For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Nissan Kicks 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 Kicks 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 Nissan Kicks has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags help prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Tonale doesn't offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The Kicks SR offers an optional 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.

Both the Kicks 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, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

Nissan's powertrain warranty covers the Kicks 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 10 times as many Nissan dealers as there are Alfa Romeo dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Kicks' 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 Kicks' reliability 15 points higher than the Tonale.

On the EPA test cycle the Kicks gets better mileage than the Tonale:

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

The Kicks 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 Kicks has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle's integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Tonale doesn't offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Kicks' wheelbase is .8 inches longer than on the Tonale (104.6 inches vs. 103.8 inches). The Kicks AWD's wheelbase is 1.1 inches longer than on the Tonale (104.9 inches vs. 103.8 inches).

The Kicks SR AWD handles at .84 G's, while the Tonale Veloce pulls only .83 G's of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the Kicks' turning circle is 3.2 feet tighter than the Tonale's (34.8 feet vs. 38 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Kicks has a 2.3 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Tonale (8.4 vs. 6.1 inches), allowing the Kicks to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Nissan Kicks may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 450 to 700 pounds less than the Alfa Romeo Tonale.

The Kicks is 6.1 inches shorter than the Tonale, making the Kicks easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Kicks has .9 inches more front headroom, 1 inch more front legroom and .3 inches more rear headroom than the Tonale.

The Kicks has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Tonale with its rear seat up (30 vs. 27 cubic feet). The Kicks has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Tonale with its rear seat folded (60 vs. 54.7 cubic feet).

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Kicks 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 Kicks is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Tonale doesn't offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

The Nissan Kicks outsold the Alfa Romeo Tonale by almost 43 to one during 2025.