Compare the2026 Volkswagen TiguanVS 2025 Alfa Romeo Tonale

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Volkswagen Tiguan 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 Tiguan 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.

The Tiguan 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.

The Tiguan has a standard Automatic Post-Collision Braking System, which automatically applies 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.

The Volkswagen Tiguan’s rear backup camera has a standard washer for maintaining a clear view under various conditions. In contrast, the Alfa Romeo Tonale does not offer a rear camera washer, meaning its effectiveness relies on manual cleaning by the user when necessary.

Both the Tiguan and Tonale have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Tiguan has Rear Traffic Alert (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 Tiguan 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 Tiguan’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Tonale’s (7 vs. 5 years).

Volkswagen pays for scheduled maintenance on the Tiguan for 2 years and 20,000 miles. Volkswagen will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Alfa Romeo doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Tonale.

There are almost 6 times as many Volkswagen dealers as there are Alfa Romeo dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Tiguan’s warranty.

The Volkswagen Tiguan’s engines use a cast iron block for durability, while the Tonale’s engines use an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

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

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

The Tiguan FWD’s standard fuel tank has 3.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the Tonale 1.3 PHEV’s standard fuel tank (14.5 vs. 11.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Tiguan AWD’s standard fuel tank has 2.1 gallons more fuel capacity than the Tonale 2.0T’s standard fuel tank (15.6 vs. 13.5 gallons).

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Volkswagen Tiguan higher (6 out of 10) than the Alfa Romeo Tonale (5 to 6). This means the Tiguan produces up to 6.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Tonale every 15,000 miles.

The Tiguan SEL R-Line Turbo’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 Tiguan’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Tonale (255/40R20 vs. 235/45R19).

The Tiguan 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 Tiguan’s wheelbase is 6.1 inches longer than on the Tonale (109.9 inches vs. 103.8 inches).

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

The Tiguan has .7 inches more front headroom, .1 inches more front hip room, 1.3 inches more front shoulder room, 1.5 inches more rear headroom, 2.2 inches more rear legroom and .9 inches more rear shoulder room than the Tonale.

The Tiguan has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Tonale with its rear seat up (33.8 vs. 27 cubic feet). The Tiguan has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Tonale with its rear seat folded (69.8 vs. 54.7 cubic feet).

Pulling a handle automatically lowers the Tiguan’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Tonale doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

Standard trailer stability control on the Tiguan uses the Electronic Stability Control sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The Tonale doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

Unlike the driver-only memory system optional at extra cost in the Tonale, the Tiguan SEL has standard driver and passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The Tiguan R-Line has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, 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.

When the Tiguan SEL is put in reverse, the passenger rearview mirror tilts from its original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirror into its original position. The Tonale’s mirror doesn’t automatically adjust for backing.

Both the Tiguan and the Tonale have standard heated front seats. The Tiguan SEL 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 Tiguan SEL has standard massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Tonale.

The Tiguan SEL’s Park Assist Plus 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 Tiguan is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Tonale doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

The Volkswagen Tiguan outsold the Alfa Romeo Tonale by over 24 to one during 2024.