As if the small, premium crossover segment wasn’t crowded enough, it’s gaining yet another competitor. Some new photos have leaked, showing off the upcoming Alfa Romeo Tonale, a small crossover to take on the BMW X2, Audi Q3 and Volvo XC40. While we don’t know exactly when it will debut, it’s likely to go on sale sometime late next year. (We don’t own the leaked photos but you can see them here)

In these new leaked photos, you can see the Alfa Romeo Tonale quite clearly, likely far ahead of its reveal. It wasn’t long ago that we saw the Tonale Concept, which was a sleek and sexy little crossover. While this production-ready version isn’t as pretty as the concept on which it’s based, it does have a similar look and is quite handsome. Though, it is an Alfa product, would you expect anything different?

At the front, it gets Alfa’s traditional triangular grille but with new headlights that flank it. It’s much more flat and horizontal up front than cars like the Giulia and Stelvio. At the back, a new rear taillight bar spans the entire width of the rear end and features three individual lights on either side. Overall, it looks pretty good and could be a very tough competitor for the BMW X2. Style plays a huge roll for cars in this segment and the Alfa Romeo Tonale seems to have style.

While Alfa’s other cars are rear-wheel drive-based, this new Tonale will be front-wheel drive based with an all-wheel drive option. We don’t know if it’s a bespoke Alfa Romeo chassis but we doubt it. It’s likely a similar chassis to the front-wheel drive one used in the Jeep Renegade.

No word on powertrains just yet but the Alfa Romoe Tonale is likely to get a plug-in hybrid version. It will be Alfa’s first hybrid car, making it an important one for the brand. Now word on pricing, either, but it’s expected to start in the low $30,000-range.

It will be interesting to see how this car turns out. Customers like the idea of buying something exotic and Italian, so the ability to buy one that also fits their budget and their practicality needs should bring a lot of them into showrooms. We’ll see soon enough.

[Source: Car and Driver]