Debut Of The Alfa Romeo Tonale Unlocks Details About Upcoming Dodge Hornet C-SUV!

While yesterday’s unveiling of the all-new 2023 Alfa Romeo Tonale was important for the Alfa Romeo brand, it proved to be equally as important to the Dodge brand. That is because when the Tonale enters production at the Stellantis Pomigliano d’Arco Assembly Plant on the outskirts of Naples, Italy, it will be joined by an all-new stablemate – the 2023 Dodge Hornet (codenamed “GG”).

Set to replace the hole in the lineup left by the Dodge Journey, the Hornet will be something new entirely. Instead of being a three-row D-SUV like the Journey, the Hornet will instead be a smaller two-row C-SUV and aimed more at performance than the vehicle it replaces. Hornet will become the first-ever Dodge electrified vehicle when it hits showrooms in 2023.

Size – 

Following in the footsteps of the Tonale, the all-new Hornet will be based on the Stellantis Small Wide 4×4 LWB architecture, which currently underpins vehicles like the Jeep® Compass, Jeep Commander, and Fiat Toro. The important thing to look at is the Tonale’s overall size when compared to other SUVs. The all-new Dodge compact SUV should feature similar dimensions as the Tonale. 

As you can see in the chart above, the new 2022 Jeep Commander (H1) is very similar in size to the 2020 Dodge Journey (other than 4.6 inches in length). The Tonale is longer than the Compass but is narrower and lower than the popular Jeep C-SUV. Given that the Hornet is expected to be focused on the North American market, we expect it to be just slightly wider than the Tonale, but it should be longer and shorter than the Compass when it arrives in dealers.

New Powertrain Details – 

Yesterday, we got to see the official powertrain lineup for the all-new Tonale and it shed some light on what we can expect from the new Dodge C-SUV. Tonale will feature two different powertrains when it arrives in North America.

The first powertrain option for North America is the turbocharged 2.0-liter GME-T4 inline-four-cylinder. The “GME-T4” as it is commonly called, is a popular engine in a number of current North American Stellantis vehicles including the Alfa Romeo Giulia (GA), Alfa Romeo Stelvio (GU), Jeep Cherokee (KL), Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe (WL74), and Jeep Wrangler (JL). The leak also stated that the North American Jeep Compass built in Saltillo, Mexico, would also adopt the engine

Back in August, thanks to a leak on the Italian car enthusiast forum AutoPareri.com, we learned that the Hornet would in fact feature the turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four-cylinder engine from the Stellantis Global Medium Engine (GME) family. The GME-T4 is rated at 256 horsepower and 295 lb.-ft. of torque in the Tonale and is mated to a ZF-sourced 9-speed automatic transmission. All GME-T4 Tonale models will be fitted with Alfa’s Q4 system (Alfa’s version of all-wheel-drive) as standard equipment.

According to our sources, the Hornet could see a boost in horsepower over the Tonale to more align it with Dodge’s performance attributes. The GME-T4 has shown horsepower levels around 270 horsepower to 280 horsepower, depending on the application. For example, the North American-spec 2022 Alfa Romeo Stelvio equipped with the GME-T4 engine is rated at 280 horsepower and 306 lb.-ft. of torque on 91 octane premium unleaded fuel.  We expect the Hornet to fall within those parameters. 

We also knew that the Hornet would feature a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain. While it does share its underpinnings with the Compass, we weren’t sure if we would see a version of the European-spec Compass 4xe PHEV powertrain under the hood or if there would be the PHEV version of the North American-spec Wrangler 4xe powertrain which uses the GME-T4 as its base.

But again, Tonale seems to have answered that question. The second powertrain option will be a new Q4 PHEV system which is very similar to the Jeep Compass 4xe’s setup in Europe, however, this one will use bigger batteries for more power and a longer all-electric range.

The Tonale’s Q4 PHEV powertrain integrates two electric motors and a 15.5-kWh battery pack (4.1-kWh bigger than the Compass 4xe), with a fuel-efficient 1.3-liter turbocharged gasoline engine and 6-speed automatic transmission. This architecture provides two cars in one – a battery-electric vehicle featuring an electric motor (e-motor) and a high-voltage lithium-ion battery pack on the rear axle and a conventional vehicle with an internal combustion engine (ICE) fitted on the front axle, creating all-wheel-drive.

The Q4 PHEV system delivers a total output of 275 horsepower (180 horsepower from the ICE and the rest from its e-motor. It allows the Tonale to run from 0 to 62 mph (0 to 100 km/h) acceleration in just 6.2 seconds while allowing the vehicle to have an all-electric range of up to 50 miles (80 kilometers) in the city cycle and 37.2 miles (60 kilometers) when city and highway are combined.

We expect this exact layout will be offered as the PHEV powertrain option in the all-new 2023 Dodge Hornet. It should be virtually untouched from the Tonale specifications.

When Will We See It?

Dodge CEO, Tim Kuniskis has stated on the record in recent interviews that the Dodge brand will unveil two electrified vehicles this year. The first will be a concept version of the all-new eMuscle car that is scheduled for production in 2024, which should appear sometime this spring. The second is the introduction of a new PHEV vehicle, that will go into production by the end of 2022 (referring to the Hornet).

So if the Hornet is planned for production by the end of 2022, we can expect to see it make its official debut sometime around fall. One such event, we could see it make its world debut is at the 2022 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. The event has been canceled twice now but has been rescheduled for a new date in September. 

What are you hoping the new Hornet will be like? Let us know in the comments below or in the MoparInsiders.com forums.