dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the CR-V’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 Honda CR-V Hybrid’s reliability 25 points higher than the Tonale and the Honda CR-V is rated 31 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 Honda vehicles are better in initial quality than Alfa Romeo vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Honda above average in initial quality. With 45 more problems per 100 vehicles, Alfa Romeo is rated below average.

On the EPA test cycle the CR-V gets better mileage than the Tonale running its gasoline engine:

The CR-V has 2.8 gallons more fuel capacity than the Tonale (14 vs. 11.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Honda CR-V higher (6 to 7 out of 10) than the Alfa Romeo Tonale (5). This means the CR-V produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Tonale every 15,000 miles.

The CR-V 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 CR-V stops shorter than the Tonale:

For better traction, the CR-V has larger tires than the Tonale (235/60R18 vs. 225/55R18).

The CR-V has a standard space-saver spare (not available on Hybrid) 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 CR-V’s wheelbase is 2.5 inches longer than on the Tonale (106.3 inches vs. 103.8 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the CR-V is 1.1 inches wider in the front and 1.8 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Tonale.

For better maneuverability, the CR-V’s turning circle is .6 feet tighter than the Tonale’s (37.3 feet vs. 37.9 feet).

For greater off-road capability the CR-V has a 2.6 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Tonale (8.2 vs. 5.6 inches), allowing the CR-V to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Honda CR-V may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 200 to 650 pounds less than the Alfa Romeo Tonale.

The front grille of the CR-V 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 CR-V 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 CR-V has 1.2 inches more front headroom, 1.3 inches more front hip room, 2.2 inches more front shoulder room, 3 inches more rear legroom and 1.1 inches more rear shoulder room than the Tonale.

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

The CR-V has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Tonale with its rear seat up (39.3 vs. 22.9 cubic feet). The CR-V has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Tonale with its rear seat folded (76.5 vs. 50.5 cubic feet).

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the CR-V. The Tonale doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the CR-V has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Tonale only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

The CR-V 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 Honda CR-V, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Alfa Romeo Tonale isn't recommended.

The CR-V was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “5Best Trucks/10Best” for 2025 and 5 more times in the last 24 years. The Tonale has never been chosen by Car and Driver in their “10Best” issue.

Motor Trend selected the CR-V as their 2018 Sport Utility of the Year. The Tonale has never been chosen.

The Honda CR-V outsold the Alfa Romeo Tonale by almost 104 to one during 2024.