Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica review

Make and model: Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica Speciale
Description: Small-medium electric SUV
Price range: from £35,705

Summary: The Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica is a stylish small electric SUV that’s easy to drive and well equipped, but it doesn’t feel as distinctive as you might expect from the badge.

Introduction

The Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica is the Italian brand’s first fully electric SUV, aimed at the increasingly crowded small-SUV market. We tested the Junior Elettrica Speciale for a week on UK roads to see whether it delivers genuine Alfa character or simply wears Alfa styling over familiar Stellantis underpinnings.

The Junior shares its platform with related models from the wider Stellantis family, like the Jeep Avenger, Peugeot E-2008 and Vauxhall Mokka Electric. Alfa has given it distinctive styling and sharper steering, but this is not a clean-sheet Alfa project.

If you don’t want an electric model, there’s also a Junior Ibrida (hybrid), which is powered by a petrol engine with mild hybrid assistance.

For a broader ownership picture, see our Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica Expert Rating, which combines media reviews, safety data, reliability, running costs and warranty cover.

• More Alfa Romeo news, reviews, features and Expert Ratings

Price and equipment

The Junior Elettrica starts at around £34K, placing it in line with most small electric SUVs. Equipment levels are strong, but pricing also reflects Alfa Romeo’s attempt to position it as something slightly more premium.

There are currently four models in the Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica line-up – three with a lower power output and a range-topping version with significantly more performance.

The range kicks off at £34K with the entry-level Elettrica, followed by the Elettrica Speciale at just under £36K and a special-edition model called the Intensa at £39K. All of these models have the same electric motor, producing 115kw (156hp) of power through the front wheels. The top-spec Veloce model starts at just over £42K and bumps the power up to 207kW (280hp), still going through the front wheels.

All versions are supplied by a 54kWh battery that gives an official range of 255-ish miles for the lower-power versions, dropping to 200 miles for the Veloce. Real-world range will depend on temperature, driving style and speed.

Like most new cars, you get a large (ten-inch) central touchscreen for controlling most of the car’s functions, paired with another ten-inch screen in front of the driver for speed and driving information. The base and Intensa models don’t offer integrated satnav, but most people are likely to use Apple CarPlay or Android Auto anyway, so it’s not a big deal.

All the key safety kit is standard on all models, although Speciale and Veloce models get a few upgraded extras like traffic jam assist and lane guidance for the adaptive cruise control. Speciale gets part faux leather upholstery, while the driver’s seat is electrically adjustable and even includes a massage function.

As well as significantly more power, the Veloce model gets additional kit over the lower-spec models, as well as bigger alloy wheels and several minor cosmetic changes. It also gets mechanical upgrades to brakes, suspension and steering for better handling and an improved driving experience.

Inside the car

The cabin looks tidy and well assembled, but it doesn’t feel meaningfully different from other Stellantis models that use the same platform. It’s fair to say that Alfa Romeo customers are likely to expect a sense of distinction, rather than switchgear that’s shared with a multitude of Stellantis products.

The Alfa Romeo Junior mixes traditional Alfa styling cues with a modern – if conventional – layout. The driver’s instrument cluster has a shade that resembles Alfa’s traditional twin-dial layout but, in reality, it simply covers a letterbox-shaped digital screen for speed, range and other readouts. The central touchscreen is slightly angled towards the driver, but the rest of the dashboard around it isn’t, so it sort of sticks out in a way that looks odd. Some of the plastics feel harder than you might expect at this price.

The good news is that, unlike plenty of Alfas of old, the Junior’s cabin feels solid and very well screwed together. It’s also welcome to have a proper row of real buttons for the climate control, and there’s a nice touch in having little illuminated serpents (the legendary Biscione of Milano) in the centre of the air vents.

Rear seat space is tight for adults, and the raised central tunnel – a reminder that this platform was originally designed for petrol models – limits comfort for a middle passenger. Dedicated EV rivals make better use of space.

Boot space is on par with most rivals in this class, with a claimed 400 litres. It’s a fairly regular shape, so generally quite useful although the loading lip is quite high for loading heavy cases. There’s a small frunk under the bonnet, which is likely to be where you keep your charging cables when not in use.

Driving range and charging

Official driving range is competitive on paper, but real-world results are less impressive.

There’s only one battery available to cover the entire Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica line-up at this time, which is a 54kWh unit that gives an official government lab-tested driving range of about 250 miles with the 115kW motor (a few more miles in the base model, a few less in the Intensa and Speciale), and a range of about 200 miles in the more powerful Veloce.

Knock 20% off both numbers (so about 200 miles and 160 miles, respectively) for cold conditions or harder driving, but if you’re happy to be gentle with your right foot and spend most of your time in urban areas, you should get close to these numbers.

The Junior Elettrica scores highly for efficiency in our Expert Rating Index, and a heat pump is standard on all models, which helps preserve range in cold weather.

At public chargers, the Junior Elettrica can accept a maximum charging speed of 100kW, which is about average for the sector. Assuming you are plugged into a 100kW charger, that means that you can get a charge from 10% to 80% in a bit over half an hour. If you’re charging at home with a 7kW wallbox, a full charge from 0-100% will take a bit over eight hours.

The charging port is in the left-rear corner of the car, so you’ll want to reverse into charging bays rather than driving in forwards. At home, the car is short enough that cable length is unlikely to be an issue.

On the road

On UK roads, the Junior Elettrica feels competent and easy to live with, but it doesn’t quite deliver the distinctive driving character traditionally associated with Alfa Romeo.

Alfa Romeo has long been associated with engaging petrol models. The Junior Elettrica doesn’t quite deliver that same sense of character. After all, it’s an electric SUV that shares its basic architecture with assorted Peugeots, Citroëns and Vauxhalls.

The standard 115kW (156hp) motor in the Junior Elettrica Speciale provides plenty of performance for most of your day-to-day driving needs. Acceleration from rest, and in the cut-and-thrust of urban driving, is good even with passenger and luggage on board. As with most EVs, you notice a drop-off in acceleration at motorway speeds as the car reaches the top of its operating window (EVs generally have a lower top speed than petrol cars, although still comfortably beyond the 70mph national speed limit).

Alfa Romeo has tweaked the steering and handling of the Junior compared to the other Stellantis models, which does help it to feel more agile and nimble to drive. It also feels quite stable, with less roll than other SUVs. Pleasingly, the engineers have managed to maintain a decent ride comfort, which isn’t always the case when you try to sharpen the handling.

As with most EVs, the electric motor is quiet and smooth, with instant response to your right foot on the throttle, so it provides an urban driving experience that is both refined and responsive. We will provide a separate review of the petrol-powered Junior, but the electric version is much better to drive.

Verdict

After a week with the Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica, it feels like a competent but slightly unremarkable small electric SUV. The styling is distinctive and the overall execution is competent, but it never quite feels special enough to justify the Alfa Romeo badge. It’s a car we respected more than we grew attached to.

For buyers who value design flair and slightly sharper road manners, it’s a credible option. However, those seeking maximum cabin space, cutting-edge range or a strong sense of brand character may find stronger alternatives in a purpose-built EV like the Kia EV3.

You can also see how the Alfa Romeo Junior performs across safety, reliability, running costs and warranty cover in our full Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica Expert Rating.

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